Raleigh council backs move from seasonal loose-leaf pickups to year-round weekly yard-waste service

Raleigh City Council on Tuesday approved staff recommendations to transition the city’s seasonal loose‑leaf collection to a year‑round weekly enhanced yard‑waste program, directing staff to begin implementation planning and equipment procurement.

City transportation staff told the council the current loose‑leaf program has become unsustainable and creates safety and drainage problems when leaves remain in piles for extended periods. The proposed enhanced program would collect one 95‑gallon cart and 15–20 biodegradable bags weekly, year round, and would allow residents to request a second cart for a small annual fee.

Steve Halsey, Department of Transportation, summarized the staff recommendation and timeline. "Our recommendation is to provide a year round weekly service to provide residents with a consistent, reliable, and predictable service that they are requesting," he said. Halsey said the change would require five additional solid‑waste trucks and roughly 15 additional full‑time crew members to operate weekly service.

Gregory Jenkins of Solid Waste Services described how the city would fold a needs‑assistance program into the transition for residents who cannot physically move yard waste to the curb. "We have a program right now where we'll go behind people's homes and help them collect their garbage and yard waste and recycling currently...we will look to modify that program to fit within yard waste," Jenkins said.

Communications Director Robin Diekel told the council the city will begin outreach immediately and run a multi‑year communications plan: "The communications plan that's...on my desk is about a three‑year plan, just to kind of keep talking about it," she said. Diekel said the city will use social and traditional media, postcards and targeted outreach in neighborhoods likely to be slow to adopt the new approach.

Staff presented a proposed funding approach that relies partly on reallocating money the Transportation Department planned to spend on leaf trucks and seasonal operating costs. Staff listed an annual cost estimate to fully fund the enhanced service at $1,750,000 and said about $350,000 in equipment funds and $675,000 in operating savings could be reallocated. The budget presentation named fiscal year 2027 as the target for new program funding and noted an 18‑month lead time to order the five solid‑waste trucks needed for weekly service.

Councilors pressed staff on details including the cost and request process for a second cart, the criteria for the needs‑assistance program, whether a seasonal weekly option had been considered and rejected, and how the change would free transportation staff for other maintenance work. Staff said a second cart is available now for roughly "$50‑$60 a year" and that the needs‑assistance program would be broadened beyond strictly medical eligibility.

Councilor Harrison and others praised the plan’s potential to free Transportation staff to increase sidewalk repairs, pavement patching and stormwater maintenance. Councilor Pratt asked why staff recommended year‑round weekly collection rather than a seasonal weekly schedule; staff replied that seasonal weekly service would either require pulling transportation staff back into the program during the busy season or paying for temporary crews, which would undercut the anticipated transportation service gains.

The council approved the staff recommendations by voice vote. The action directs staff to proceed with ordering equipment this summer to meet an implementation target of fall 2026 and to include the program cost in the FY2027 budget process. The approved transition plan includes a 2025 public information campaign, a final full loose‑leaf collection season before the change, and the option for residents to request biodegradable bags or a second cart during the ramp‑up period.

Council discussion emphasized that delays in approval would push implementation into fall 2027 and could jeopardize the proposed equipment reallocation and lead times for trucks. Staff said the enhanced service would be funded ultimately by an adjusted solid‑waste fee once fully implemented.