Solid Waste Division

Teal and black trash cans placed in front of a house.

The Solid Waste Division offers residential and commercial garbage, recycling and yard waste services. 

Your trash is collected once per week.
Place it on the curb, in the city-provided cart, prior to 6 a.m. on your pick up day.

Find Your Pick Up Day

Residential Garbage Rules

The dos

  • All household garbage should be bagged and placed in a city-provided cart.
  • Place carts at the curb, make sure carts are at least two feet from obstacles, e.g. mailboxes, utility boxes, trees and shrubs.
  • Place the cart so that it's handle and wheels face your house. 
  • Carts may be placed at the curb between 5 p.m. the night before and 6 a.m. of your pick up day.
  • Paint cans: If cans are opened, cleaned out and any leftover paint is dry, you may place these cans in your cart.

The don'ts

  • Do not overload the cart or place items on top of the cart.
  • Do not leave your cart out overnight after your pick up day. Carts left on the curb the morning after the scheduled pick up may result in a $25 fee.
  • Do not place hazardous waste, such as oil, paint, pesticides or medical waste in the cart. Wet paint and other hazardous material can be taken to specific Orange County Government locations

Other information

Large item safety
You are required to remove all doors from refrigerators and freezers before placing the items on the curb. This is to ensure children do not become trapped inside the appliances.

Large Item Collection
Please put your large item out on your yard waste day. Click here to find your yard waste day. If we missed your large item, you can report it here, by calling Solid Waste at 407.246.2314, or email us at swcustomersvc@orlando.gov.

Stolen garbage cart
1. Fill out the online police report.
2. Write down your case number, and then call 407.246.2314 to request a new one.

Disabled Pick-up Service
The City of Orlando offers assistance with garbage cart pick up to homes where every resident is physically unable to bring the cart to the curb safely. Contact customer service to learn more at swcustomersvc@orlando.gov or 407.246.2314.

Billing or start/stop garbage collection 
All collection accounts are handled by OUC and listed on customers' monthly utility bill. The standard monthly residential fee for solid waste pick up is $21.68.

Your recycling is collected once per week.
Place it on the curb, in a city-provided cart, prior to 6 a.m. on your pick up day.

Find Your Pick Up Day

Residential Recycling Rules

The dos

  • Place carts at the curb, make sure carts are at least two feet from obstacles, such as mailboxes, utility boxes or shrubs.
  • Empty your recycling items directly in the cart, do not use bags.

Find Out What Is Recyclable

The don'ts

  • Keep bags out of the cart. Bags and sheets of plastic tangle the recycling equipment.
  • Do not place garbage, yard waste or hazardous waste in the recycling cart.
  • Do not overload the cart or place items on top of the cart.
  • Do not leave your cart out overnight after your pick up day. Carts left on the curb the morning after the scheduled pick up day may result in a $25 fee.

Your yard waste is collected once per week and includes only grass clippings, leaves, branches and twigs.

Place it on the curb, in bags or bundled, prior to 6 a.m. on your pick up day.

Find your pick up day

This helps keep our crews safe and allows them to collect yard waste in a timely manner.

Think 4

  • 4 cubic yards collected each week. This is equivalent to what can fit in the bed of a standard pick-up truck. 

  • Branches no more than 4 inches in diameter, 4 feet in length, and in 40lbs tied bundles.

  • Bagged yard waste up to 40lbs each.

Proper Placement for Quick Collection

  • Bags and bundles should be placed at the curb in front of your residence, not in the street. Street sweepers cannot get a clean sweep when there are obstacles in the road. Yard waste in the road can be a traffic hazard. 

  • It should not be placed under utility lines and tree branches, next to mailboxes, utility poles, and fire hydrants or on water meters. All can be dangerous for our drivers and prevent timely collection.

  • Yard waste should not be on top of or in front of storm drains. This prevents crews from accessing the storm drains and can clog/block storm drains, causing flooding.

Things to Avoid

  • Yard waste may not be placed inside the garbage cart. If yard waste is placed in the garbage cart, the cart will not be dumped until the yard waste is removed.

  • Yard waste does not include landscape ties, fences, or landscape pressure treated wood.

  • Yard waste that exceeds four cubic yards or weighs more than 40 pounds is considered a special pick up and may incur an extra charge. Any special pick up will incur a minimum $50 charge. Yard waste that fills a claw truck will incur a $350 charge; half a claw truck will be a $175 charge, etc.

Claw truck services

For immediate removal needs and claw truck services, please email swcustomersvc@orlando.gov for a quote.

Tree services should remove all materials they cut. There will be a charge to the resident to remove their tree trimmings.

Household hazardous waste (HHW) consists of leftover household products that can catch fire, react, or explode when in contact with other substances, or are toxic.

Any product that includes the following words on its label is considered HHW: Flammable, Poison, Warning, Corrosive, Explosive, Danger, Pesticide, Caustic or Acid. Latex or oil-based paint and items containing mercury, such as fluorescent lights and thermostats are also considered hazardous waste.

HHW is too toxic to trash and must be taken to a specified drop off location.

