Clearwater, FL Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)
Key Facts
- Residential frequency
- Once weekly
- Effective date
- January 11, 2016
- No pickup days
- Saturdays, Sundays, holidays
- Commercial option
- Daily service available at regular rate
- Putrescible waste minimum
- At least once a week
- Enforcing agency
- Solid waste/general services department
Summary
Clearwater picks up residential garbage once a week on a regularly scheduled day, never on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays, under a schedule that took effect January 11, 2016. Commercial customers such as hotels, restaurants and hospitals can arrange daily service, and the solid waste director can force more frequent pickups anywhere putrescible waste turns into a health or odor nuisance.
(1)Frequency of collection.(a)Residential and small businesses. Effective January 11, 2016, solid waste accumulated by residences and small businesses shall be collected once-weekly on regularly scheduled days except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.(b)Commercial. Motels, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, hospitals, schools and other establishments may have daily collection services to fit their respective needs at the regular rates charged. Where necessary to protect the public health, the director of solid waste/general services or an authorized health department official may require more frequent collections.(c)Special collections. Restaurants and all other establishments having putrescible waste shall be collected, at minimum, once a week. If the waste becomes offensive in odor or becomes a nuisance, it shall be collected as often as deemed necessary to address the offensive odor or nuisance, at the discretion of the director of solid waste/general services.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 281(1) of the City Code fixes how often the solid waste/general services department has to come by. Residential customers and small businesses get once-weekly collection on a regularly assigned day, a schedule set by Ordinance No. 8748-15 and effective January 11, 2016; pickups never fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or city holiday, so a holiday week shifts the route to the next working day. Larger generators, motels, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, hospitals, and schools, can contract for daily collection at the regular Appendix A rate if their volume needs it, and the director of solid waste/general services or an authorized health department official can order more frequent pickups anywhere collection lapses would threaten public health.
Restaurants and any other business generating putrescible (food) waste must have it collected at least once a week regardless of route day, and if that waste starts smelling or becomes a nuisance the director can require pickup as often as necessary until the problem clears, entirely at the department's discretion rather than the customer's request. Enforcement runs through Sec. 12, before any citation to county court or referral to the city's code enforcement board.
Violations & Fines
Missing the weekly schedule itself isn't punished directly, but any resulting unauthorized accumulation of solid waste is a nuisance under the code and triggers a notice of violation from a code enforcement officer or solid waste employee. Failure to correct the condition after the notice period can lead to a summons to county court or a code enforcement board hearing, plus cleanup costs and up to $200.00 in administrative fees assessed as a lien against the property under Sec. 32.277(3).
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does Clearwater pick up residential garbage?
Can a Clearwater business get trash picked up more than once a week?
What if my restaurant's food waste starts to smell before the next pickup day?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Clearwater
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Clearwater to another location·View the Florida trash & recycling overview
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Collection Schedule in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Pinellas County handle collection schedule.