With spring weather upon us, and hundreds of Knoxville residents getting an early start on their gardening and landscaping tasks, City crews will be resuming bi-weekly brush pickup on Monday, March 5, 2018.

Each year, City crews put brush collection on pause for leaf pickup season, which takes place from November through February. This past leaf season, crews collected approximately 5,100 tons of leaves.

“Leaves may seem light when you’re raking them to the curb, but we do collect significant amounts of leaves that average at least 5,000 tons each year,” said Chad Weth, Public Service Director. “Then, when we get into brush pickup season, we collect about five times that tonnage – everything from grass clippings to pruned branches to big piles of pulled weeds.”

City crews collected 31,284 tons of yard waste last year. Since the yard waste is collected separately from garbage, it is recycled into mulch and therefore diverted from going to landfills.

“It’s very much a meticulous, hands-on, house-by-house process for our crews, but it’s rewarding work that homeowners really seem to appreciate,” said Weth. 

Brush pickup season typically runs from March through October. Crews follow a pre-set fixed schedule and collect yard waste on each street every two weeks.

City of Knoxville residents can obtain brush collection schedules by calling 311 (or 865-215-4311) or visit https://brushpickup.knoxvilletn.gov.

Yard waste placed at the curb must be kept separate from trash and be raked or placed within a 6-by-6-by-6 foot pile. All tree work completed at a residential property by a private contractor, tree trimmer, or anyone performing work for-profit is responsible for the removal of the brush.

For more details, visit www.knoxvilletn.gov/solidwaste.