How Homestead Handles Trash & Recycling: A Practical Guide

Homestead maintains 129 local ordinances across all categories, and 9 of those deal specifically with trash & recycling. Here is a breakdown of what the city actually requires, what is prohibited, and where Homestead falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.

Recycling Requirements

Homestead provides single-stream recycling for residential properties. Recyclable materials include paper, cardboard, plastic containers, glass, and metal cans. Contamination with non-recyclable items (plastic bags, styrofoam, food waste) can cause entire loads to be rejected. Florida does not mandate residential recycling but encourages it.

Key details: Type: Single-stream curbside. Accepted: Paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metal. Not Accepted: Plastic bags, styrofoam, food waste. State Goal: 75% recycling rate target. Contact: Public Works Department.

No fines for not recycling. Contaminated bins may be skipped or collected as trash. Repeated contamination may result in recycling service suspension. Contact Public Works for recycling questions.

Recycling Rules

Homestead Code § 23.5-2(f) requires multifamily buildings with twelve or more units, and new commercial establishments, to subscribe to recycling service. Multifamily buildings must recycle a minimum of five materials and commercial establishments three, both set by Metro-Dade ordinance, and noncompliance is itself a code violation.

Key details: Covered properties: Multifamily (12+ units), new commercial. Multifamily minimum: 5 recyclable materials. Commercial minimum: 3 recyclable materials. Source of material list: Metro-Dade Ord. Ch. 15, § 15-2 (1991). Franchise required: To haul recyclables commercially (§ 23.5-5(e)).

Section 23.5-2(f) makes noncompliance by a covered multifamily or commercial establishment a violation of the section, with liability as prescribed by the referenced Metro-Dade County ordinance. Separately, running a commercial recyclables collection route in the city without a franchise is unlawful under § 23.5-5(e), and general chapter violations are enforced through the Chapter 7 code enforcement special-master process described in § 23.5-9, where each day of a continuing violation is treated as a separate offense.

Pickup Rules & Schedules

Homestead provides curbside trash collection twice weekly and recycling collection once weekly for residential properties. Bins must be placed at the curb by collection time and retrieved afterward. Yard waste is collected separately. The city contracts with a waste hauler for residential collection services.

Key details: Trash Pickup: Twice weekly. Recycling: Once weekly, single stream. Yard Waste: Separate collection. Bin Placement: At curb by 6:00 AM collection day. Contact: Public Works Department.

Bins left at curb past collection day face warnings and fines. Improper waste placement carries fines of $25 to $100. Contact Public Works for collection schedule information.

Bin Placement Rules

Homestead requires dumpsters to be screened behind an opaque fence or enclosure and kept off rights-of-way, while residential supercans may only go to the curb after 6:00 p.m. the night before pickup and must be pulled back in by 8:00 p.m. on pickup day.

Key details: Governing section: City Code Sec. 23.5-3. Supercan set-out time: Not before 6:00 p.m. day prior. Supercan retrieval deadline: By 8:00 p.m. on pickup day. Dumpster requirement: Enclosed structure or opaque screening. Placement default: Rear of premises.

Leaving a dumpster unscreened, on a right-of-way, or on neighboring property violates Sec. 23.5-3(a); putting a supercan out before 6:00 p.m. the prior evening or failing to retrieve it by 8:00 p.m. on pickup day violates Sec. 23.5-3(d). Both are Chapter 7 code enforcement board violations subject to citation, and a condemned container caused by user neglect gets billed to the utility account under Sec. 23.5-4.

Collection Schedule

Every Homestead residence not in a new development must subscribe to city garbage collection, with containers emptied at least twice a week and garbage never allowed to sit more than 4 days. New developments must use a city-franchised commercial hauler instead.

Key details: Governing sections: City Code Secs. 23.5-2, 23.5-7. Minimum pickup frequency: Twice weekly. Max accumulation: 4 days. Container capacity required: 4 days' worth of garbage. Franchisee notice to discontinue: 7 business days.

Failing to subscribe to required garbage or recycling service, or letting garbage or trash accumulate beyond 4 days, violates Secs. 23.5-2 and 23.5-7 and is enforced under Chapter 7's code enforcement board; the city may also refuse to collect waste placed in violation of the chapter under Sec. 23.5-9(b), charging a special pickup fee if it collects anyway.

