Garbage Collection Procedures

Upon signing up for a Utility Billing account you will receive a brochure outlining the City's Solid Waste policies, the recycling schedule, and the holiday schedules. Please call 321-383-5755 if you did not receive the brochure and it will be mailed to you.

Questions & Updates

Please visit this page for periodic updates to the automated collection transition as these updates become available. Questions may be answered based on the current information available by calling 321-383-5755.

Policies

Broken Carts

Carts may break because of normal wear and tear. Report broken carts (wheels, axles, lids, etc.) to the City, and a cart technician will be deployed free of charge to fix or replace the cart.  

Cleaning the cart is the responsibility of the user. 

Cart Care & Use

  • All refuse shall be placed in bags prior to deposit in the carts.
  • Cardboard boxes will not be collected separately outside the cart but should be broken down to fit into the cart.
  • Lids on carts should be kept closed at all times to prevent windblown litter, access to animals, and pooling of rainwater inside the cart.
  • Carts shall not be filled in excess of 250 pounds.

Cart Storage

Carts may be stored in the garage, carport, shed, or under the cover of the household. Carts may also be stored outdoors to the side or rear of the household, but may not be stored in the front yard unless they are not visible from the street.

Collection Frequency

Pickup will be one day per week.  Please call 383-5755 for information regarding your collection day or visit the Garbage, Recycling, and Holiday Schedules page.

Customer-Requested Change in Cart Size

Customers desiring to change their cart size may do so upon request, and upon fully funding their cart deposit. 

Deposits

An initial $48 deposit is required of all residential and commercial-can customers to receive their carts. This deposit shall also be required for all customers requesting a second garbage cart. Additional recycle carts do not require a deposit.

Similar to the strategy employed by Water Resources, existing residents in good financial standing who require only a single cart, will be granted a deposit waiver. However, if any non-deposit paying account becomes in arrears, the waiver will be revoked and a deposit will be applied.

Deposits will be held in an escrow account. Upon three years of satisfactory utility bill payments, residential deposits will be refunded. Residents who move will have the full amount of the deposit issued to them as a credit upon confirmation that their cart has remained on the property and is in good condition.

Disabled & Elderly Service

If a physician's statement certifying that no one in the household is able to carry solid waste to the curbside has been filed with the Solid Waste Division, the container is to be placed at the side yard, outside of any fence, so as to be readily available for pickup.  The physician's form may be obtained by calling the Solid Waste Division at 383-5755.

Holiday Collection

On weeks where there are holidays, the scheduled weekly collection day will be shifted based on the day of the week on which the holiday falls. For more details, visit the Holiday Collection Schedule page.

Out-of-Cart Garbage Items

Households will be required to place all household refuse in their carts except for the following exceptions:

  • Leniency will be granted in the week following the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and July 4th holidays. Residents will be allowed to set out up to two additional bags of refuse on their designated collection day in these weeks, free of charge.
  • The Solid Waste Division will have leeway to require habitual abusers to pay for and obtain a second cart and in the interim to insert charges on the monthly utility bill.
  • Household bulky items that do not fit in the cart (furniture, mattresses, etc.) shall continue to be set out as part of the City’s bulky waste collection program. The City will not pick up extra bags of garbage nor boxed wastes as part of the bulk waste collection service. Please call 321-383-5755 if you have bulky items for pickup.

Prohibited Items for Cart Disposal

Do not place the following items in your garbage cart:

  • Dirt, rocks, and concrete
  • Hot coals/embers
  • Household hazardous or biohazardous waste (chemicals, motor oil, wet paint, etc.)
  • Needles of any kind
  • Yard debris
  • Propane tanks

Residents who place these materials in carts such that damage is caused to the cart or to the collection vehicle, or otherwise use the carts for other purposes that result in damage to the cart, shall be liable for the replacement cost of the cart.

Residents can bring their hazardous wastes to the Brevard County Mulching Facility at the intersection of SR-405 (South Street) and Park Avenue or call the facility at 264-5009 for more information.

Provision & Use of Standardized Carts

The City will provide one standardized refuse cart for use by residential customers and commercial can customers. Carts will be embossed with a unique serial number which will be recorded in a City database for each household. Every residential household and commercial can customer receiving refuse service from the City shall be required to use the City-provided standardized carts.

Only City issued garbage carts can be utilized for garbage and recycling collection.

Second Carts for Commercial Can and Residential Customers 

Commercial can and residential customers may require multiple carts on their weekly collection day. The City may, at the discretion of the Solid Waste manager, require customers to have a second cart to contain their weekly waste. Additional garbage carts require another $48 deposit and will add a small additional monthly charge to your utility bill. A second recycle cart can be requested at no additional charge.

Second Cart Return Policy

Residents who have two carts may opt to switch back to one cart at any time, thereby returning their monthly rate to the original one-cart rate. Residents must notify the City of their desire to return their second cart. The City will pick up the cart after which time residents will be refunded their deposit on the second cart (if applicable).

Set-out Placement

  • Carts shall always be set at the curb with the lids closed and with no material on top of the lids.
  • Carts shall be placed within three feet of the curb, but not in the street or on top of your water meter.
  • Carts shall not be placed within six feet of trees, mailboxes, power poles, or other curbside impediments to either side of the cart.
  • Carts shall not be placed within 10 feet of parked cars, as the automated collection vehicle needs room to maneuver the automated arm to collect the cart without risk to personal property.
  • Carts should always be placed with the lid opening facing the street (i.e., the handle should face away from the street). 

Set-out & Roll-Back Timing & Convenience Charge

Carts may be set out at the curb no sooner than 5:00 PM the evening before, but no later than 6:30 AM on the morning of, the scheduled collection day. 

Carts that remain on the curb after 8:30 AM the day following the scheduled collection day shall be rolled back to the side of the house by City personnel. After one free roll-back, a $5 convenience charge shall be applied to the resident’s monthly bill for subsequent roll-back services.

Theft/Vandalism

Carts that are stolen or vandalized will be replaced free of charge by the City. Households that report more than two thefts or vandalized carts over a two-year period may forfeit their deposit to replace their cart and will be required to make another deposit prior to receiving a replacement cart.