Winter Haven, FL Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)

Section 14-35 of the Code of Ordinances sets the pickup frequency for every category of refuse the city collects. Residential garbage must go out no less than once a week; the city, not a private hauler, runs the route under Sec. 14-34, and only a business holding a temporary commercial collection permit under Sec. 14-40 may collect refuse for a fee within city limits. When a recognized holiday lands on the normal collection day, the truck does not skip that stop: collection shifts to the next day, and the remaining stops for that week are adjusted around the change so nobody loses a week of service.

Commercial garbage is collected between one and six times a week depending on volume, except that any commercial establishment serving food must be picked up as often as the county health department requires. A commercial account using a residential-size container is billed and scheduled as residential rather than commercial under the same section. Garbage and refuse charges ride on the consolidated water, sewer and refuse utility bill under Sec. 14-61, and under Sec. 14-60 the whole fee schedule automatically rises two and one-half percent every October 1.

An account billed for refuse only is delinquent if not paid by the 15th of the following month and is subject to stoppage of service without further notice under Sec. 14-62. Violations of the collection scheme, such as an unauthorized private hauler working city streets for a fee, are enforced through the code enforcement board and citation process under chapter 2 of the code per Sec. 14-12, and Sec. 1-13's citywide general penalty backstops any collection offense lacking its own fine at up to $500, with each day of a continuing violation counted separately.