Residential loose-leaf pickup in Riverhead to begin week of Dec. 1

Riverhead Town’s annual residential loose-leaf pickup will begin the week of Dec. 1, the Highway Department announced.

Superintendent of Highways Mike Zaleski said the service will again take place over three consecutive weeks, with each area of town scheduled for a specific pickup period:

• Dec. 1 – Dec. 5: Laurel Lane to Northville Turnpike
• Dec. 8 – Dec. 12: Northville Turnpike to Hulse Landing Road
• Dec. 15 – Dec. 19: Hulse Landing Road to the Brookhaven Town line

Residents must have their loose leaves at the curb by 7 a.m. Monday of their scheduled week. The Highway Department will make only one pass through each area.

Town officials ask residents to follow these requirements:

• Place leaves in a single pile at the edge of your property, not in a line along the curb.
• Keep leaves off the roadway and out of drains. Town Code §103-22 prohibits yard waste from impeding traffic or blocking sidewalks.
• Do not rake leaves into the street.
• Do not put leaves out early. Residents must bag leaves until their scheduled pickup week.
• The program is for residential properties only. Landscapers are required to dispose of leaves themselves; piles put out by landscapers will not be collected.

Leaves can also be disposed of year-round by bagging them for regular curbside collection or bringing them to the town’s Yard Waste Facility on Youngs Avenue, where disposal is free for residents.