Denver outlines Leaf Drop 2025 schedule and rules as compost participation climbs

City staff on Tuesday walked Denver’s Mayor and City Council through the Leaf Drop 2025 program, listing weekday and pop-up drop locations, rules for accepted materials and trailers, and how residents can sign up for year-round composting.

Nina, the city presenter for Leaf Drop, said weekday drop sites opened last Monday and will operate 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Nov. 21 at three standing locations: the Cherry Creek Transfer Station (Jewel Avenue entrance), the Havana Nursery (Smith Road) and the Central Platte campus (Bayaud entrance). The city will also hold pop-up weekend events at Bruce Randolph High School, Kennedy High School, Sloan’s Lake and Veterans Park, Nina said.

“Nina said, ‘Leaves must be in yard waste bags. We do not accept leaves in plastic bags,’” Council records show. The city is offering a coupon for a free five-pack of compostable yard-waste bags via a partnership with Ace Hardware; the coupon and event schedule are linked on the city’s Leaf Drop page (denvergov.org/leafleafdrop), Nina said.

The presenter stressed that Leaf Drop is for Denver residential use only and not for commercial landscapers. Hitch trailers are accepted only at the Cherry Creek Transfer Station and must be no longer than 6 feet. Branches are accepted in the compost cart and at Cherry Creek provided they are no longer than 4 feet and 4 feet 4 inches in diameter; the city asked residents not to use twine or staples to secure bags because those materials are not compostable.

Nina also urged residents not to rake or blow leaves into streets because that can interfere with street sweepers and storm drainage systems, and noted that leaves can be placed in compost carts year-round — bagged or unbagged — at no extra charge as part of solid-waste services.

On program performance, Nina said the city has roughly 75,500 compost customers — about 42% participation — and that year-to-date compost tonnage is up about 55% from the same point last year. “We have, so far, composted or collected 17,000 tons of compost this year,” she said, compared with a little over 16,000 tons collected in all of last year.

Councilor Torres asked how the city calculates the 42% participation figure and whether the Leaf Drop is planned to be phased out as compost subscription coverage grows. Nina said the city started at about 16% participation before consolidating prior subscription customers (about 30,000) into the current program at the start of 2023 and that staff will continue to assess demand as compost enrollment increases.

For more information, Nina directed residents to denvergov.org/leafleafdrop for site locations and the coupon and said residents can request a compost cart through 311 or the Denver Utilities online resident portal. The presenter also referenced the city rebate page (denvergov.org/dottyrebates, as cited during the meeting) for available solid-waste rebates.

The council closed the Leaf Drop agenda item after questions and thanked staff for the presentation.