Common household hazardous products include:

  • Wet paint: oil and water based, aerosols, stains
  • Pool chemicals: chlorine, acids
  • Petroleum Products: gasoline, oil and diesel fuel
  • Rechargeable batteries: Ni-cad, Lithium-ion
  • Cleaning products: strippers, cleaners and soaps
  • Pesticides: insect killers, rodent killers
  • Herbicides: weed killers, tree stump rotter
  • Fertilizers: liquid and granular
  • Unknown or unlabeled products
  • LP Gas bottles
  • Fluorescent lightbulbs
  • Prescription Drugs Disposal Locations

Any product that includes the following words on its label is considered HHW: Flammable, Poison, Warning, Corrosive, Explosive, Danger, Pesticide, Caustic or Acid.

If you have questions about a product, please call the Orange County Solid Waste Hotline at 407.836.6601.

Hazardous Waste Rules

For your safety and the safety of our environment, please follow all product directions and avoid using these products in excessive amounts.

By law, Hazardous Waste cannot be collected curbside.

Hazardous Waste can be disposed of at the following facilities free of charge:

Orange County Landfill (accepts LP Gas Bottles)

5901 Young Pine Road
Orlando, FL 32829

Hours of Operation:
Monday – Saturday
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Phone: 407.836.6601 

Porter Road Transfer Station
1326 Good Homes Road
Orlando, FL 32818

Temporary Extended Hours
Hours of Operation:
Monday – Saturday
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Phone:
407.836.6601

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) Batteries

Don't let your old batteries spark trouble! If you charge it, don't trash it!

Did you know that those small lithium-ion batteries found in old phones, laptops, kids toys and other devices can be potentially hazardous if they're tossed into the trash with your other household garbage?

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are considered household hazardous waste (HHW), which consists of leftover household products that can catch fire, react, or explode when in contact with other substances, or are toxic. There is an increased demand for Li-ion batteries in electronics due to their small size and amount of energy they can store. These batteries can be a fire hazard when placed in household garbage or recycling containers.

When the batteries have reached the end of their useful life, or the item that contains the battery is no longer useful, they must be considered household hazardous waste and be disposed of properly. Li-ion batteries are commonly found in cell phones, laptops, tablets or e-readers, toys, e-cigarettes, power tools, etc.

Commercial container service for garbage collection is priced based on volume. We provide containers ranging in capacity from two cubic yards up to eight cubic yards and pickups from one to six times per week. 

Rules and regulations

All commercial establishments shall be charged a minimum fee per month for refuse collection services within the City of Orlando. This fee will be adjusted according to the level of service provided as set by City Council. Exceptions to the minimum refuse charges shall be made only with an approved contract from an authorized roll-off franchise company for roll-off compactor services.

See fee and pick-up schedule

Container Rules

1. The owner/occupant of the commercial establishment is required to submit a safe and accessible container location to the city for approval. Containers must be located a minimum of 6 feet from buildings, overhangs, and any other objects to prevent damage during the dumping process and comply with fire department regulations and City Code. When used, a container enclosure must be 12 feet wide by 10 feet deep (clear inside dimensions) with a 12-foot opening when the gates are open. Each gate needs to be equipped with a positive stop rod to hold the gate open.

2. City dumpsters cannot be moved without the permission of the Solid Waste Division.

3. All raw garbage, loose paper, or other materials that pose a “fly-away” hazard during the dumping process must be placed in sealed plastic bags before being placed in city dumpsters for collection. Liquid waste is prohibited.

4. Hazardous, infectious, or industrial waste are NOT allowed in city containers. This includes cooking oil/grease, major auto parts and large items that hang outside the perimeter of the container. Tires are prohibited from being placed into the city container. The customer will incur an extra disposal fee of $25 for each tire found in a city container.

5. Care, cleaning, and sanitation of city-owned containers is the responsibility of the establishment(s) using the assigned container. Pressure cleaning of city containers is available upon request for a fee.

6. For the safety of our employees, an over-loaded container where garbage is stacked above the side panels of the container, preventing the lids from closing will not be emptied. The excess waste must be removed from the container for it to be emptied. Solid Waste Division supervisors may authorize a chargeable extra dump for containers found to be overflowing.

7. Material stacked in front of or around a container, which prevents the container from being safely emptied, shall constitute a “blocked container,” and will not be dumped until the material is relocated by the establishment(s) assigned to the container. An extra dump fee will be charged to the appropriate establishment(s) assigned to the container.

8. Containers that are inaccessible due to obstructive parking or other reasons beyond the control of the Solid Waste Division may require a chargeable extra dump before the next scheduled collection day. It is the responsibility of the customer to ensure the container(s) are not blocked on the scheduled collection day.

9. Any container not emptied on the scheduled day must be reported to the Solid Waste Division within 24 hours of the scheduled collection day. This can be done online anytime at orlando.gov/solidwaste or by calling 407.246.2314 during normal business hours, Monday thru Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., except for city holidays.

10. To schedule an extra dump for a container please contact the Solid Waste Division at 407.246.2314, during regular business hours, (Monday thru Friday, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., except for city holidays). Calling before 10 a.m. will increase the possibility of an extra dump being scheduled the same day.

Apply for a Commercial Solid Waste Container

Roll-off Container Services

The City of Orlando maintains an exclusive right to waste collection in its city limits, but when it comes to roll-off containers, we authorize qualified, private haulers to provide this service through our nonexclusive franchise system.

Any company wishing to provide waste removal services in roll-off containers must first apply for and be granted a roll-off franchise.

Begin roll-off franchise application process

If you are seeking roll-off services for your home, business, or work site within the City of Orlando, our Solid Waste team can provide that service.

Request a roll-off dumpster

You can also choose from our list of approved roll-off franchise haulers.

View list of approved private haulers