Tallahassee, FL Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Ownership rule
- Recyclables become city property once set out, § 21-487(c)
- Commercial counterpart
- Bins become collector's property, § 21-486(e)
- Scavenging fine
- $500.00 flat, per section 21-495
- Per-day penalty
- Each day of violation is a separate offense
- Enforcing agency
- Department of Solid Waste Services
- Adopted
- Ordinance No. 91-O-0045AAA (1991), amended 2009
Summary
Once a Tallahassee resident sets recyclables out for collection, they become the property of the city, not the resident, and only the department's authorized collector may take them. Section 21-487(c) of the Code of General Ordinances makes it a violation for anyone else to pick through or remove curbside recycling, and section 21-495 backs that ban with a flat $500.00 fine.
Ownership of recovered material from residential establishments. From the time any recovered material from a residential establishment is placed for collection pursuant to authorization by the city, such materials shall become and be the property of the city. Furthermore, it shall be a violation of this article for any person not specifically so authorized by the director to collect, pick up, or cause to be collected or picked up, any such recovered material. ... Any person violating the provisions of subsection 21-486(e) and subsection 21-487(c) shall be punished by a fine of $500.00. Each day such violation occurs shall be considered a separate offense.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Land Development Code: Supplement 75 | Code of Ordinances: Supplement 75).
Full Breakdown
Tallahassee treats curbside recyclables as city property from the moment they are placed for collection, and it bans anyone but the authorized collector from taking them. Section 21-487(c) of the Code of General Ordinances states that recovered material from a residential establishment becomes the property of the city once placed for collection under city authorization, and it is a violation of the article for any person not specifically authorized by the director of the Department of Solid Waste Services to collect, pick up, or cause it to be collected or picked up.
The commercial counterpart, section 21-486(e), works the same way for business recycling bins: material becomes the designated collector's property once set out, and only that collector may take it. 00, with each day of the violation counted as a separate offense. 00 schedule under section 21-515, making scavenging one of the more expensive single violations in chapter 21. The city adopted the ban, along with the rest of the current solid waste article, by Ordinance No. 91-O-0045AAA in 1991 and amended it by Ordinance No. 08-O-70 in 2009, and it still applies to every curbside and dumpster recycling container serviced under the city's collection contract today.
Violations & Fines
Taking recyclables out of a residential or commercial recovered-material container without authorization from the director or the designated collector violates sections 21-486(e) and 21-487(c). Section 21-495 sets a flat $500.00 fine for each violation, and each day the scavenging continues counts as a separate offense, on top of any other lawful action the city may take to stop it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to take recyclables out of someone's bin in Tallahassee?
Does the scavenging ban apply to business recycling dumpsters too?
Is $500.00 the only penalty for scavenging, or can it add up?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tallahassee
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Tallahassee to another location·View the Florida trash & recycling overview
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