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Residents should anticipate slower collection service than in past years.

On Monday, April 6, 2020, the Streets Division will begin curbside brush collection.

Residents should anticipate slower collection service than in past years.

Collection depends on staff availability. In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Streets Division will adjust crew responsibilities to ensure critical operations like trash and recycling collection continue uninterrupted. Crews may need to be reassigned from brush pickup to perform crucial services, resulting in delays.

What is Brush?
Brush is woody material trimmed from trees, shrubs, and bushes that measure over 18 inches in length.

Leaves, weeds, grass clippings and similar plant debris is yard waste. Yard waste is a separate collection service.

When Will My Brush Be Collected?
To learn when you should place your brush out for pickup, go to the Streets Division’s brush collection website and click on the Pickup Schedule button.

Once on the map age, neighborhoods shaded green for “Pickup Pending” should prepare the brush for collection. Crews will be around soon.

The Pickup Schedule is updated at the end of each work day when brush collection is active. Residents wishing to know the most current information regarding the whereabouts of crews and the collection status of their neighborhood should check the Pickup Schedule website regularly.

Following the Pickup Schedule map’s guidance will ensure brush is out to the curb before collection crews arrive, and a collection opportunity should not be missed. The map will not be able to provide a specific date as to when collection will occur.

Residents can also call the brush and yard waste collection hotline at 608-267-2088 for estimates on collection. The hotline recording is updated weekly.

How to Prepare Brush for Pick-Up
In order for brush to be collected at the curb, it must not be longer than 8 feet in length, and must not be thicker than 8 inches in diameter.

Brush should be piled on an open area of the terrace away from trees, utility poles, and other obstructions.

Be sure to pile brush with cut ends facing the same direction, and separate brush from any foreign objects like loose dirt, metal, wire, rocks, and items set out for large item pickup.

Do not put brush into bags, boxes, or any receptacle. Brush placed into a container will not be collected. Smaller brush piles may be bundled with string or twine. Bundles must be shorter than 4 feet in length and must not weigh more than 40 pounds. Oversized bundles, and brush bundled with wire, will not be collected.

Do not pile brush in the street, or obstruct the sidewalk.

Also, do not mix brush with yard waste. Brush is a separate collection than yard waste, so the piles must be kept separate. Piles with material mixed together will not be collected.

More information about brush collection can be found on the Streets Division’s website, or by watching the “How to Prepare Brush Waste for Pick-Up” video.

Finally, the Streets Division will not collect brush that has been cut by a contractor.

Drop-off Sites and Brush Processing Center Remain Closed
The Streets Division’s drop-off sites at 1501 W. Badger Rd and 4602 Sycamore Ave and the Brush Processing Center at 121 E. Olin Ave remain closed to the public.

These sites will reopen once the Safer at Home Order has been lifted.

Collection Season
Curbside brush collection should last until the start of the fall leaf collection season.

Residents will have multiple opportunities for curbside brush pickup during collection season.

The official final round of brush collection will be announced when then start of the fall leaf pickup season is known.

Special Note: Large Brush Piles
Piles that will take chipper crews longer than 10 minutes to process will be assigned to a one-man crane vehicle to collect. The crane vehicle, also called a “clam,” will typically arrive within three business days of the chipper crew.

More Information
For more information regarding brush collection and other Streets Division services, please visit www.cityofmadison.com/streets.
 

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