Highlands County, FL Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Pickup frequency
- Twice a month minimum
- Bundle limit
- 100 lbs and 6 feet per bundle
- Commingling
- Prohibited with household garbage
- Program authority
- County-approved landfill, F.S. ch. 403
- Alternative
- § 8.5-30 on-site composting exemption
Summary
In unincorporated Highlands County the franchised hauler must pick up bundled yard trash for recycling at least twice a month, separate from household garbage. Section 8.5-24 caps each bundle at 100 pounds and six feet, and bars mixing horticultural trash with municipal solid waste.
Not less than twice a month with schedules approved by the county the franchisee shall also pick up and deliver to the county landfill, or any other authorized landfill having a horticultural trash recycling program approved by the county administrator, horticultural trash placed at curbside, provided that it is bundled and each bundle does not exceed 100 pounds in weight and six feet in length and that it is not commingled with any other municipal solid waste. The franchisee shall not commingle horticultural trash with other municipal solid waste.
Full Breakdown
5-24(a)(5)a requires the franchisee to pick up and deliver horticultural trash to the county landfill, or to any other authorized landfill running a horticultural trash recycling program approved by the county administrator, not less than twice a month on a schedule the county approves. To qualify for that pickup the material must be placed at curbside, bundled, and each bundle must not exceed 100 pounds in weight or six feet in length; the franchisee is barred from commingling horticultural trash with other municipal solid waste, and a customer who mixes yard debris into the regular garbage loses the recycling handling for that load.
ch. 403 by which solid waste, or material that would otherwise become solid waste, is collected, separated, or processed and reused or returned to use as raw material or product, and municipal solid waste handled through such a program is carved out of the standard twice-weekly garbage collection cycle described in the same section. 5-30 exemption from mandatory collection rather than rely on the franchisee's horticultural pickup.
Violations & Fines
Horticultural trash collection is enforced the same way as the rest of chapter 8.5: a code enforcement officer issues a written warning for a first violation of section 8.5-24, escalating to a citation and Class I fines under sections 2-380 and 2-382 for a repeat violation, with a right to a hearing. Commingling yard debris with garbage or dumping it outside the twice-monthly schedule can also draw the general chapter penalty in section 8.5-33 of up to $500.00 or 60 days in jail.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often is yard waste picked up in unincorporated Highlands County?
Are there size limits on yard waste bundles?
Can I compost yard waste instead of putting it out for pickup?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Highlands County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Highlands County to another location·View the Florida trash & recycling overview
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