Seasonal Curbside Leaf Collection
For a limited time each fall and spring, the Town hauler collects leaves curbside (click on this link for calendar dates.)
For the leaves to be collected, they must be in a brown paper leaf bag, or loose in a garbage can. Do not use plastic bags; the Town will not pick up leaves in plastic bags. Leaves should not be raked into the streets, piled at the curb, placed in wetlands, streams, storm drains, or onto Branford Land Trust Property.
Your leaves will be picked up on the same day as your regular recycling collection, though by a separate truck. Residents are reminded not to include branches and also to keep the leaves free of litter and other materials which will not decompose. These materials contaminate the compost which your leaves are turned into at the Transfer Station and which is available to Branford residents for free.
Leaves can be brought to the compost site behind the transfer station at any time of year! A Branford Residence Sticker is required.
Please make sure that leaves are out the night before your collection day!
Food - Too Good to Waste
A recent waste characterization study by the CT DEEP found that 22.3% of the trash that is thrown away in Connecticut is food waste. At current Branford rates, that equates to roughly $200,000 spent by Branford taxpayers to dispose of food. While the EPA reported that in 2013, 14.3% of US households were food insecure at some point during the year. Please see the above food storage guidelines to help reduce your own food waste and visit the EPA's sustainable management of food website for additional information and resources.
Yard Waste Collection
The best choice for weeds, dead plants, small trimmings, crab apples, pine cones or other garden debris is to compost them at home or to take them directly to the Transfer Station
Yard waste other than grass clippings or leaves can be put out with your garbage: Use plastic bags, place loose in a barrel, or tie into 3-foot bundles with string. Limit 3 per collection.
To avoid confusion never place your yard waste in paper lawn and leaf bags. These are for leaves only and may result in your yard waste being left behind by the haulers.
Leaves are collected curbside only in the Spring and Fall (click on this link for calendar dates.) You can always bring your leaves to the Transfer Station. Grass clippings cannot be collected curbside or accepted at the Transfer Station. Instead…
Send Your Grass Back To Its Roots!
Effective October 1, 1998, Connecticut state law says grass clippings may not be burned in any waste-to-energy plant, nor buried in any landfill.
The Town collector will NOT pick up grass clippings with garbage, yard waste or leaves!
The Town cannot accept grass clippings at the Transfer Station to be put with the garbage.
The Town cannot accept grass clippings at the Transfer Station to be put with bulky waste.
Leave them on the lawn. They will decompose and act as a natural organic fertilizer. Or mix them in your home compost pile with the leaves while the clippings are fresh. Please visit the Inland Wetland and Natural Resource page for additional landscaping guidelines.
Backyard Composting
Backyard composting is an attractive, simple method of managing organic wastes at home. Backyard composting can be performed by a variety of methods. Typically, these include placing materials in open piles, burying materials in pits or trenches and enclosing materials in drums or bins. The compost produced by backyard composting is an excellent soil conditioner. It enhances the structure of soil by binding soil particles together. This improves aeration and helps soil to retain water and nutrients. Compost can store nutrients and release them slowly for use by surrounding plants. Although highly beneficial for soil, most composts are not considered fertilizers because they lack the amount of nitrogen necessary to be classed a fertilizer.
Things to compost
- Grass clippings
- Wood chips and sawdust
- Garden trimmings
- Shredded yard wastes
- Green leaves
- Pine and fir needles
- Livestock manure
- Straw and hay
- Fruit and vegetable scraps
- Dry grass and leaves
- Coffee grounds and filters
- Nut shells
- Tea leaves and bags
- Stale bread
- Shredded paper
Please remember that the leaves and brush you bring to the Transfer Station are available as compost and mulch to residents for free while supplies last, so please keep these areas free of trash or other non-organic debris.
