Leaf Collection Services Begin November 5–Weather Permitting

If you still have storm debris in your boulevard or street in front of your house, please call 406-552-6360 to be added to the pickup list. We will try to gather these piles before we start leaf collection as time allows.

  • We will follow the order shown on the schedule and map.
  • Crews will collect leaves and follow with street sweeping according to the Street Sweeping Schedule.
  • Please note that depending on weather conditions, we could have several starts and stops before we’ve been able to complete our collection in all neighborhoods.

We appreciate your patience as our crews work to complete this service.

What Should Residents Do?

For our equipment to be able to collect your leaves, please rake them into the street and against the curb before your scheduled pickup day but NO MORE THAN 2 or 3 days BEFORE your pickup day. This helps to keep the leaves from clogging and blocking the storm drains, which can cause stormwater to accumulate in the street and possibly freeze.

Have your leaves ready when our crews come to your neighborhood:

  • Please rake leaves into the street PRIOR TO THE FIRST DAY of your scheduled collection.
  • Rake leaves against the curb in the parking lane. Leaf piles should not encroach the bike or driving lanes. Make leaf piles long and narrow.
  • Do not park cars on or around the leaf piles. We need room for front-end loaders to scoop up the leaves.
  • Remember—LEAVES ONLY. Do not include storm debris, limbs, trash, or other yard waste with your leaves—It will delay our leaf collection efforts.
  • Trees must be pruned to a minimum of 14 feet over the street to the inside edge of the curb line (per Missoula Municipal Code 12.32). If your trees do not meet this requirement, the City may need to trim them so that we can safely run our equipment along the curb.
  • Ensure leaves do not block any stormwater inlets, especially if it’s raining or snowing as the water will not be able to filter through the leaves to reach the storm drain. This water will then remain in the street, potentially causing an ice hazard.
  • Residents are responsible for disposing of their leaves or any debris after our leaf collection is done. Residents depositing leaves or debris into city streets after December 15 may be subject to a citation in accordance with Missoula Municipal Code 8.28 (Litter and Rubbish). Instead, please bag them and take them to Garden City Compost!

Special Districts

Special districts are shown on the schedule above, and signs are posted. Parking is prohibited on BOTH sides of the street from 6:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Vehicles will be towed to the nearest parking space, usually within a block of the vehicle’s original location, if they are not removed before we are ready to collect in the district.

Street Sweeping Schedule and Map

Questions?

Call the Street Maintenance & Operations Division at 406-552-6360.

How do we collect leaves?

Street Maintenance & Operations Division crews collect leaves on every street in Missoula using front-end loaders and dump trucks to pick up and haul away leaves. Weather permitting, we will follow the leaf crew with street sweepers to sweep both sides of the street. If the weather is below 32 degrees, the sweepers cannot operate, but we will try to sweep later as weather permits.

Our crews haul an average of 1,000 dump truck loads of leaves to Garden City Compost and spend about 2,500 hours collecting leaves each season.

Did you know?

The Street Maintenance & Operations Division has a repurposed garbage truck with a hopper on the back that we also use to haul leaves. The loaders can dump leaves right into the back of the garbage truck, which can haul seven regular dump truck loads because it compacts the leaves. This saves on fuels costs and speeds up our operation!