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Free Leaf Mulch

Free Leaf Mulch Loading Day at the Property Yard
Saturday October 2, 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Operations' staff will use heavy equipment to load pickup trucks and open-bed commercial trucks at the Property Yard, 217 Gordon Road (next to the Recycling Center).  Staff will only load open-bed vehicles.  Be prepared to sign a waiver prior to vehicle loading.  You do not need to be a City of Falls Church resident or business to participate.  There is no limit to the number of loads available per customer.  For more information call 703-248-5176.

Self-Haul and Contracted Services

Due to budget constraints and a staffing shortage, leaf mulch delivery has been discontinued. However, free double-ground leaf mulch is available for pickup at the Recycling Center (217 Gordon Road), located near the Don Beyer Volvo at the intersection of Shreve Road and Route 7.  The Recycling Center is open 7 a.m. to dusk, 7 days a week.

Bring your own container and tools for loading mulch. You may hire someone to load and/or haul mulch for you. A list of mulch delivery services is available here. Contractors may not bring heavy equipment into the Recycling Center (no loaders or dump trucks, please). 

You do not need to be a City of Falls Church resident to pickup free mulch.

For comparison, if you received mulch delivery in the past, each truckload held approximately 5 cubic yards.  A large pickup truck will hold approximately 1.5 cubic yards of mulch.

The leaf mulch program accomplishes two important goals:

1. It saves tax dollars. Every fall, Department of Environmental Services Operations crews vacuum approximately 5,000 cubic yards of leaves from the curb. It is far less expensive to recycle the leaves into mulch and offer it back to residents than it is to haul the leaves away and pay to dispose of them.
2. It brings life back to soil. Adding leaf mulch to your soil will naturally turn clay-rich soil into nutrient-rich soil that is healthier for your trees and plants - with zero waste in the process. 

For more information, call the Environmental Programs Specialist at 703-248-5176 (TTY 711).