Leaf Pickup 2026: New Lenox, Frankfort, Mokena and Manhattan, IL (Dates and Rules)

Leaf Pickup in Four Villages at a Glance

These villages border each other but handle leaves very differently. A Frankfort neighbor can rake loose leaves to the curb; a Mokena neighbor a mile away has to bag them and call ahead.

New Lenox Leaf Pickup

New Lenox has two free options this fall: bag the leaves, or rake them to the parkway for the vacuum truck.

Bagged leaves: free, no sticker, on your garbage day

During the fall leaf period, leaves in brown paper yard waste bags go out free with no sticker on your regular garbage day. Homewood Disposal's New Lenox page, updated October 1, 2026, lists these pickup dates:

• October 22 and 23
• October 29 and 30
• November 5 and 6
• November 12 and 13
• November 19 and 20
• November 27 and 28 (Thanksgiving week)

Homewood splits New Lenox into Thursday and Friday routes, so you get the date in each pair that matches your garbage day. The map on Homewood's New Lenox page shows which day your street is. Two catches: the free pass covers leaves only, so bags with grass clippings, garden waste or brush still need a yard waste sticker, and plastic bags are not accepted. The village also gives senior households (over 65) ten free yard waste bags each fall at Village Hall, mid-September through the end of November, with ID.

Loose leaves: the Public Works vacuum truck

New Lenox Public Works vacuums loose leaves from the parkway in spring and fall. The truck starts on the north side of the village and works south each week. The village page does not post 2026 vacuum dates. The most recent official dates we found are from the October 2025 village newsletter: the 2025 program ran, weather permitting, from Monday, October 6 through November 29, with a goal of reaching each area about once a week, with no set pickup days. Call Public Works for this year.

• Rake leaves onto the parkway parallel to the street, about 12 inches behind the curb and no farther than 3 feet from it.
• Never in the street or the curb and gutter. The village says those leaves blow around, block storm water and cause street flooding.
• Leaves only. No garden material, brush, branches, cans, paper or bottles.
• Keep piles clear of parked cars, trees, mailboxes, fire hydrants and streetlights. A blocked pile gets skipped.

Branches and brush

The village chipper runs the first and third Tuesdays, April through October, by request through the village's Branch Pick-Up form, so the 2026 season is over. Through November 30, smaller branches can go out with Homewood yard waste: 3 or 4 foot lengths, no more than 6 inches in diameter, bagged or tied in bundles, with a sticker on each. When the chipper returns, branches go on the parkway untied, 1 to 12 inches in diameter, cut ends toward the street, with a fresh request before every pickup.

Stickers, carts and burning

Weekly yard waste runs April 1 through November 30 in 33-gallon brown paper bags with a Homewood yard waste sticker, sold at Village Hall and local stores. Neither the village nor Homewood posts the sticker price online. A blue 95-gallon yard waste cart can be rented from Homewood instead (708-798-1004 for pricing). On burning, New Lenox code section 42-62 makes it unlawful to burn rubbish, garbage or any organic refuse outdoors in the village; the exceptions for homeowners are cooking and small campfires of seasoned, dry firewood.

Who to call: New Lenox Public Works, 815-215-4800. Village Hall, 815-462-6400.

Frankfort Leaf and Branch Pickup

Frankfort picks up loose leaf piles at the curb for about six weeks, with firm rules on where the piles go.

Loose leaf collection: October 19 to December 1, 2026

The Village of Frankfort lists 2026 leaf collection from October 19 through December 1. Crews start at the east end of the village and work west, six days a week in a continuous cycle with no designated days. One full pass through the village can take up to a week.

• Rake leaves to the edge of the road or curb.
• Do not rake or blow leaves onto the street. The village says that violates ordinance and can result in a fine.
• Do not put leaves in the ditch. It can cause flooding and slows collection.
• Leaves only. Piles with grass clippings, twigs, branches or garden debris are refused and have to go in stickered yard waste bags.

