Skip Navigation

What To Do With Yard Waste

What to do with leaves

Excellent information from Green Guardian.com
Brush and Tree Branches
Compost sites (Go to the bottom of the page for a map to the closest site.)

TIP: If you take your yard waste or brush to a compost site, be sure to bring your ID to show you are a resident of Ramsey County.

What Do I Do With Brush and Tree Branches?

As the weather warms up and people get to work in their yards, we see a lot of brush-and-branch piles around town. The City Code does not allow you to keep brush piles on your property! They pose a fire danger, they encourage weeds and vermin, and they make your property and neighborhood look bad. But Community Clean-up is not until late September this year. What can you do?

  • FREE! Take your brush to one of the three County compost sites that accepts wood waste! Sites are usually open from late March or early April until late November on the days and hours given below. There is no charge to drop off, but you must show proof of residency in Ramsey County. The closest site to Falcon Heights is on Pierce Butler Route near Prior. The hours are
    • 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday
      • ,
    • 9 to 5 on Saturday and
    • 11 - 5 on Sunday.
  • Contact your garbage hauler and arrange a special pickup. Your hauler may have bundling and size requirements; be sure to ask when you call. There will probably be an extra fee.
  • Haul brush to a transfer station. These are private businesses that accumulate and store rubbish before taking it to the correct facility for disposal or recycling. They accept yard waste for a fee.
  • Haul brush to a business that specializes in composting and yard waste. Some of these may be willing to come to your house and pick up the material. Charges are comparable to a transfer station fee. Call first, so you know what fees will be charged for drop-off or pick-up.

Yes, all of these cost a little money, but it's worth it for the improvement to your yard and neighborhood!

Businesses that accept brush:

NRG Processing Solutions
(Still doing business at the same site, but they now have a different name.) 915 N. Albert St., St. Paul
Located just off Pierce Butler, east of Snelling
Open April - November, M-F 8-5, Sat 8-4, closed Sunday
651-641-1939

Vasko Rubbish Removal
313 Como Avenue, St. Paul
Located On como between Rice and Western
Open year round, M-F 6-6, Sat 7-1, closed Sunday
651-487-8546

Minnesota Mulch & Soil
Box 270202, St. Paul, MN 55127
Locations in St. Paul, Cottage Grove, White Bear Lake and elsewhere
Will pick up; call for quotes and locations.
651-755-4371
Christmas trees accepted at the White Bear Lake site in January.

Tip:

Why not get together with your neighbors and share the costs? Organize a "mini-neighborhood-clean-up" this spring and get your street spruced up for summer. You might find a neighbor willing to contribute a little more of the fee in exchange for some help bundling and removing their brush and branches. It's a good way to connect!

For more information and a list of transfer stations and compost businesses, call the Eureka Recycling Hotline at (651) 222-SORT or (651) 222-7678.

««««»»»»

What To Do With Leaves

Please Do Not Rake Your Leaves Into the Street

We have the streets swept twice a year in Falcon Heights. THIS IS NOT A LEAF PICK-UP SERVICE!
Some of our residents may assume that we collect leaves like Roseville does. WE DO NOT PICK UP LEAVES.

Please be a good neighbor. When you put your leaves into the street, you increase pollution of stormwater, add to slippery street hazards in rain or snow, and make a big mess in front of your own house and the other homes on your block. So please find another solution for the leaves from your yard.

  • Run the mower over them to mulch them in place, or
  • Collect them and put them in your compost pile, or
  • Bag them and arrange for your garbage hauler to pick them up, or
  • Take them to a Ramsey Compost site. Check our recycling page for a link to information about these sites.

Q: If I see my neighbor raking leaves into the street, who do I call?

A: First, talk to your neighbor in a friendly way. Maybe they are not aware that Falcon Heights does not pick up leaves. Maybe they don't realize what a mess it makes when the snow falls, or the damage it does to our watershed. According to our Public Works Department, some leaf piles are created by the sweeper vehicles, which push them out the the way. If you call City Hall, we will take the information, and we leave notes for residents who rake leaves into the streets when we see them doing it, but WE DO NOT PICK UP LEAVES. You can help by communicating in a friendly way, neighbor to neighbor.

««««»»»»

Composting

CLOSEST SITE TO FALCON HEIGHTS:

MIDWAY ST. PAUL — PIERCE BUTLER ROUTE AT PRIOR
Cost : FREE to Ramsey County residents
Map to Midway compost site

Materials Accepted
  • Leaves
  • Grass clippings
  • Soft-bodied plant material
  • Brush and tree waste
  • Branches
NOT Accepted
  • Stumps
  • Construction waste
  • Recyclables
  • Trash and all other waste
Hours of Operation
March 28–November 30, 2005 (weather permitting)

Saturday: 9 a.m.—5 p.m.

Sunday: 11 a.m.—5 p.m.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 11 a.m.—7 p.m.

CLOSED Tuesday and Thursday

CLOSED Holidays

All users of Ramsey County Yard Waste and Brush Sites will be asked for identification. Identification such as a driver's license, a utility bill with a Ramsey County address or a State-issued identification card verifying Ramsey County residency will be required prior to use of the Ramsey County sites.  Proof of residency is now being required to control costs of a program paid for by Ramsey County taxpayers.

Top | Yard Care Reminders | Recycling | Community | Home

© 2003, 2005 City of Falcon Heights