Gulfport, FL Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Chapter 11's solid waste article treats recycling as its own stream. Sec. 11-1 defines a 'recyclable' as any material capable of being recycled that would otherwise be handled as solid waste, as the city identifies from time to time, and defines 'recycling' as the collection, processing, marketing, reprocessing, and resale of any recyclable. Sec. 11-18 makes city-issued containers the only authorized recycling containers: the city's authorized recyclable collector empties only those containers, every property in Gulfport is entitled to at least one, and the city charges a fee to replace a container that is lost or damaged beyond normal wear and tear.

Sec. 11-17 sets the pickup schedule, with all recycling containers, along with commercial garbage containers, emptied at least once a week by the city's authorized collector, more often if the city manager or a designee orders it. The same section makes it unlawful for anyone other than the city's authorized recycling collector to remove recyclable material from a recycling container, though the person with lawful care, custody, and control of the bin, meaning the resident or property owner, may remove material as necessary for its proper use.

Recycling containers are counted among the 'authorized containers' listed in Sec. 11-1 alongside standard 10-to-32-gallon garbage cans and 10-to-30-gallon plastic garbage bags, and the solid waste collector is not required to remove garbage that is not in an authorized container.