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Highway Department /  Fall Leaf Collection

If you have leaves to be picked up from April 1 to October 31 you should put them in yard waste containers. The Highway Department will pick up loose leaves out at the curb during the month of November.


Leaf Pickup Facts

Please use this sheet as a reference for how to properly recycle and reuse fall materials commonly placed out in front of neighborhood homes. If you have any further questions, please call our office at 631-7117. Thank you and have a happy fall!!

  • Can I rake leaves into the street? No! It’s unsafe and illegal, it plugs curbside receivers, and it creates traffic hazards from cars avoiding them in the street. They are also harder to pick up after many tires have driven over them. Please leave your leaves on the area between the sidewalk and the curb (or adjacent to the roadway for those without sidewalks) and the Highway Department will pick them up.
  • How many times do you go through the town? Leaf pick-up usually starts sometime in late October and continues into December. The Highway Department will go through the town as often as necessary to pick up the leaves.
  • Why can’t you schedule leaf pick-up? Our town is 54 square miles and has over 1300 streets, because of the size of Amherst we have divided the massive task of leaf pick-up into town wide districts. Weather conditions especially in November don’t allow us to have scheduled pick-ups, if there is an early snowfall or wind storm our priorities may change.   
  • How much of our Highway Department resources are put into leaf pick-up? During leaf season it’s “all hands on deck”. We have 5 leaf districts. Each district is staffed with people and equipment each day of the season. Since leaf collection is a priority in November other jobs have to be put off until leaves are picked up before the first snowfall.
  • Should I call the Highway to get my leaves picked up? Generally, no. If you think you were missed call 631-7117.  Please remember we do have equipment break downs, wind storms or snow that may delay leaf pick-up, however, our goal is to get all the leaves picked up by November 30th. This helps us immensely in preparation for snow season.
  • One last thing….Leaves can also be placed in yard waste containers or paper leaf bags for weekly pick-up from April 1st to November 30th by Modern Disposal.

We hope to provide tentative schedules for daily road maintenance, spring cleanup and other time sensitive information.  You can find new information on the Town of Amherst’s Track Us portal and on the Highway Department’s Facebook and Twitter (@amhersthighway1) accounts.

About Amherst

The Town of Amherst was established in 1818 and celebrated its 200th Anniversary in 2018. The town has a geographical area of 53.6 square miles and a population of greater than 122,000.

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Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The Town of Amherst ADA Coordinators are Robert McCarthy (Director of Human Resources) and Mark Berke (Commissioner of Buildings).

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The Town of Amherst takes great pride in providing useful, timely and accurate information through its official website. We encourage public participation in our website and ask that you provide your feedback to help us make our site even better. Contact the website administrator at toawebsite@amherst.ny.us.

Get in Touch

  • General Information:
    (716) 631-7000
  • Email:
    toainfo@amherst.ny.us
  • Address:
    Municipal Building (Town Hall)
  • 5583 Main Street
  • Williamsville, NY 14221