Jimenez works to retain leaf vacuuming
Mason Supervisor Andres Jimenez told Annandale Today he is working to ensure Fairfax County permanently retains its leaf vacuuming service.
Jimenez is also urging the county executive to make the program more accountable by picking up leaves in a timely manner. Currently, the county posts the leaf pick-up schedule online and on signs posted in neighborhoods, but is often late, sometimes by as much as two weeks. “It’s ridiculous,” he said.
The county vacuums fall leaf piles on curbs for 25,000 customers, representing just 5 percent of the county’s population. The vast majority of leaf vacuum customers, however, are in Mason District.
In July 2023, the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services recommended ending the leaf vacuum service after the 2023-24 season, due to rising costs.
After a county survey showed widespread support for the program, county staff in October 2023 withdrew the proposal it had submitted to the Board of Supervisors to eliminate the service for the following year.
Related story: County backs off plan to eliminate vacuum leaf service next year
The plans to end leaf pickups were postponed, the county announced, while it “reviews potential alternatives to the current service model.”
Meanwhile, the county redistributed the vacuum trucks this season to reduce idling and increase the number of homes served at one time. While residents may see fewer trucks in their neighborhood than in the past, those trucks will be more active.
The drought conditions have resulted in dry and fluffy leaves, which fill up the trucks faster, the county reports. This has caused some temporary schedule delays.
Last year, the county vacuum leaf collection program picked up more than 6,600 tons of leaves. The leaves were ground into leaf mulch and used for plants at the solid waste facilities.
