The town starts collecting leaves today. Homeowners should have them ready at curbside.

Nov. 1. The town’s leaf vacuuming begins today and continues through Jan. 31.

Leaf vacuuming will begin on Tuesday, November 01, and will run through the end of January 2023.

Residents may place their leaves at the curb to be vacuumed.

Tyler Beardsley

The town will run four trucks the majority of the time between November and January, said Tyler Beardsley, assistant town manager.  “When volume decreases, we will reduce the number of trucks,” he said.

When’s it on my street?

While there is no set schedule for vacuuming routes, trucks will make a full round through all streets and neighborhood at least once a month, if not more frequently, weather permitting, according to a news release from MaeLynn Joyner, town communications manager.

Residents may check the location of vacuuming trucks by using this link.  The tracker is available at Cornelius.org under “Quick Links” -> “Leaf Collection Map.”

No branches, please

The leaf vacuum also picks up acorns, but small branches, twigs and other debris will can clog or disable the machine.

What happens to all those leaves?

The leaves are taken to Soil Supply in Huntersville and turned into mulch, Beardsley said.

On the lake

Catawba Riverkeeper reminds lakefront homeowner that they should not blow leaves into Lake Norman.

Blowing or. dumping leaves into lakes causes:

—Depletion of dissolved oxygen; nutrient overloading, which later leads to algae blooms.

—Filling in of lake and burial of benthic biota. The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water. Benthic communities are complex and include a wide range of animals, plants and bacteria from all levels of the food web. Clams, worms, oysters, shrimp-like crustaceans, and mussels are all examples of benthic organisms.

—Safety hazards by creating a block to seeing below leaves.

In Davidson

Residents can pick up free Kraft bags will be available at   Town Hall, 216 S. Main St., during normal business hours. Bags will be located on the table in the atrium entryway.

The Town of Davidson does not provide yard waste or leaf collection at residences.

However, Waste Pro, the town’s contractor, will collect yard waste and bagged leaves during the regular trash and recycling schedule.