Expanded Services for Seasonal Leaf Collection Begin Oct. 5

- Sep 24, 2026

The City of Ann Arbor is expanding services to help residents manage their seasonal leaves for 2026. Between Monday, Oct. 5, and Friday Dec. 11, 2026, the city will expand the number of bags that can be left at the curb for collection; allow unlimited leaf drop off at the Ann Arbor compost facility, from residents or their landscapers; and make available free wood chips at three city locations.

Yard bag limit expansion

Beginning Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, residents may set out 20 paper yard bags per collection day instead of the normal limit of 10. Individual bags must not exceed 50 pounds. Residents are also encouraged to use compost carts for fall leaves.

Unlimited drop off for leaves

The Ann Arbor compost facility, 4170 Platt Road, will accept unlimited leaf dropoffs from residents or their landscapers beginning Oct. 5 for the fall 2026 season. The facility, operated by WeCare Denali, is open weekdays 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. To drop off for free, visitors must provide verification of Ann Arbor residency by scanning their driver’s license at the inbound scale. Leaves from properties outside the city of Ann Arbor do not qualify for this free service. For more information on dropoff and other compost options, visit www.a2gov.org/compost.

Managing yard material at home

Other options, aside from paper yard bags and compost carts, can make use of leaves, branches, etc. This includes:

Use a mulching mower to feed grass clippings and leaves back into your lawn. 
Use mulched leaves to cover flower beds in winter.
Create your own compost pile with help from Washtenaw County’s composting page, which covers setup, maintenance and even how to become a master composter.
Consider creating a dead-wood garden with limbs and branches you might otherwise discard. Even an old holiday tree could be used. These gardens not only fertilize the underlying soil, but they also become homes for beneficial insects, birds and fungi.

Free wood chips

The City of Ann Arbor has made free wood chips available to residents at three city locations. Residents are required to load and move the material away themselves. The wood chips will be available until November or while supplies last. Locations for free wood-chip pickup include:

Veterans Memorial Park, 2150 Jackson Ave.
Bicentennial Park (formerly Southeast Area Park), 2901 East Ellsworth Road
Gallup Park boat launch, 3000 Fuller Park Road (boat launch entrance off Geddes Road)

No leaf burning

Burning leaves produces particulate matter which can be harmful. Michigan and City of Ann Arbor law make it illegal to burn leaves within the city limits.

More information about fall leaves and all things compost is available at www.a2gov.org/compost.

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Media Contact:

Robert Kellar, Communications Specialist, rkellar@a22gov.org