Monroe County, FL Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Sec. 114-14 sets minimum collection-area sizes tied to a building's floor area for nonresidential and mixed-use projects, and to the number of dwelling units for multi-family developments, with larger multi-family projects required to add a second collection area once they reach 36 units and one area per 25 units beyond 50 units. If a site needs more than one solid waste container, the code adds a further 60 square feet, measured as an area six feet by ten feet, for each extra container. The collection area can be set back only five feet from a rear or side yard property line, notwithstanding the setbacks that would otherwise apply under Chapter 131, and it must be screened on at least three sides by a solid or semi-opaque enclosure no taller than six feet, with at least one foot six inches of clearance on each side of the container so it can be moved and lifted.

The area should sit within roughly 200 feet of the users it serves, stay out of the way of the site's primary use, and be designed so container lids can be kept shut. The Planning Director can approve combinations of collection areas that meet the standards in total, giving projects some flexibility in how they lay out the required space.