Miami, FL Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Pad material
- Concrete, above ground level
- Screening
- Chain-link with slats or wood picket
- Prohibited locations
- Street, alley, sidewalk, right-of-way
- Hauler cleanup radius
- 10 feet around container
- Enforced by
- City Solid Waste Director
Summary
Miami requires commercial dumpster pads to be concrete platforms, screened from view, and rodent-resistant, with containers barred from streets, alleys and sidewalks.
(c)The garbage or trash container site for commercial properties shall:(1)Be situated in an easily accessible location for collectors;(2)Be a platform constructed of concrete above ground level in the case of a commercial property, and shall be large enough to accommodate an appropriately sized dumpster for the facility being serviced;(3)Be constructed in such a manner as to discourage or eliminate the possibility of rodents breeding under the platform; and(4)Be screened from any street, alley, sidewalk or adjacent property. Such screening shall be maintained in perpetuity by the property owner. Screening shall be constructed of chain link fencing with slats (cyclone fencing) or wood picket fencing. Sunken containers are hereby declared to be hazardous to the health, welfare and safety of the residents of and visitors to the city and to the city's waste collection personnel. Accordingly, such containers shall immediately be replaced with approved containers and the holes where they were previously sunk shall be filled with clean, solid fill.
Franchisees will be responsible for servicing of containers until such time as they have been removed. Commercial multifamily properties without service will be subject to administrative and service fees imposed pursuant to section 22-93 herein, should the city be required to provide service the property owner will be invoiced for service as required and at the cost associated with the unit structure provided in (b) of 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 23 | Ordinance 11000 (Previous Zoning Code): Supplement 22 | Miami 21 (Zoning Code): ?).
Full Breakdown
Under City Code § 22-2(c), every commercial garbage or trash container site must sit on an accessible concrete platform sized for the dumpster serving the property, built to discourage rodents nesting underneath, and screened from any street, alley, sidewalk or adjacent property with chain-link-with-slats or wood picket fencing maintained permanently by the owner. Section 22-2(e) separately bars placing any garbage container or dumpster on a street, alley, sidewalk, right-of-way or public area. Franchisee haulers must also clear spilled refuse within a ten-foot radius of the container. New commercial buildings must provide a dedicated garbage/trash room under the zoning ordinance.
Violations & Fines
Illegal or nonconforming containers can be ordered replaced on notice, and the city will refuse to service them; commercial containers left on public property are treated as abandoned and removed at the owner's expense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business put its dumpster in the alley behind the building?
Does the dumpster pad have to be screened?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Miami
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Miami to another location·View the Florida trash & recycling overview
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Dumpster Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Miami-Dade County handle dumpster rules.