Highlands County, FL Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

5-28 ties every building permit for the construction or renovation of a structure in unincorporated Highlands County to a debris plan filed before the permit issues. The applicant must state in writing, on county forms, which of two methods it will use: contracting with a certified collector to properly collect and dispose of the construction and demolition debris, naming that collector on the application, or self-handling the debris by collecting, recycling, or disposing of it at an authorized landfill using equipment the county finds acceptable.

5-28(b) makes the choice a condition of permitting: no building permit issues until the applicant has selected one of the two alternatives. Billing responsibility follows the method chosen: if a collector is hired, that collector bills and collects the debris fees directly from the permit applicant, and the rate cannot exceed the maximum the Board of County Commissioners has set for construction and demolition debris collection and disposal. 5-23(d), unless the permit applicant itself is doing the collecting and disposing.