Though the vast majority of Madison's trees have yet to change color, let alone shed their leaves, the city is getting a head start on its fall leaf collection.

Collection crews will start combing the streets this week as residents begin clearing out their lawns and gardens for the fall. The collection, which will run as long as weather permits, is just one of the steps Madison is taking toward becoming an eco-friendly city.

"Instead of filling up landfills, we can bring these leaves to compost sites at very low disposal costs," said Madison Recycling Coordinator George Dreckmann.

Dreckmann estimates between 15,000 and 18,000 tons of leaves will be collected this year and carried to three compost sites in Dane County.

Rather than use leaf vacuums, which are popular in other cities, Madison uses its rear-loading trash trucks to push leaves from the terrace between the sidewalk and the curb onto a dustpan that dumps them into the truck.

"We make use of our existing equipment," Dreckmann said. "Vacuums just sit unused all summer."

The leaf collection program’s roots can be traced all the way back to a cooperative effort between the city and the University of Wisconsin-Extension in the 1970s. UW-Extension, which facilitates educational programs addressing agricultural and natural resource development and other issues facing Wisconsin citizens, was at the time performing an experiment using composted leaves as organic fertilizer.

The City of Madison stepped in to help gather leaves, and the program grew from there.

"At the time, most people were bagging their leaves," Dreckmann said.

But by 1989, the city had banned leaves from Dane County landfills, two years ahead of a statewide ban. Today, the disposal of Madison's leaves is an environmentally and economically conscious undertaking, according to Dreckmann.

"When residents put their leaves in the gutter, the nutrients end up draining into the lakes," Dreckmann explained.

Leaves that are allowed to decay and wash out through storm drains and ditches fortify the growth of algae in Madison's lakes. In addition, bagging leaves in plastic leads to unnecessary waste.

Madison’s Streets and Recycling website recommends using compostable paper leaf bags when possible, and asks residents to place their leaves in piles on the terrace, away from mail boxes, trees and utility poles.

Dreckmann said he encourages Madison residents and students to compost or mulch as many of their leaves as possible, but understands this is not always feasible.

"There are just so many leaves," Dreckmann said. "It's unrealistic to expect anyone to compost them all by hand."

The main thing to remember, Dreckmann said, is not to rake leaves into the street. Most anything else from lawns and gardens, however, is fair game.

"We will take garden waste, debris and pumpkins," Dreckmann said. "So don't throw out your jack-o'-lanterns after Halloween."