The Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County provides solid waste and recycling collection service for the residents and businesses of unincorporated Palm Beach County.  The following service guidelines are intended for the SWA's collection customers who receive service through a SWA franchise hauler.  Municipal residents are encouraged to contact their municipality with collection service questions.  As a service to municipal residents we are pleased to provide a list of municipal contacts.

Collection Hours

Residential Garbage Collection (2 times per week)

Trash/Bulk Items (2 times per week)

Residential Yard Waste/Vegetation (1 time per week)

Curbside Recycling (1 time per week)

Household Hazardous Waste (never collected curbside)

Collection Hours

Residential collection service is provided between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.  In order to avoid service disruptions, garbage, vegetation, and recycling must be placed at the curb before 6:00 am on the scheduled collection day.

Residential Garbage Collection

(2 times per week)

Your garbage is collected manually and you must follow the 50/50 rule. Garbage must be containerized in standard 32-50 gallon cans or sealed plastic bags. Containers and contents can weigh no more than 50 pounds. Any container exceeding the 50 gallon capacity limit will not be serviced.

All garbage must be placed in front of your home and within 6 feet of the edge of the traveled portion of the roadway. Garbage must not be stacked over water or gas meters, under low hanging branches or utility wires or within 4 feet of mail boxes or fire hydrants.

DO NOT MIX GARBAGE WITH YARD WASTE (VEGETATION)

Your waste hauler is not required to collect any debris that does not meet the above guidelines. If your debris does not meet guidelines and is not collected you may do one of the following:

1. Correct the debris to meet required collection guidelines. Once corrected it will be picked up on your next scheduled service day or:

2. Transport the material directly to SWA’s landfill located at 6600 North Jog Road in West Palm Beach (west of the Turnpike, between 45th Street and the Beeline Highway). If you elect to transport the material to the landfill please be aware you will be charged for the disposal cost and cash is required!

Trash/Bulk Items

(2 times per week)

Bulk Items

Discarded furniture and appliances as well as other household items including toilets, bathtubs, water softeners, and similar household goods that will not fit into a standard garbage can is collected twice per week and may be placed curbside with the regular household garbage.

For safety reasons:

Please remove or seal doors on refrigerators, freezers, washers and dryers before placing outside for collection so that children can not crawl inside and become trapped.

All mirrors, glass doors, glass table tops, pane glass windows, etc. must be broken up and containerized in solid containers (no plastic bags). Container and contents must weigh less than 50 pounds.

Up to 2 tires, off the rim, are collected curbside per year. Place them at the curb with your regular household garbage on either garbage collection day.

Do not mix bulk items or tires with vegetation.

Construction Debris

Debris from minor home repairs such as replacing a rotted piece of trim or a broken tile. Construction debris is limited to 2 cubic yards per collection day (equal to a standard size refrigerator) and must follow the 50/50 rule. Debris must be containerized in standard 32-50 gallon cans or sealed plastic bags. Containers and contents can weigh no more than 50 pounds. Carpeting must be cut to 4 foot lengths, rolled up and weigh less than 50 pounds.

With the exception of carpeting, any construction debris from minor home repairs that is placed upon the ground and not containerized will not be collected.

Your waste hauler is not required to collect any debris that does not meet the above guide-lines. If your debris does not meet guidelines and is not collected you may do one of the following:

1. Correct the debris to meet required collection guidelines. Once corrected it will be picked up on your next scheduled service day or:

2. Contact your current waste hauler for their contracted special service fee.

3. Contact any other private hauler listed in the Yellow Pages under “Rubbish Removal” for their collection rate.

4. Transport the material directly to SWA’s landfill located at 6600 North Jog Road in West Palm Beach (west of the Turnpike, between 45th Street and the Beeline Highway). If you elect to transport the material to the landfill please be aware you will be charged for the disposal cost and cash is required!

Residential Yard Waste (Vegetation)

(1 time per week)

Yard waste includes debris from routine residential yard maintenance only. It does not include debris generated from land clearing or tree removal. All vegetation must be kept separate from other debris and be dirt and sand free.

Yard waste is collected manually by a different truck than the garbage and is limited to 6 cubic yards (cy) per week (the equivalent of 3 standard refrigerators). All yard waste, with the exception of tree branches and palm fronds, must be containerized in standard 32-50 gallon cans or sealed plastic bags. Containers and contents can not weigh more than 50 pounds. Branches must be 6 feet or less in length and 50 pounds or less in weight.

DO NOT MIX YARD WASTE (VEGETATION) WITH GARBAGE OR ANY OTHER DEBRIS

Your waste hauler is not required to collect any debris that does not meet the above guidelines. If your debris does not meet guidelines and is not collected you may do one of the following:

1. Correct the debris to meet required collection guidelines. Once corrected it will be picked up on your next scheduled service day or:

2. Contact your current waste hauler for their contracted special service fee.

3. Contact any other private hauler listed in the Yellow Pages under "Rubbish Removal” for their collection rate.

4. Transport the material directly to SWA’s landfill located at 6600 North Jog Road in West Palm Beach (west of the Turnpike, between 45th Street and the Beeline Highway). If you elect to transport the material to the landfill please be aware you will be charged for the disposal cost and cash is required!

