Santek Waste Services is changing its leaf pickup schedule in Hoover this year in an effort to prevent the serious backlog in leaf collection that took place last year.
In the past, Hoover has been divided into six zones, and the schedule called for Santek to stay in each zone one week at a time, said Sam Dillender, the head of the company’s Alabama operations.
Last year, more leaves fell earlier in the season than usual, which created a tremendous backlog in the pickup process, Dillender said.
This year, the company is dividing the city into three zones and will stay in each zone two weeks, he said. That will give the company more time to pick up leaves in each zone before they need to move to the next one, he said.
The 2017-18 pickup schedule calls for each zone to have leaf collection four times between Nov. 6 and March 30.
Santek also has decided to permanently use a transfer station it owns in Bessemer as a leaf dropoff point to lessen the amount of time trucks spend on the road to dispose of their loads, Dillender said.
The final destination for the leaves is a landfill in the Mt. Olive community in north Jefferson County, where the leaves are combined with dirt and used to stimulate a grass cover for slopes at the landfill, he said.
The transfer station was utilized temporarily last year after the Santek crews got behind on their schedule, and this year the company has made it a regular part of their process, Dillender said.
Santek will continue using nine trucks to collect leaves, Dillender said.
The city urges residents to be patient because leaf pickup can be delayed due to rain or snow. The leaf vacuum has difficulty picking up heavy leaves.
The Hoover Public Works Department is mailing out a leaf collection schedule and zone map to all residents and has refrigerator magnets with the schedule and map available for pickup at the Hoover Municipal Center, Senior Center and Recreation Center, said Robin Mangino, the department’s administrative services supervisor. The information is also available on the city’s website. Residents with questions can call the Public Works Department at 444-7543.
HOOVER 2017-18 LEAF PICKUP SCHEDULE
ZONE 1
(North of Chapel Road/Patton Chapel Road, north of Rocky Ridge Road)
► First collection: Nov. 6-17
► Second collection: Dec. 18-30
► Third collection: Jan. 29-Feb. 9
► Fourth collection: March 12-16
ZONE 2
(South of Chapel Road/Patton Chapel Road, south of Rocky Ridge Road but north of I-459, including Lake Cyrus and Ross Bridge)
► First collection: Nov. 20-Dec. 1
► Second collection: Jan. 2-12
► Third collection: Feb. 12-23
► Fourth collection: March 19-23
ZONE 3
(South of Interstate 459, from Russet Woods to Greystone)
► First collection: Dec. 4-15
► Second collection: Jan. 15-26
► Third collection: Feb. 26-March 9
► Fourth collection: March 26-30
Leaf collection tips
► Wait to rake leaves to the curb until the day before the first scheduled pickup day in your zone to lessen the amount of time that leaves are sitting by the curb.
► Make sure there are no twigs, branches, rocks, bricks, bags or other items in your leaves that could create an obstruction in the vacuum hose of the leaf collection trucks. Place large trash items at the curb for the knuckle-boom truck to collect.
► Do not use your recycle bin for yard debris.
► Prior to your pickup dates, loose leaves may be stored in containers or bags until your pickup time. Please do not leave loose leaves at the curb to blow into storm drains or neighbors’ yards prior to your pickup date. Remember, you can call in a Bulky pickup request for bagged leaves at any time of year.
► Pile leaves away from storm drain openings and storm drain lids, fire hydrants, mailboxes, utility wire and other equipment.
► Make sure vehicles are not parked near your leaf piles.
► Leaf pile should not extend further than 4 feet from the curb or asphalt. The leaf collection truck’s vacuum hose cannot reach leaves that are farther away.
► Bagged leaves will be collected at the curb with your regular garbage collection. If you have more than three bags of leaves, call 444-7543 to request pickup.
