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District Services

Leaf Collection & drop-Off

Several unincorporated areas of Lake County, Indiana lack local leaf collection services. To address this gap, we provide leaf vacuum trucks that collect leaves from these residents free of charge, The leaves are then transported to the District’s compost site in Gary, Indiana, and converted into certified compost, which we offer back to residents for free.

The 2025 Leaf Collection schedule is now available!

Guidelines for Curbside Leaf Collection
  • Avoid putting leaf piles around obstacles such as vehicles, power lines, guide wires, utility poles and sign posts. Leaf piles will not be collected until relocated.
  • Avoid placing leaf piles at least 30 feet from major intersections.
  • Place leaf piles along the curb within 3 feet of the street (do not place leaves in the street) and keep piles short in length.
  • Make piles high rather than long whenever possible.
  • Cul-de-sacs will not be serviced where cars are parked and blocking access.
  • Avoid putting leaf piles in a ditch or on a curb with running or standing water.
  • Leaf piles must be free of branches, grass clippings, garbage, rocks, or any other foreign objects or chemicals.
  • Residents should note that all areas are scheduled for pickup once every other week.

If we are unable to complete an area on its scheduled day, our team will return on the area’s next scheduled day (2 weeks) and continue where we left off.

Please call or text PBS Enterprises with route and schedule questions only at (219) 798-5338.

call pbs enterprises

 You may contact the Lake County Solid Waste Management District at (219) 853-2420 with any other questions.

2025 Leaf Collection Schedule

⚠️Due to construction in the area as well as unpredictable weather, pickup days may vary without notice. To avoid being missed, we recommend having your leaves raked at the curb 1 to 2 days prior to your scheduled pickup day.
⚠️Due to the size of our serviced area, we cannot guarantee that all of your leaves will be picked up.  Residents may take bagged leaves to one of our four leaf drop off locations around the county.
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Leaf Collection Zone Information

Weeks of 10/27, 11/10, 11/24

Monday-Area 1

St John Township-Schererville Heights

  • Schererville town limits-North
  • W 93rd Ave-South
  • Cline Ave-West
  • Burr Street-East

Tuesday-Area 2

West Calumet Twp-W of Whitcomb

  • Ridge Road-North
  • W 53rd Ave-South
  • Colfax St-West
  • Whitcomb St-East

Wednesday-Area 3

West St. John Twp-St. John & Dyer

  • W 77th Ave-North
  • W 119th Ave-South
  • State Line-West
  • US41-East

Collection areas include the following subdivisions and Main Roads adjacent to:

  • Longwood off of W 81st/Calumet
  • Reeds off of W 81st/Catalpa St/Columbia Ave
  • W 91st Ave/Robinson/Moraine St/State Line
  • Trails Bends Estates off of W 93rd/Beall
  • Lorwood Estates off of W 91st/Oakdale St
  • Carlyle Acres off of W 85th/Jacobsons
  • Marydale off of W 85th/Christopher
  • Olde Hickory Estates off of Henry St/W 86th
  • W 77th/Ruth/Jay/Joyce St
  • W 77th/Ruth/Jay/Joyce St
  • Ahlborn Scenic off of US41 & W 80th Ct
  • Arrowhead Heights off of W 199th Ave/Hawthorne St
  • Hanover Oaks off of W 117th Ave/Hawthorne St
  • Palmira off of W 117th Ave/Belmont PI
  • Armbruster Woodland Acres off of W 113th Ave/Parrish Ave

Thursday-Area 4

West Center Township

*Leaves will not be collected on Thanksgiving Day. Area 4 will be collected on Friday 11/28 instead.

  • W 113th/Fathke-North
  • W 120th-South
  • Cline Ave-West
  • Whitcomb St-East

Collection areas include the following subdivisions and Main Road adjacent to

  • Pine Ridge Lakes off of W 117th/Edison
  • Woodland Estates off of W 118th/Lee St
  • Beaver Dam off of W 117th/Stevensons
  • Fathke/Burr St/W 115th-Bridge Road
  • Westwood Estates off of W 113th Ave/West Valley
  • Oak Hill Estates off of W 113th Ave/West Valley
  • Oakwood Hills off of W 113th/Durbin PI
  • Wognum Estates off of 231/Whitcomb St

Weeks of 11/3, 11/17, 12/1

Monday-Area 5

Cedar Creek Township-Lake Dalecarlia

  • 153rd Ave-North
  • W. Main Street-South
  • Colfax Street-West
  • Clark Street-East

Tuesday-Area 6

Middle-Center Township

  • West 101st Ave-North
  • West 125th Ave-South
  • Fathke Rd/Burr St/Bell St-West
  • Hendricks-East

Wednesday-Area 7

East Center Township

  • West 124th PI-North
  • West 133rd Ave-South
  • Jennings-West
  • Van Burren PI-East

Thursday-Area 8

East Calumet Twp-East of Whitcomb & Hobart Twp

East Township

  • Ridge Road-North
  • 53rd Ave-South
  • Whitcomb-West
  • Harrison St/Grant St-East

Thursday-Area 8

East Calumet Twp-East of Whitcomb & Hobart Twp

Hobart Township

  • East 31st Ave-North
  • East 34th PI-South
  • North Lake Park Ave-West
  • Laporte St-East

Leaf Drop-Off

Fall Leaf Drop off begins on October 27 and runs through December 5. The Leaf Drop-Off program is for residents of the unincorporated areas of Lake County, Indiana.

Leaf Dropoff Guidelines:

  • No plastic bags! All bagged material must be placed in brown biodegradable yard waste bags.
  • Material accepted for the program is limited to leaves and twigs.
  • Twigs should not exceed 3 inches in diameter by 3 feet in length. 
  • Residents are responsible for the purchase of their own biodegradable yard waste bags.
  • This program is not available to businesses, schools, or organizations. 

Leaf Drop-Off Locations

Residents can drop off their bagged leaves and twigs to the following locations:

  • Calumet Township Multi-Purpose Center
    • 1900 W. 41st. Ave., Gary, IN
  • Lake County Fairgrounds
    • 889 Court Street, Crown Point, IN (enter through the main gate on Court street and head straight to the west end of the fairgrounds)
  • Lake County Solid Waste Management District
    • 8695 Broadway Ave, Merrillville, IN
  • St. John Township Community Center
    • 1515 W. Lincoln Hwy, Schererville, IN

Contact Information

For further information please contact the Lake County Solid Waste Management District (219) 853-2420

This program is not available for businesses, schools, or organizations.

More District Services

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