Fort Lauderdale, FL Trash & Recycling: Bulk Item Disposal (2026)

Sec. 24-26(6) governs how bulk trash, defined in Sec. 24-1 as household goods, horticultural trimmings, small building materials and construction or demolition debris, reaches the curb. It is placed on the swale, the strip between the roadway and the property line, and collected on the schedule the city sets. A pile cannot sit on the swale more than twenty-four hours ahead of its scheduled pickup date; putting it out earlier than that is itself a violation of the section. When that happens, the city issues a notice of violation with a compliance date, giving the resident a chance to fix the problem by removing or properly timing the pile.

If the pile is still there after the compliance date passes, the city schedules its own crew to pick it up, and every cost of that removal, including dispatch and travel charges, becomes the responsibility of the property owner, tenant or account holder. Bulk trash is handled separately from the weekly cart programs: yard debris too large for the yard waste cart and other bulky household items go out this way rather than in a container, and the director of public works sets the type, frequency and number of pickups needed under Sec.

24-26(2). Beyond the swale timing rule, Sec. 24-29 lets the city step in and bill the property owner if uncollected accumulations become a public health hazard, after 48 hours' notice. Enforcement of the general bulk trash rule runs through Sec. 24-2, tied to the Sec. 1-6 penalty of up to $500, up to 60 days in jail, or both, with continuing violations counted day by day.