Also note that SWA does not assess vacant lots therefore they do not receive collection service. Only lots with a residential structure on them are entitled to receive collection service.

Curbside Recycling

(1 time per week)

Residents receiving curbside recycling container service are allowed unlimited 18 gallon yellow or blue recycling bins provided by the Solid Waste Authority for recycling use only. No other containers will be serviced by the hauler.

In your yellow bin please place the following items:

• Newspapers

• Magazines/Catalogs

• Unwanted Mail - NEW

• School/Office Papers - NEW

• Phone Books

• Paper Bag

• ALL Cardboard Boxes - NEW
  (includes beverage cartons, tissue boxes, dry food
  boxes, corrugated cardboard. Boxes must be flattened
  and cut to 3’ x 3’ maximum.)

• Please place shredded paper in a brown paper bag, fold the top down to secure and place in your yellow bin. No plastic bags please!

In your blue bin please place the following items:

• Plastic Containers #1 - #7
• Steel Cans - NEW
• Aluminum Cans, Foil and Pie Plates
• Drink Boxes
• Milk and Juice Cartons
• Glass Bottles and Jars
• Preferably, caps should be removed from the plastic bottles and thrown in the garbage. However, if they are left on, the bottle will still be recycled.

Please

• No Light Bulbs, Mirrors or Plate Glass
• No Plastic Wrap

• No Plastic Bags

• No Styrofoam

Household Hazardous Waste

(never collected curbside)

Household hazardous wastes are never collected curbside. A few examples are used motor oil, rechargeable or auto batteries, propane tanks, fluorescent light bulbs, oil based paint and pesticides.

Household hazardous waste maybe dropped at any SWA designated Household Hazardous Waste collection site at no charge to Palm Beach County residents. There is no appointment necessary. For locations, hours, and materials accepted please visit the SWA Household Hazardous Waste Home Page or call 1.866.792.4636.

ELECTRONICS

Recycling - The SWA has an Electronic Recycling Program and residents are encouraged to bring all electronics such as: computers, monitors, televisions, VCR’s, stereos, printers, fax machines, etc. to any one of our transfer stations or SWA’s main household hazardous waste facility at no charge to residents of Palm Beach County. For a location nearest you and hours of operation, visit www.swa.org or call 1.866.792.4636.

Disposal - If you are unable to bring your electronic item to one of our drop-off locations it may be placed curbside with your regular household garbage on either scheduled collection day. Electronics small enough to fit should be placed inside a standard garbage can. All others should be placed next to the can.

PAINT DISPOSAL

Recycling - Residents of Palm Beach County can bring unused, unwanted paint (latex or oil based) to any SWA designated household hazardous waste collection site at no charge. Newly recycled paint is then used in SWA’s community service programs on projects to restore communities and benefit those in need throughout Palm Beach County. For a location nearest you and hours of operation, visit www.swa.org or call 1.866.792.4636.

Disposal - Oil-based paint is never collected curbside. Latex paint (water-based) must be dried completely before it is disposed. (To dry latex paint, remove the lid and add sand, kitty litter or saw dust). When completely dried, leave uncovered and place into your regular garbage.

To dry the paint, remove the lid and add sand, cat litter or saw dust.  Once dry it should be left uncovered next to your garbage.  Latex paint can also be disposed of at the Household Hazardous Facility or other drop-off location.

Never Collected Curbside

• Major construction, demolition and remodeling debris are never collected curbside. Debris includes but is not limited to roofing shingles, fencing, sheds, concrete blocks, bricks, asphalt, etc.

• Automotive debris of any kind is never collected curbside. Debris includes but is not limited to car parts, boat parts,, watercraft, golf carts, motorcycles, lawn equipment, etc. as well as combustion engines.

• Land clearing is never collected curbside and includes but is not limited to stumps, dirt, root balls, whole trees, etc.

• Household hazardous wastes are never collected curbside. This includes but is not limited to used motor oil, rechargeable or auto batteries, propane tanks, fluorescent light bulbs, oil based paint and pesticides.

Residents may do one of the following for non-acceptable construction and demolition, automotive and land clearing debris:

1. Contact your current waste hauler for their contracted special service fee.

2. Contact any other private hauler listed in the Yellow Pages under “Rubbish Removal” for their collection rate.

3. Rent a roll-off dumpster from any permitted roll-off hauler listed on SWA’s web site (www.swa.org).

4. Transport the material directly to SWA’s landfill located at 6600 North Jog Road in West Palm Beach (west of the Turnpike, between 45th Street and the Beeline Highway). If you elect to transport the material to the landfill please be aware you will be charged for the disposal cost and cash is required!

Holiday Schedule

Your waste hauler works on all holidays but two.

There is no collection service on Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day and there is no make-up day.

If your collection day falls on one of these two holidays, your service will resume on your next scheduled collection day.

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