City Of Rochester, Indiana

Yard Clipping and Leaf Pickup Guidelines

Effective June 1, 2013

There shall be no matter (yard waste or debris) in the City streets.

All matter to be picked up must be placed curbside on your property, not in the road. Everything (i.e. plants, weeds, grass clippings, hedge trimmings, etc.) must go in a biodegradable waste bag EXCEPT limbs and tree leaves or any wood stemmed material.

Paper biodegradable bags must be used. 

General Instruction for Leaf Pickup

During fall leaf pickup, the Rochester Street Department concentrates all of its efforts into picking leaves. We have four machines operating; however, due to the age of the machines and the dusty conditions they operate in, it is difficult to keep all four of the machines on the street at all times.

The machines work together or at least in the same section of Rochester. This makes it easier for the public to know where the crews are working. Need to know when the crews will be in your neighborhood? Give us a call! As telephone calls are received, we will be able to give you a better idea as to when they may be on your street! Crews will work the City from the West to the East. As they get to the East side of Lake Manitou, they will go back to the west side of Rochester and start over again. An exception to this is we will clean Main Street and East 9th street on a daily basis.  On Friday afternoons, Jefferson Street and Madison Street will be cleaned to get the majority of the churches and funeral homes for the weekend.

City crews will be working an extra hour each day during leaf season. This will continue thru the first week of November. They will also work a half day on Saturday, weather permitting. Leaf Pickup will continue into the winter as long as weather allows.

• During leaf pickup, place leaves in a row rather than a pile on the curb or in the lawn next to the street. Leaves cannot be placed in the street. This will allow traffic to move freely and safely without having to drive thru the leaves. It is easier to pickup the leaves if they are in a row along the curb rather than a pile. If placed in a pile the truck has to backup several times until the complete pile is gone.
• Tree limbs clog the leaf vacuum. The hose on the machine is 18 inches in diameter; sticks longer 18 inches plug the hose. The problem usually occurs when the sticks are in the street and leaves are raked on top of them. If longer sticks are placed where they can be seen, this problem will be eliminated.
• Please do not park on top of leaves. It is also very helpful and safer if vehicles are not parked on the piles. Please leave room for the leaf machine operator to get all the leaves that have been raked.

There is NO Burning of any kind permitted within the City Limits!