MUSCLE SHOALS — Leaf collection in Muscle Shoals isn’t going as smoothly as it should, city officials said.

Butch Fleming, of the Muscle Shoals Public Works Department, said limbs, cinder blocks, wire and other debris are being mixed with leaves for curbside pickup.

The combination is causing damage to the trucks and creating delays in pickups.

Fleming asks residents to separate all debris other than leaves into another pile, which will be picked up by the city’s brush truck.

“When tree limbs, wire and those things get sucked into the machine, it hits the propeller and stops it up,” Fleming said.

He said when that happens the truck is usually non-operable for one to two hours while workers make repairs. It’s worse if it continues to happen because the propeller could eventually have to be replaced, Fleming said.

“That is not an overnight fix,” he said.

For questions about leaf and brush pickup, call the Public Works Department at 256-386-9250.