Frankfort yard waste pickup (bags and stickers)

Bagged yard waste goes out with Homewood Disposal on Mondays. Every bag needs a yard waste sticker, sold at the Village Administration Building and several local stores; the price is not posted online. The village says the yard waste season typically runs from the first Monday in April to the last Monday in November. A rented 95-gallon yard waste cart skips the stickers.

Frankfort branch pickup

The 2026 brush season ran April 6 through October 12. Homes east of Route 45 were on the first and third Mondays, homes west of Route 45 on the second and fourth, out by 6:30 a.m., with no special pickup requests. The village's guidelines: branches at least 1 inch in diameter, anything over 12 inches cut into 18-inch lengths, stacked neatly with cut ends facing the street, no full trees, and nothing cut by anyone other than the homeowner. That last rule matters if you hire out bush and hedge trimming: make sure the quote includes hauling the clippings away. Now that brush routes are done, small branches go out as 3 to 4 foot bundles with a sticker on your Monday yard waste pickup.

Burning and who to call

Frankfort code section 94.25 prohibits burning leaves and grass clippings in the village, except on weekends the village may set by resolution. We did not find any such weekends announced for 2026. The fine is $50 to $750 per offense, and section 96.01 separately bans burning leaves on any street, parkway, sidewalk or right-of-way. Who to call: Frankfort Public Works, (815) 469-2177. If you live in Frankfort Square or unincorporated Frankfort, Homewood notes your service is not the same as the village's.

Mokena Leaf and Branch Pickup

Mokena does not pick up loose leaves. Instead, village crews make free pickups of bagged leaves and bundled branches four times a year, twice in fall and twice in spring, and you have to ask.

Fall 2026 free pickups: October 26 and November 9

The village's October 2026 newsletter and its pickup form list two free fall pickups: October 26 and November 9. As of October 28, November 9 is the one left. To get on the list, fill out the village's online Leaf and Branch Pick Up form or call (708) 479-3900 before the pickup date.

• Leaves must be bagged. The current form strongly encourages brown paper bags; the program page allows plastic or paper up to 55 gallons.
• No landscape stickers are needed for these pickups.
• Bundle branches with string or twine. The form says no longer than 4 feet; the program page says 3 feet, so 3 feet satisfies both.
• Set bags out the day before. The village says it may take a few days to reach your house.
• Grass clippings and other yard waste are not part of this program.

Mokena branch pickup and weekly yard waste

Between the free days, yard waste and branches go out with NuWay Disposal on Tuesdays, April through November. Use paper yard waste bags with a sticker ($3.45 each, subject to change, sold at Village Hall and local stores) or rent a 95-gallon toter from NuWay at (708) 479-9555, which needs no stickers. Branches should be cut to 3 to 4 feet, in bundles no wider than 6 inches in diameter, tied with string or twine, with a sticker on each bag or bundle.

Burning and who to call

Mokena's open burning ordinance prohibits residents from burning garbage or yard waste, including leaves, twigs, branches and grass. Supervised, contained recreational fires used mainly for cooking are allowed. The October 2026 newsletter repeats that burning leaves is not permitted within village limits and may result in a fine. The ordinance does not reach unincorporated areas. Smoke complaints go to Mokena Police at (708) 479-3912. Who to call: Village of Mokena, (708) 479-3900.

Manhattan, IL Leaf Pickup

We checked the Village of Manhattan website and did not find a curbside loose-leaf or vacuum program. In Manhattan, leaves are yard waste, and yard waste goes out with WM.

Weekly yard waste on Mondays, through December 14, 2026

Yard waste is collected on Mondays from the first Monday in April through the second Monday in December. The village's 2026 WM schedule lists the final yard waste collection on December 14, 2026, and everything must be at the curb by 6 a.m. Use one of three containers:

• Kraft-type paper yard waste bags.
• Your own standard 32-gallon can, marked with a "Yard Waste Only" sticker. The stickers are free at Village Hall.
• A rented WM yard waste tote.

The village page does not mention a per-bag charge. WM's 2026 schedule also lists street sweeping on November 10, one more reason to keep leaves out of the street.

