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

Under Sec. 48-30(4) of the Melbourne city code, recyclable glass, plastic and metal food and beverage containers must be rinsed before they go into the recycling container; metal cans do not need to be flattened and labels do not need to be removed from cans, plastic or glass. Newspapers and other paper products must be free of food and other contaminants. The ordinance names the contaminants that disqualify a load: plastic bags and film, food waste, loose shredded paper, cigarette butts, disposable plastic cups and containers, styrofoam containers, hazardous waste, bio-hazardous waste, diapers, clam shell containers and dirty pizza boxes. Recycling containers themselves are supplied by the city's collection contractor at no charge to the resident, and using them for anything other than recycling collection is prohibited under the same subsection.

Once a resident sets recyclables at the curb, Sec. 48-30(9)(j) requires the recycling container be placed separate from garbage and trash containers, and Sec. 48-30(9)(k) declares that the material becomes the property of the city the moment it is set out; picking through or hauling off a neighbor's recycling bin is a violation of the article unless the person doing it is authorized by the city. Participation in curbside recycling is technically voluntary under Sec. 48-53(a), but every residential customer is billed for the collection service whether or not they put a single item in the bin, because the sanitation charge covers the contractor's whole route.