City of Raleigh Leaf Collection Option This Fall
Fall is here and so are the falling leaves. This year marks Raleigh’s final season of loose-leaf collection. Beginning Fall 2026, the City of Raleigh will transition to weekly yard waste pickup using carts and biodegradable bags. This year, you have three options for managing leaves:
- Place leaves in your yard waste cart or biodegradable bags on your regular pick-up day.
- Use loose leaf collection (final season begins November 12).
- Leave the leaves for an eco-friendly yard.
Want to use loose leaf collection for the final season? Get ready to rake those vibrant leaves into piles near the curb, but keep them out of the street, for special collection crews.
Read Here for more info about City of Raleigh Leaf Collection.
Read Here for Chapel Hill Leaf Collection Info.
Read Here for Wake Forest Leaf Collection Info.
Read Here for Town of Cary Leaf Collection Info.
16 Things You Should Never Flush Down the Toilet
- Chewing Gum – Chewing gum is notorious for sticking to surfaces. It can also cling to pipes and other waste, creating blockages.
- Cotton Balls or Swabs – Unlike toilet paper, cotton balls and swabs do not break down in water. They can accumulate inside pipes catching other debris and forming clogs.
- First Aid Bandages – The adhesive on bandages makes them stick to pipes while their plastic components are environmentally harmful.
- Paper Towel – Paper towels are designed to be more durable than toilet paper. However, their durability leads to them contributing to blockages in pipes and sewers.
- Ashtray Remnants – Ashtray remnants contain toxic chemicals that can leach into waterways, harming aquatic life. They do not break down easily increasing the risk of clogs.
- Feminine Products – Tampons, sanitary pads, and other feminine products should never be flushed down the toilet. These products are specifically designed to absorb water and, in some cases, can expand several times their original size. When flushed, they do not break down easily and absorb more liquid potentially leading to costly problems with your sewer line.
- Diapers – Diapers are designed to be highly absorbent and expand, which makes them non-biodegradable. They can cause immediate clogs if flushed down the toilet. Diapers should always be disposes of in the trash.
- Paint – Leftover house paint qualifies as hazardous waste and must never be flushed down the toilet. To dispose of paint properly, look for a designated paint drop-off site that handles such materials safely.
- Medication – Unused or expired medications can contaminate water supplies and harm aquatic life when flushed. Expired or unused pills can be returned to your local “drug take-back site” for proper disposal.
- Grease and Cooking Oil – Grease and cooking oil, including vegetable oil, will harden when it cools, causing severe clogs in your sewer lines.
- Hair – Similar to dental floss, strands of hair have the potential to create large, net-like balls that can tangle with other waste materials, leading to clogged toilets.
- Baby Wipes or Wet Wipes – Despite some claims that some wipes are flushable, wet wipes and baby wipes take a long time to break down, leading to clogs and backups in the sewer system. Always dispose of your wipes in a garbage bin rather than flushing them.
- Too much Toilet Paper – While toilet paper is designed to dissolve, excessive amounts can overwhelm the system, leading to immediate blockages in your home’s plumbing.
- Kitty Litter – Kitty litter, especially clumping varieties can solidify in pipes, causing blockages and smells.
- Food – Toilets are not equipped to break down food. Though food will eventually decompose over time, while it waits, it can cause significant blockages in your plumbing. Using the trash can is a far better disposal option.
- Bleach – Although a powerful disinfectant, bleach can degrade pipes over time and release harmful chemicals into the water supply, posing environmental and health risks.
Friendly Reminder About Your Air Filter!
Restricted, dirty air filters are #1 cause of trouble for your furnace or A/C system and can significantly reduce the life of the system if not taken care of properly. Make sure to check your filters every 3 months for optimum performance and to protect the hvac. Make yourself a note on your calendar to do this or put a post-it-note on your refrigerator so you don’t forget. Professional hvac companies do not recommend the pleated high efficiency filters or the “lifetime” filters as they are too restricting for furnaces. Preferably, look for lightweight glassfloss types.
Garbage and Recycling Preparation
We need your help to make sure curbside collection goes smoothly. Please read the below information on the process to properly prepare your waste for collection.
- Bag garbage before placing it in the cart to keep car clean, lessen odors, and reduce litter problems. Loosely place recycle items in the recycle cart. No plastic bags will be accepted in recycle cart.
