Cocoa, FL Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)
Key Facts
- Autocart branch limit
- under 3 inches diameter
- Bulk limb length cap
- 4 feet maximum
- Bulk limb diameter cap
- 6 inches maximum
- Bulk limb weight cap
- 50 pounds per piece
- Over 3 cubic yards
- needs clam/claw truck service
- Default penalty
- $100 Class I civil infraction
Summary
Cocoa requires yard waste to go out in a separate autocart from household garbage, with loose leaves, clippings and trimmings under three inches in diameter. Bulk vegetative debris like tree limbs and palm fronds has to be cut to four feet or less, no more than six inches thick, and under fifty pounds per piece, under City Code § 9-22.
Vegetative Waste. Contractor shall be required to provide collection and disposal services for all vegetative waste generated from residential customers. Vegetative waste shall be segregated from the garbage and household trash and placed in a separate autocart. All leaves and pine needles, ornamental shrubs, clippings and tree trimmings with branches less than 3 inches in diameter shall be placed in the autocart. Bulk vegetative waste includes tree limbs, tree trunks, palm fronds, etc., which shall be cut in lengths of no greater than four (4) feet in length; and shall be no larger than 6 inches in diameter and shall not exceed fifty (50) pounds per limb, trunk, frond, or bundle thereof.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 17).
Full Breakdown
City Code § 9-22 codifies the franchise agreement's rules for residential vegetative waste, meaning grass clippings, leaves, shrub trimmings, palm fronds and similar yard debris. The contractor must collect all vegetative waste generated by residential customers, and the material has to be segregated from household garbage and trash, going into its own separate autocart rather than mixed in with the regular waste cart. Loose material, leaves, pine needles, ornamental shrub clippings and tree trimmings, qualifies for the autocart only if the branches are less than three inches in diameter; anything thicker is treated as bulk vegetative waste rather than routine yard waste.
Bulk vegetative waste, defined to include tree limbs, tree trunks and palm fronds, has its own size limits: pieces must be cut to no more than four feet in length, no larger than six inches in diameter, and can't exceed fifty pounds per limb, trunk, frond or bundle. Once a load of bulk vegetative waste exceeds three cubic yards, the ordinance requires it to be serviced with a clam or claw truck rather than routine autocart pickup, reflecting the larger equipment needed to handle bigger volumes.
Multifamily properties are covered separately in the same agreement with matching four-foot length and diameter caps for tree limbs collected as bulk trash. The rules keep vegetative waste out of the landfill-bound garbage stream and route it toward the yard-waste specific handling the city and its contractor use for disposal.
Violations & Fines
Section 9-22 doesn't carry its own penalty clause, so putting oversized branches or unsegregated yard debris in the garbage cart, or piling loose yard waste at the curb outside the autocart system, is enforced as a Class I civil infraction under § 6-720, a $100 fine, with the city typically issuing a correction notice before citing a first violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can yard waste go in the regular garbage cart?
How thick can branches be for the yard waste cart?
What's the size limit for tree limbs set out as bulk yard waste?
What happens if I have more yard debris than the cart can handle?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Cocoa
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Cocoa to another location·View the Florida trash & recycling overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.
Yard Waste Collection in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Brevard County handle yard waste collection.