Sumter County, FL Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Code § 16-161
- Prohibited act
- Blowing/washing clippings into drains, roads
- Cleanup duty
- Immediate removal if accidentally deposited
- Enforcement
- County code enforcement officers, § 16-165
- Max penalty
- $500 fine or 60 days jail
Summary
Sumter County doesn't set curbside yard-waste pickup rules directly in its code, but its fertilizer ordinance bars residents and landscapers from blowing, sweeping or washing grass clippings and vegetative debris into stormwater drains, ditches, water bodies or roadways, and requires immediate cleanup of any that lands there by accident.
In no case shall grass clippings, vegetative material, and/or vegetative debris be washed, swept, or blown off into stormwater drains, ditches, conveyances, water bodies, wetlands, or sidewalks or roadways. Any material that is accidentally so deposited shall be immediately removed to the maximum extent practicable.
Full Breakdown
The rule sits in Article VIII of Chapter 16, the county's 2025 fertilizer and urban-landscape ordinance (Ord. No. 568 to protect surface and groundwater from lawn-care runoff. It works alongside the article's other landscaping controls: § 16-159 requires deflector shields on rotary spreaders so fertilizer granules don't scatter onto pavement, and § 16-160 bars fertilizer application within ten feet of any pond, stream, lake, canal or wetland. Section 16-161 extends the same no-runoff principle to grass clippings and yard debris themselves: a landscaper or homeowner who blows clippings into a storm drain, ditch, canal, wetland, sidewalk or roadway is responsible for an 'immediate' cleanup 'to the maximum extent practicable' the moment it happens, whether the deposit was intentional or accidental. 9337 also gives state authority a role. 00, up to 60 days in the county jail, or both.
Violations & Fines
A code enforcement officer who documents clippings or debris blown or washed into a drain, ditch, wetland, sidewalk or roadway can cite the responsible applicator or resident under § 16-166: prosecuted as a state misdemeanor per F.S. § 125.69, with a fine up to $500.00, up to 60 days in the county jail, or both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Sumter County pick up yard waste curbside?
Can I blow grass clippings into the street or a storm drain?
Who enforces the yard-debris drainage rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sumter County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Sumter County 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.