- Use only city or vendor issued carts – no other carts or containers will be serviced by personnel.
- Carts placed at townhomes or condos must be labeled with the street address or unit number.
- Place garbage and recycling carts a few inches from the curb or edge of the street – not in the street.
- Place carts at least five feet from other objects (vehicles, mailboxes, fences, etc).
- The lid on a full cart should not be open more than 12 inches wide.
- Position carts so that cart handle faces your house. This will ensure the lid opens properly and is not damaged when emptied.
- Place cart at the curbside no earlier than noon the day before your collection day an dno later than 6a.m. on collection day.
- Vehicles parked near waste carts may prevent curbside collection service.
- Move carts from curb/street by 7p.m. the day after collection.
- Carts should be stored where they cannot be seen from the street.
Need Handyman Services to change light bulbs, hang a ceiling fan, tv, or shelves?
Reach out to Turnkey Residential Services at 919.213.1869 or services@turnkeync.com
18 Things You Should Never Put Down Your Garbage Disposal
- Coffee Grounds – coffee grounds do not break down easily, which can collect in the disposal and can lead to clogged drainpipes
- Bones – bones are tough and dense, making them difficult to grind – blades were not designed to handle this level of grinding which can damage the blades or cause disposal to jam up
- Pits & Seeds of Fruit – like bones, pits and seeds should be avoided as they are too rough and hard for disposal to grind which leads to damage and dullness of blades or blockages in the pipes
- Uncooked Meats – uncooked, raw meat can easily get lodged and attached on its way down the disposal and sides of your pipes. Not only can this start a clog, but it can lead to a foul odor
- Cooking Oils and Grease – throwing grease down the sink can cause it to build up over a period and cause severe bottlenecks and gradually gather around the blades impairing its power
- Egg Shells – the thin membrane lining the inside of the eggshell will stick around the blades and shredder ring causing malfunction of the device; in addition, if it remains in the sink for an extended period, it will begin to have foul odors
- Stringy, Fibrous Fruits and Vegetables – fibrous vegetables such as celery, artichokes, corn husks, and asparagus should be avoided down the drain as the long stringy fibers can wrap around the disposal blades leading to clogs and damage of motor
- Paint – paints such as latex and oil-based can cause damage to the disposal
- Starchy Foods – foods such as pasta, bread, and rice should be avoided in the drain as when they encounter water they will expand and lead to serious clogs
- Seafood Shells – hard shells of seafood, including mussels, lobster, crab, and oysters are extremely difficult to grind up
- Stickers and Labels on Produce – this might seem minor, but stickers and labels on fruits and vegetables cannot break down in the disposal and if enough of them accumulate they can cause damage
- Potato Peels – potato skins can go through the disposal without getting minced because of the skin’s thinness, however, they can lead to an immediate clog
- Onion Skins – onion skins have a thin membrane that can escape the blade without being minced, therefore, it can wrap itself around the grinder causing it to malfunction and lead to stoppage
- Oatmeal – raw oats can slip through the disposal without being touched, which can lead to them expanding later down the drain leading to plumbing issues
- Nuts – imagine your disposal being lined with peanut butter then how inefficient it would be at chopping things up if peanut butter was around it…this is what would happen if nuts were placed in the disposal. When nuts are smashed, they become a sticky thick paste
- Large amounts of Food – garbage disposals aren’t designed to replace trash cans although it is a reliable workhorse…for optimal results, it is best to discard smaller portions of food at a time as it does have its limitations
- Harsh Cleaning Products – products such as bleach and draino should be avoided in the disposal as they can cause damage and curtail the unit’s lifespan
- Nonfood Items – avoid placing any nonfood items down the kitchen sink drain such as paper towels, plastic, and glass items as the disposal was not intended to grind up or mince anything other than food…. these items can lead to severe damages that may require the disposal or pipes to be fixed
For payments, service requests, or to access your account, please visit turnkeync.rentvine.com/resident.
In case of an emergency, please call 919.213.1869.
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Our Mailing and Website Address:
Turnkey Residential LLC
PO Box 91205, Raleigh NC 27675
Holiday Hours:
Veteran’s Day – November 11th
Thanksgiving – November 26th-28th