Dumpster Rules

Homestead requires every commercial dumpster to sit on the private property receiving service, fully enclosed in a structure or screened behind an opaque fence, wall, gate or landscaping, per Code of Ordinances § 23.5-3(a). Dumpsters can never sit on a city right-of-way or a neighbor's lot. A hardship waiver route exists for lots that physically cannot comply.

Key details: Location required: Private property only, never a city ROW. Screening standard: Fully enclosed or opaque fence/wall/gate. Surface requirement: Durable, nonabsorbent dumpster pad. Waiver authority: Director of development services. Appeal window: 30 days to city council.

Under the city's Schedule of Violations and Civil Penalties (§ 7-35), "Garbage containers required but not provided (commercial)" carries a $500 initial civil penalty, $1,000 for a repeat violation and $5,000 for a second repeat, with a courtesy notice given first. Improper disposal of garbage by a commercial or industrial user carries the same $500/$1,000/$5,000 tiers but without a courtesy notice, and citations run through the code enforcement special master process in Chapter 7.

Bulk Item Disposal

Homestead Code § 23.5-6 entitles each residence to semi-monthly curbside pickup of up to ten cubic yards of bulky trash, yard and garden waste, white goods or noncombustible refuse, set out no earlier than the day before collection. Commercial establishments generally arrange their own disposal, and homeowner's associations in new developments must contract with a franchisee.

Key details: Residential allowance: 10 cu. yd. bulky trash, semi-monthly. Set-out timing: No earlier than day before pickup. Minor C&D debris: 1 cu. yd. per unit (§ 23.5-8). New developments: HOA must contract with a franchisee. Commercial pickups: Yard waste only, not general bulk.

Under § 7-35, "Excessive accumulations of trash for city pickup" carries a $500 initial civil penalty, $1,000 for a repeat violation and $5,000 for a second repeat, with a courtesy notice given first. Section 23.5-6(i) separately makes anyone who deposits bulky waste outside the rules responsible for the cleanup cost if the city has to do it, on top of any § 7-35 citation, and enforcement runs through the Chapter 7 code enforcement special-master process.

Yard Waste Collection

Homestead gives each residence semi-monthly curbside pickup of up to 10 cubic yards of yard and garden waste, but it must be separated from garbage, kept out of garbage containers, and set at least 5 feet from any wall, fence, or obstruction.

Key details: Governing section: City Code Sec. 23.5-6. Collection frequency: Semi-monthly curbside. Pile limit: 10 cubic yards. Set-out timing: No earlier than day before pickup. Clearance required: 5 feet from walls/fences/obstructions.

Setting out yard waste more than one day before the scheduled pickup, exceeding the 10-cubic-yard pile limit, mixing yard waste with garbage, or placing it within 5 feet of a wall, fence, or obstruction violates Sec. 23.5-6 and is enforced under Chapter 7's code enforcement board; the city may also refuse to collect noncompliant piles under Sec. 23.5-9(b).

Illegal Dumping

Homestead Code § 23.5-5(a) bans depositing or burying garbage, refuse, rubbish, trash or waste in any street, alley, sidewalk, lot, storm sewer, canal or watercourse, or keeping it anywhere in the city outside an approved, regularly collected container. Burning refuse is banned outright. Violators face the code enforcement board or court, plus civil penalties starting at $500.

Key details: Prohibited: Dumping/burying waste in streets, lots, canals. Also banned: Burning refuse anywhere in the city. Franchise required: For commercial trash/recyclables collection. Each day: Counts as a separate offense (§ 23.5-9). First-offense fine: $500, no courtesy notice (§ 7-35).

The city's civil-penalty schedule, § 7-35, lists "Illegal dumping" at a $500 initial penalty, $1,000 for a repeat violation and $5,000 for a second repeat, with no courtesy notice given first, meaning a citation can issue on the first inspection. "Improper disposal of garbage (residential)" and "(commercial or industrial)" carry the identical $500/$1,000/$5,000 tiers, also without a courtesy notice, and "Accumulation of garbage, trash, junk and/or debris" is a separate $500/$1,000/$5,000 citation that does get a courtesy notice first.

Compared to other cities, Homestead takes a harder line on illegal dumping. The enforcement and penalty structure reflects that.

The Bottom Line

Homestead's trash & recycling rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming Homestead is broadly strict or permissive.

This guide is based on Homestead's current municipal code. Local rules can and do change, so check the individual ordinance pages for the latest details, penalties, and FAQs.