Melbourne, FL Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)

Sec. 48-53(a) of the City Code makes solid waste collection mandatory rather than optional: all owners and/or tenants, agents, lessors, lessees, and operators of residential units, multifamily units, and commercial units, whether occupied or unoccupied and operating or non-operating, are required to receive solid waste collection services and to subscribe to and pay for the solid waste and recycling collection services the chapter provides. The billing requirement follows the property, not participation: individuals pay for recyclable material collection whether or not they actually put anything in the recycling cart, though the ordinance separately makes participation in the recycling program itself voluntary.

Rates for service are set from time to time by resolution of the city council under Sec. 48-53(d), and the city bills residential customers monthly under the collection contract, with the contractor handling commercial billing directly. 33 per cubic yard is layered on commercial and industrial accounts under Sec. 48-53(c) to cover the city's cost of administering and monitoring the contract. Special services that cost more than the standard rate require a signed customer authorization before the city will bill for them. Because the requirement to subscribe attaches to the unit itself, a property owner cannot opt out of city collection service by using a private hauler for routine household waste; Sec. 48-4 reserves that option only for commercial/industrial self-haulers and construction permit holders under a separate permit.