Fort Myers, FL Trash & Recycling: Mandatory Organics Recycling (2026)
Key Facts
- Effective date
- January 1, 2010
- Applies to
- Residential, commercial, industrial property
- Enforced by
- Public works director or designee
- Citation
- Code of Ordinances § 70-111(a)(3)
Summary
Fort Myers requires residential, commercial, and industrial property owners to separate compostable materials from solid waste and set them out for collection, or deliver them to an approved composting facility, effective January 1, 2010.
Compostable materials. Effective January 1, 2010, and to the extent permitted by city code, every owner, lessee or occupant of residential, commercial and industrial property shall separate separated compostable materials from other mixed municipal solid waste and shall set out separated compostable materials for collection in the manner and at such frequency as shall be prescribed by the public works director or designee or shall deliver the compostable materials to a composting facility approved by the public works director or designee.(4)Enforcement. The public works director or designee shall enforce mandatory source separation, taking into consideration which sectors, residential, commercial and institutional, or industrial, construction and demolition activities are not meeting city recycling goals. (Ord. No. 3502, § 1, 3-2-2009; Ord. No. 3526, § 1, 10-19-2009)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 60).
Full Breakdown
Fort Myers' mandatory separation ordinance, Sec. 70-111(a)(3), requires every owner, lessee, or occupant of residential, commercial, and industrial property in the city to separate compostable materials from other mixed municipal solid waste and set them out for collection at the frequency the public works director or designee prescribes, or deliver them to an approved composting facility. The mandate took effect January 1, 2010 and applies to the extent permitted by city code. Enforcement under Sec. 70-119 is directed by the public works director toward sectors falling short of the city's recycling goals, separate from Lee County's rules outside city limits.
Violations & Fines
Violating the mandatory separation article subjects a person to the penalties and enforcement measures of Sec. 70-119, with the public works director targeting enforcement at sectors not meeting the city's recycling goals rather than citing every property automatically.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Fort Myers require food-scrap composting separation?
Who enforces the compostable materials rule in Fort Myers?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fort Myers
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Fort Myers to another location·View the Florida trash & recycling overview
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