Branches

Tree branches, bushes and limbs go out with yard waste on Mondays, cut into 4 foot lengths and bundled with string or twine. Each bundle must weigh less than 50 pounds.

Burning and who to call

Manhattan prohibits burning leaves, grass, brush trimmings from trees and bushes, and garbage within the village (Ord. 1033, 2009). Recreational fires are allowed on private property with an adult supervising. Who to call: Village Hall, 815-418-2100. Public Works, 815-418-2083. Refuse questions, Utility Billing at 815-418-2110.

Tips for Getting Leaves to the Curb Without a Fine

Each rule below comes from the village or hauler pages in our sources, with the village named.

1. Keep leaves out of the street, gutter and ditch. Frankfort says raking or blowing leaves onto the street violates ordinance and can bring a fine, and ditch piles can flood. New Lenox says street leaves block storm water and flood the road.
2. Leaves only in loose piles. Frankfort refuses piles with grass, twigs, branches or garden debris, and New Lenox's vacuum crews skip piles with debris mixed in.
3. Leave room for the truck. New Lenox's vacuum cannot reach leaves behind parked cars, mailboxes, trees, hydrants or streetlights.
4. Use paper bags and keep them liftable. Homewood (New Lenox, Frankfort and Mokena) does not take yard waste in plastic bags and limits bags to 50 pounds. Manhattan wants kraft paper. Mokena's free pickup days are the one exception that allows plastic.
5. Request ahead in Mokena. No request, no pickup. Submit the form before November 9.
6. Do not burn the pile. All four villages restrict it.
7. Or skip the pile. New Lenox suggests a mulching mower where trees are not mature, which chops leaves back into the lawn.

When It Is Easier to Have Them Hauled

Village pickup costs little or nothing, and if you have two young trees and a free Saturday, use it. It gets harder when the yard has big oaks and maples that keep dropping into late November, beds and fence lines packed with leaves that a rake cannot reach, or a pickup window that already went by.

That is the job Jake Bogda does with fall cleanup and leaf removal. Leaves are blown out of the beds and corners and off the lawn, then bagged or hauled away. Nothing is left at the curb, so the vacuum schedule, sticker count and request deadlines stop being your problem. Big-tree yards often take two visits through November, and that is quoted up front.

• Free quote, priced by the yard.
• Text a photo of the yard and Jake usually quotes the same day.
• No contracts.
• Serving Manhattan, New Lenox, Frankfort and Mokena.

Planning ahead for next year's shrubs too? See when to trim bushes in Illinois.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

All pages checked October 28, 2026. Where 2026 details were not posted, we say which year the information comes from.

• Village of New Lenox: Waste, Garbage, Recycling and Yard
• Homewood Disposal: New Lenox service and 2026 free fall leaf dates
• Village of New Lenox: The Villager, October 2025 (leaf vacuuming program)
• New Lenox Code of Ordinances, Chapter 42, Article III, Open Burning
• Village of Frankfort: Branch and Leaf Pickup
• Village of Frankfort: Garbage and Recycling
• Homewood Disposal: Frankfort service
• Frankfort Code of Ordinances, Section 94.25, Burning of Leaves
• Frankfort Code of Ordinances, Section 96.01, Open Burning on Public Streets and Ways
• Village of Mokena: Leaf and Branch Pick Up request form
• Village of Mokena: Seasonal Free Leaf and Branch Pick-Up
• Village of Mokena: Yard Waste and Branch Disposal
• Village of Mokena: Leaf and Open Burning
• Village of Mokena: News You Can Use, October 2026
• Homewood Disposal: Mokena service
• Village of Manhattan: Yard Waste Collection
• Village of Manhattan: Holidays and Clean-Up Days (2026 WM schedule)
• Village of Manhattan: Garbage and Recycling
• Village of Manhattan: Open Burning is Prohibited
• Village of Manhattan: Streets, Sidewalks and Parkways (Public Works)
• Homewood Disposal: Yard Waste Stickers and Collection