Sarasota County, FL Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Section 106-47(b)(1) draws a hard line between garbage and yard debris at the curb: Solid Waste and Yard Trash cannot be placed in the same Curbside Container. Residential Yard Trash may go in a rigid container, be bundled and tied, or placed in paper bags, but beginning May 1, 2023, the code specifically prohibits using plastic bags as a container for Yard Trash collection, closing off what had been a common shortcut for bagging grass clippings and trimmings. Section 106-47(b)(10) adds size limits for whatever container or bundle is used: Yard Trash must be placed in one or more Curbside Containers separate from Solid Waste, and Yard Trash placed in a Curbside Container cannot exceed four feet in length or extend more than 12 inches above the top of the container.

Yard Trash itself is defined at § 106-36 as vegetative matter resulting from landscaping maintenance and land clearing operations, including associated rocks and soil, though material collected by a commercial lawn service is carved out of that definition for franchise purposes. Under § 106-45(e), any lawn care business that hauls away its own client's yard trash must deliver every load to a licensed Yard Trash Recycling Facility, and the code treats each load not delivered there as a separate offense for penalty purposes.