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City of Madison

Brush Collection is Over for 2024

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Scheduled brush collection from the curb is over for 2024.

You should not place any brush for collection out for pickup at this time.

All neighborhoods have received all of their scheduled collections.

Curbside pickup of brush will return in the spring of 2025.

Use Drop-off Sites for Brush

The Streets Division drop-off sites will accept brush cut by Madison residents.

In order to use the sites, you will need to provide proof of residency.

Residents are restricted to one trip daily and the maximum amount of material that can be dropped in the one trip is equivalent to what would fit into the back of standard pickup truck bed or on a 5’ x 8’ trailer.

Oversized loads will be denied use of the drop-off sites. Contractors are also prohibited from using the free drop-off sites.

For site locations, hours, and other restrictions, visit the drop-off sites page at www.cityofmadison.com/DropOffSites

Do Not Mix Brush Into Your Fall Leaf Piles. Mixed Piles Will Not Be Collected.

Yard waste and brush are different.

Think of brush as branches or limbs.  It’s the woody material you’ve cut from your trees, shrubs, or bushes.  It has to that measure at least 18 inches in length, be shorter than 8 feet long, and have a diameter less than 8 inches.  We feed this material into a wood chipper to make mulch.

Yard waste and leaves is the softer plant material you have raked or pulled from your lawns or gardens. This is hauled to a private facility for composting.

Piles of yard waste and leaves with brush mixed in will not be collected by yard waste collection crews.

Why is brush collection ending now?

The same crews that collect brush are the ones who will be performing the fall yard waste collection.

We need to stop collecting brush in order to have the personnel available to pick-up all of the yard waste and leaves for this fall.

Why doesn’t the Streets Division guarantee more brush collection after the fall leaf pickup is over?

Fall yard waste and leaf collection starts the week of October 6 and does not end until early December. 

In December, there is the threat of snowstorms.  Plus, we may need to do a “last chance” leaf collection depending on the weather and how the leaves fall later this autumn.

The same crews that collect leaves are also the people who collect brush, and they’re also the same people who drive snowplowing equipment. 

We do not have enough staff, equipment, or certainty that we will have enough time before a snowstorm strikes to guarantee more brush pickups.

And, of course, any snowstorm would bury brush piles at the curb and our crews couldn’t see them to pick them up.  We would not want residents to pile out brush expecting a collection, only to have a snowstorm show up and cover it, and leave residents with a frozen pile of sticks on the terrace until spring. 

We understand the disappointment that stopping brush collection causes each year, especially for homeowners with oak trees. 

Drop-off sites remain available year-round to accept brush, and collection opportunities will return in the spring of 2025. 

Additional Information

For more information about brush, please visit the brush website at www.cityofmadison.com/BrushCollection.

For more information about the Streets Division drop-off sites to learn their hours, locations, and restrictions visit www.cityofmadison.com/DropOffSites

And for more information about all of the Streets Division services, please visit www.cityofmadison.com/Streets. 

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