Homestead, FL Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Location required
- Private property only, never a city ROW
- Screening standard
- Fully enclosed or opaque fence/wall/gate
- Surface requirement
- Durable, nonabsorbent dumpster pad
- Waiver authority
- Director of development services
- Appeal window
- 30 days to city council
- First-offense fine
- $500 civil penalty (§ 7-35)
Summary
Homestead requires every commercial dumpster to sit on the private property receiving service, fully enclosed in a structure or screened behind an opaque fence, wall, gate or landscaping, per Code of Ordinances § 23.5-3(a). Dumpsters can never sit on a city right-of-way or a neighbor's lot. A hardship waiver route exists for lots that physically cannot comply.
Garbage and trash containers shall be kept together in a place easily accessible to code enforcement and solid waste division inspectors. All containers, particularly commercial garbage dumpsters, are to be kept on the private property of the person receiving disposal service. All dumpsters shall be kept within a fully enclosed structure or shall be fully screened behind an opaque fence, wall, landscaping or gate. They shall under no circumstances be kept on city rights-of-way, public property or neighboring property not in the ownership or tenancy of the person by whom the garbage or trash is accumulated, whether such neighboring property is vacant or improved. Dumpsters shall be stored on nonabsorbent surfaces that are constructed so as to be durable, smooth, and easily cleanable. (Florida Department of Business Regulations, 7C-1.003(c), revised January 1991.) If a property owner is unable to comply with the provisions of this section due to the physical limitations of his or her property, the owner may apply to the director of development services for a waiver from this section.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 87).
Full Breakdown
5-3(a) puts commercial dumpsters and residential supercans under the joint eye of code enforcement and the solid waste division: containers must stay accessible for inspection, and dumpsters specifically must be kept on the private property of the person receiving disposal service, inside a fully enclosed structure or fully screened behind an opaque fence, wall, gate or landscaping. 003(c). A property owner who cannot meet these terms because of a physical limitation on the lot may apply to the director of development services for a waiver, showing a unique hardship or impossibility of compliance; the director can attach conditions to any waiver granted, and a denial can be appealed to the city council within thirty days.
Subsection (b) adds that all containers, residential or commercial, go at the rear of the premises, or on the side no closer to the street than the front building line if there is no rear area, camouflaged or screened from street view. Subsection (c) bars storing garbage in an open can or a covered portion of a garage or building without the public works director's written approval. on pickup day. The section traces to Ord. No. 90-04-15 (1990), amended by Ord. No. 95-06-40 (1995) and Ord. No. 2007-02-03 (2007).
Violations & Fines
Under the city's Schedule of Violations and Civil Penalties (§ 7-35), "Garbage containers required but not provided (commercial)" carries a $500 initial civil penalty, $1,000 for a repeat violation and $5,000 for a second repeat, with a courtesy notice given first. Improper disposal of garbage by a commercial or industrial user carries the same $500/$1,000/$5,000 tiers but without a courtesy notice, and citations run through the code enforcement special master process in Chapter 7.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep a commercial dumpster on the street in front of my Homestead business?
What if my property can't physically fit an enclosed dumpster?
Where must residential garbage cans be kept in Homestead?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Homestead
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Homestead to another location·View the Florida trash & recycling overview
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