The Roanoke Times

File 2008 Jamie Boston pushes dead leaves into a bin during a cleanup along Walnut Avenue in Roanoke. The Roanoke City Council is considering several changes to its leaf collection policy.

Last year the city council cut loose leaf collection in Roanoke. Now, it's considering doing away with the collection of leaves in plastic bags -- and may instead require city residents to use special paper bags instead.

The council seemed ready Tuesday to require residents to use the paper bags and instate a $50 fee for the cleanup of leaves that either aren't bagged or are bagged in plastic.

After the council phased out loose leaf collection last year, the city continued to collect up to 25 plastic bags full of leaves per homeowner, plus an unlimited number of paper bags.

The plastic bags cost the city $23,218 in tipping fees, because they had to be torn open by sanitation workers so the leaves could be dumped, said Skip Decker, manager of the Roanoke's solid waste department. The paper bags aren't subject to those fees, because they'll decompose, he said.

Decker initially suggested that the council drop the number of allowed plastic bags to 15 this year, but the council discussed getting rid of them.

"I think we go straight for the whole thing," said Vice Mayor David Trinkle.

"We've already gone though a couple of stages, so I think it's time to either cut off the dog's tail or let it go," Councilman Bill Bestpitch said.

Decker also asked the council to consider reinstating a $100 administrative enforcement fee that's applied when residents rake their leaves up to the street but don't bag them. Residents are given a 72-hour notice to remove the leaves; if they don't, a contractor removes the leaves and the city charges the fee.

The council had waived the fee last year while the loose-leaf program was phased out.

Council members suggested reinstating the administrative fee at a lower amount of $50. The fee would be applied to both residents who rake the leaves to the street without bagging them and to those who use plastic bags instead of the required paper bags.

Decker said he'd work with Roanoke Valley stores to feature the paper leaf bags in prominent places.

Leaf collection is scheduled to run every other week from Nov. 15 through Dec. 13, with no brush collection during that time.

The council plans to discuss the matter again later his month.