Do You Live In Bangor Or Brewer? Here’s The Skinny On Getting Rid Of All Those Fallen Leaves

Now that we've passed peak 'leaf peeping' season, it's on to 'leaf raking' season in most communities across Maine.

Read More: Maine Fire Officials Warn About Woodstove Safety Risks

Each city and town has its own way of disposing of those once glorious-looking, now turned-brown, dried-up little bundles.

Martinan

While you may not get out or raking entirely, depending on where you live, some methods may be easier than others.

In Bangor, for years, folks from the Bangor Public Works have done a lot of the heavy lifting for residents. Typically, during the first week of November, crews start to make their way around the east side and west side of town, with huge trucks and vacuum hoses, to suck up the leaves people have raked down to the end of their lawns.

Aleksandr Potashev

This year, they'll kick off Monday, November 2nd, and run through the entire month until they've cleared all the piles.

Bangor Public Works officials say there are some rules to follow, though, so that they can continue to offer this handy service:

"Loose leaves should be raked to the edge of the road where crews can collect them with large vacuum units. Please exercise caution to ensure that rocks, branches, yard waste, and other debris are not included in the loose-leaf piles, as they may plug the vacuum hose, damage the vacuum unit, or injure Public Works employees."

Zbynek Pospisil

"Crews will make several passes through the city until all leaves are picked up, but inclement weather could prevent crews from collecting all leaves."

We're told crews will work 6 days a week for 10 hours a day on the leaf disposal effort.

If you have larger brush or yard debris, you can drop it off at the Public Works Compound, provided you have the proper sticker (which you can get from their office just by showing proof of residency) from 7 AM to sunset.

The facility is located at 530 Main Avenue in Bangor.

Across the bridge in Brewer, they have a similar timeline, but a slightly different process.

Instead of just raking the leaves to the end of the lawn, you actually have to bag them up in a specific kind of bag.

photohampster

The folks at the Brewer Public Works say they also have some guidelines residents need to follow.

"Only leaves in biodegradable bags will be collected curbside. Leaves in non-biodegradable bags or piled loose will not be picked up during the curbside leaf pickup. Large twigs, branches, dirt, rocks, or trash mixed in with the bagged leaves will not be accepted; however, other small plants and garden waste may be mixed in with the
leaves."'

Brewer residents can either purchase the biodegradable bags through the Public Works Department, while supplies last, or find them for sale at the local hardware store.

KatarzynaBialasiewicz

They can also deliver the leaves themselves to the Brewer landfill at 403 Elm Street.

Those with questions can contact the Brewer Public Works Department directly from 7 AM-3:30 PM, M-F, by calling 989-7800.

Read More: Why Halloween And Daylight Saving Time Overlap In Maine

Brewer City Officials say Public Works crews will start picking up the bagged leaves sometime in mid-November.