Trash & Recycling in Titusville, FL

If you live in Titusville or are thinking about moving there, trash & recycling are one of those things you probably won't think about until they affect you directly. Titusville has 9 specific rules on the books covering different aspects of trash & recycling, and some of them might surprise you.

Pickup Rules & Schedules

Titusville requires garbage, rubbish and bulky items to be containerized and set on the parkway next to the curb, not in the street, by 6:30 a.m. on collection day. Containers can go out no earlier than 5:00 p.m. the evening before and must be pulled back in by 8:00 p.m. the day of pickup.

Key details: Set-out deadline: 6:30 a.m. on collection day. Earliest curb placement: 5:00 p.m. day before collection. Latest removal: 8:00 p.m. day of collection. Governing section: § 16-59. Mobility exception: Physician's statement allows side-yard placement.

Waste that is not containerized and staged curbside by 6:30 a.m. on collection day may simply be skipped, leaving the resident to wait for the next scheduled pickup or pay for an extra collection at the Section 16-117 through 16-120 rate. Leaving containers out earlier than 5:00 p.m. the day before, or later than 8:00 p.m. the day of collection, is itself a violation of Section 16-59 and, absent a specific fine, defaults to the Section 1-15 general penalty of up to $500, up to 60 days in jail, or both, with each day of a continuing violation treated separately.

Collection Schedule

Every occupied or vacant residential, multi-dwelling and commercial unit in Titusville must subscribe to and pay for city solid waste service, and residential garbage and rubbish is collected twice a week under Section 16-76. Restaurants and other commercial food-waste generators get a frequency set by the public works director.

Key details: Residential frequency: Twice weekly (§ 16-76(a)). Service requirement: Mandatory for every unit, vacant or occupied. Governing sections: §§ 16-61, 16-76. Commercial food waste: Frequency set by public works director. Effective date: Oct. 1, 2001 billing (Ord. No. 37-2001).

There is no separate criminal fine written into Sections 16-61 or 16-76; enforcement runs through billing. A property owner who is required to subscribe but does not pay remains liable for the monthly service availability charge, including any period during which they attempted to disconnect and reconnect as a new account. Beyond the billing remedy, a violation of the chapter's service requirements can still be prosecuted under the Section 1-15 general penalty: a fine up to $500, up to 60 days in jail, or both, with each day of a continuing violation a separate offense.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Titusville actively enforces its collection schedule requirements.

Recycling Rules

Titusville requires recyclables to be rinsed, sorted by material and set at curbside by 6:30 a.m. on collection day under Section 16-92. Once placed for pickup, recyclables become city property, and Section 16-94 makes it a violation for anyone but an authorized city collector to take them.

Key details: Curbside deadline: 6:30 a.m. on collection day. Material prep: Rinse glass, aluminum and plastic; labels OK. Ownership at curb: Recyclables become city property (§ 16-94). Scavenging ban: Unauthorized pickup is a code violation. Nonprofit exception: Free city permit for charity fund-raising collection.

Unauthorized collection of curbside recyclables is expressly declared a violation of the chapter under Section 16-94, since the material is already city property once set out. Neither Section 16-92 nor Section 16-94 lists an independent fine, so violations, whether improper preparation, misuse of a city-owned container, or unauthorized scavenging, default to the Section 1-15 general penalty: a fine up to $500, imprisonment up to 60 days, or both, with each day a violation continues treated as a separate offense.

Recycling Requirements

Titusville households enrolled in the recycling program must separate recyclables from regular trash and set them out in the city-provided 18-gallon container. The city supplies the first bin free and up to three free replacements, but charges $5.89 for a fourth container issued to the same address.

Key details: Container size: 18-gallon plastic bin (§ 16-93). Free replacements: Up to 3 bins, no charge. 4th+ bin fee: $5.89 per container. Collection frequency: Once weekly. Governing sections: §§ 16-91, 16-93.

Section 16-91 and Section 16-93 set no standalone fine; the practical consequence of not separating recyclables is that mixed materials may be left uncollected or treated as regular household waste, and the fee consequence of losing more than three bins is a $5.89 replacement charge starting with the fourth bin. An underlying refusal to comply with the recycling program's separation and container rules falls under the Section 1-15 general penalty: up to a $500 fine, up to 60 days in jail, or both, with continuing violations counted daily.

Bulk Item Disposal

Titusville caps rubbish containers at 50 pounds and limits tree limbs set out for collection to 4 feet long and 24 inches in diameter, with Christmas trees exempted. Bulky items that can't be containerized must be stacked neatly beside the rubbish cans, and anything needing special equipment is the owner's responsibility to remove.

Key details: Rubbish container limit: 50 lbs per container. Tree limb limit: 4 ft long, 24 in diameter. Christmas tree exception: No size limit applies. Governing section: § 16-50. Oversized items: Owner's responsibility, city won't remove.

