Fall cleanup and leaf removal in Biddeford, Maine.
Biddeford's older neighborhoods have the kind of large, mature trees that come with houses built in the first half of the last century. The city's Public Works Department maintains the street trees, and its Project Canopy Committee plants more along streets and in parks. By late October, those canopies put a heavy layer of leaves on small lawns and into foundation beds.
A fall cleanup here takes leaves off the turf and out of the beds, cuts back spent perennials, gives the lawn its final mow, and hauls the debris away.
Where Biddeford's yard waste goes
The city's Recycling Center and Transfer Station at 371 Hill Street accepts leaves, grass clippings and brush, and it is open Wednesday through Saturday. Residents must show proof of Biddeford residency, and contractor loads of leaves or brush are charged by the cubic yard. Curbside trash pickup covers single-family homes and buildings of five or fewer units, but it is not a route for bagged leaves, so fall debris from a cleanup is carried off rather than left at the curb.
The same site runs a compost drop-off program, which is part of why keeping leaves and brush separate from other debris matters.
Leaf litter inside the shoreline buffer
Waterfront yards at Biddeford Pool, Fortunes Rocks and along the Little River are handled differently. Within the vegetated buffer next to tidal water, the state's shoreland guidelines say ground cover under three feet tall, including leaf litter and the forest duff layer, is not to be cut, covered or removed except for a footpath or other permitted use. Cleanups on those lots focus on the lawn and the planted beds and leave the natural buffer alone.
Leaves on wet ground
A matted layer of leaves left on a lawn over winter smothers the grass, and on Biddeford's poorly drained Scantic and Naumburg soils it also holds moisture against the crowns into spring, inviting snow mold. Clearing leaves before the ground freezes, and mowing the lawn short one last time, sends the lawn into winter dry and open.
In the beds, leaves are pulled from around shrubs and perennials, and spent stems are cut back. Plants that feed birds or protect crowns can be left standing when the owner prefers.
Storm drains and the combined sewer
More than half of Biddeford's sewer footage, about 56.6 percent in the state's 2021 figures, is combined sewer that carries stormwater and wastewater together, with seven overflow points. Leaves blown into the street end up in catch basins and that system. Cleanups here keep leaves on the property and out of the gutter, a small step that matters in a city working to separate its sewers.
Fall Lawn Care · Leaves · Final Mow
How we handle fall cleanup & leaf removal
Oak and maple leaves left on a Maine lawn all winter kill grass in patches. We rake and blow leaves off turf and out of beds, cut back spent perennials, do the last mow of the season and haul the debris.
See the full fall cleanup & leaf removal service page or everything we do in Biddeford, Maine.
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Sources for the local facts on this page
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