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

Ocala's Code of Ordinances defines yard waste separately from municipal solid waste. Sec. 54-1 defines 'contained yard waste' as material placed in customer-provided or city-assigned containers, no more than 32 gallons for cans or 60 gallons and 60 pounds for paper bags, and defines 'loose yard waste' as grass, leaves, tree limbs or other organic cuttings placed out uncontained for collection. Sec. 54-8(2) makes it unlawful to place yard waste out for collection in plastic bags, and Sec. 54-8(4) bars commingling yard waste with municipal solid waste or non-biodegradable material.

Under Sec. 54-37(c), yard waste must be separated from other waste and either placed in containers or stacked neatly in one consolidated pile at curbside or the alleyway, clear of trees, fences, meters and other obstructions, with tree limbs and branches cut into four-foot lengths and stacked separately. Sec. 54-37(f) caps curbside yard waste at a four-foot limb length, a maximum of 20 containers, and 50 pounds per filled container. Sec. 54-38(c)(2) requires yard waste under the standard Plan 1 service to be placed loose or in a rigid reusable container or paper lawn and leaf bag at curbside within three feet of the traveled roadway, out no earlier than the evening before the collection day and picked up by 7:00 a.m. the day after.

The Public Works Department administers collection, and a solid waste enforcement officer or the director can issue a written notice of violation for noncompliance under Sec. 54-3(b).