Fort Lauderdale, FL Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)

City Code sec. 24-26 sets the collection frequency: single-family and multifamily accounts of three units or fewer get solid waste collection twice weekly, or as otherwise scheduled by the city. Multifamily accounts of four or more units and all commercial accounts also receive twice-weekly service, but from a company licensed by the city rather than city crews, unless the city manager approves otherwise; that provision does not cover dumpster and bulk-container accounts. Recyclables go out roadside once weekly, and yardwaste is collected once weekly, both on the schedule the city sets.

The public works director decides the type of service, receptacle count and size, and number of collections based on what the city's equipment can handle. Bulk trash, defined in sec. 24-1, must sit on the swale area and cannot be set out more than 24 hours before the scheduled pickup date; putting it out earlier is a violation that triggers a notice with a compliance date, and if it is not cleared by then the city schedules its own pickup and bills the owner, tenant or account holder for removal, disposal, dispatching and travel costs.

Under sec. 24-27, city-issued containers must be pulled back to a secure spot on the property after collection, no closer to the street than the building line unless screened by shrubbery, foliage, a fence or wall, and cannot be left roadside overnight; the city can relocate a container left out in violation for a fee under sec. 24-47.