Rubbish or bulky items that exceed the container and size limits, or that are dumped loose rather than stacked neatly, are not required to be collected by the city, and the resident bears the cost of separately disposing of oversized material. Because Section 16-50 sets no independent fine, an underlying violation of the chapter falls under the Section 1-15 general penalty: up to a $500 fine, up to 60 days in jail, or both, with each day a continuing violation a separate offense.

Illegal Dumping

Titusville's Code of Ordinances makes it unlawful to drain, deposit, or discharge pollutants onto any street, gutter, ditch, or into the city's stormwater system, or to wash debris and sediment into a stormwater outlet. Violators face the city's general penalty of up to a $500 fine, 60 days imprisonment, or both, under Section 1-15.

Key details: Governing section: § 16-15, Titusville Code of Ordinances. Max fine: $500 per Sec. 1-15. Max jail term: 60 days per Sec. 1-15. Continuing violation: Each day is a separate offense. Enforcement body: Municipal Code Enforcement Board (F.S. Ch. 162).

A first offense under Section 16-15 is punishable, per the Section 1-15 general penalty, by a fine up to $500, up to 60 days in jail, or both. Each day a discharge or unremediated pollution condition continues is a separate offense. The city may also refer the matter to the Municipal Code Enforcement Board under F.S. Chapter 162 for civil fines, suspend a violator's business license or permit, and abate the condition as a public nuisance at the owner's expense.

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

Bin Placement Rules

Titusville requires every property owner or occupant to keep a sufficient number of durable, rustproof, tightfitting-lid refuse containers on-site, and to keep them clear and accessible to the collection crew on pickup day. Damaged or noncompliant containers must be replaced on notice or the city can refuse to collect from that address.

Key details: Container type: Metal, plastic or rubber, tightfitting lid. Garbage container size: 10-32 gallons, max 50 lbs (Sec. 16-49). Governing sections: §§ 16-48, 16-54. Inaccessible container: Pickup skipped until next scheduled day. Noncompliant container: Replace on notice or service is refused.

Failure to maintain a conforming container is remedied first by notice and replacement; if ignored, the public works director can refuse collection service to that address. An inaccessible container on collection day forfeits that week's pickup unless the resident pays for an extra trip at the Section 16-117 through 16-120 rate. Beyond service refusal and extra-trip fees, an underlying violation of the chapter defaults to the Section 1-15 general penalty: a fine up to $500, up to 60 days in jail, or both, with each day a separate offense.

Dumpster Rules

Titusville's Land Development Regulations confine commercial dumpsters and other refuse facilities to side or rear yards, banning placement in any yard that fronts a collector or arterial street on the city's Roadway Classification Map. Enclosures must match the principal building's architectural surface and be screened from public view. The Solid Waste Division separately charges a flat $43.95 monthly dumpster rental fee under Sec. 16-117.

Key details: Placement: Side or rear yard only, never facing a collector/arterial street. Screening: Six-foot opaque wall/fence, five-foot planted landscape strip. Dumpster rental fee: $43.95/month, all sizes (Sec. 16-117). Hauling rate: $5.46/cu yd refuse, $0.22/cu yd recycling. Governing sections: LDR § 30-259 and § 30-15(e).

Placing or building a dumpster enclosure outside the side or rear yard, or fronting a collector or arterial street, violates Sec. 30-259 and is enforced through the city's Land Development Regulations code enforcement process rather than a set fine. Separately, nonpayment of the Sec. 16-117 dumpster rental and hauling charges is treated as nonpayment of a city utility account under Sec. 16-122, which can lead to discontinuance of all utility services and a lien against the property.

Yard Waste Collection

Titusville picks up bulky furniture, appliances, tree stumps and large limbs at curbside through its special pickup service, but caps the city's free yard-waste vehicle capacity at about 20 cubic yards. Anything beyond that, or from undeveloped property, costs at least $10 and is billed at the city's labor and equipment rate.

Key details: Free vehicle capacity: ~20 cubic yards loose. Excess yard waste fee: Burdened labor rate + equipment charges. Undeveloped-lot minimum: $10.00 per requested collection. Governing section: § 16-63. Unpaid fee remedy: Lien against the undeveloped property.

There is no criminal penalty attached specifically to Section 16-63; the consequence for exceeding the free 20-cubic-yard capacity or for requesting collection from an undeveloped lot is a billed fee, the current burdened labor rate plus equipment charges for excess yard waste, or a $10.00 minimum charge for undeveloped-property pickup. Unpaid fees on an undeveloped property become a lien against the land. Any other violation of the chapter's disposal rules defaults to the Section 1-15 general penalty of up to $500, up to 60 days in jail, or both.

The Bottom Line

Titusville is tougher than many cities when it comes to trash & recycling. Out of the 9 rules covered here, 2 are rated strict. If you are a homeowner, renter, or business owner in Titusville, take the time to understand these requirements before they become a problem. Most violations come with fines, and some repeat violations can escalate.

These rules come from Titusville's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.