Fort Myers Trash & Recycling Schedule
Official garbage collection rules, bin guidelines, and holiday schedules for residents of Fort Myers, Florida.
Find Your Exact Pickup Days
Enter your street address on the official collection map to see your specific trash, recycling, and yard waste schedule.
📍 View Official Collection MapService Provider
City of Fort Myers Solid Waste Division
Phone Number
239-321-8050Facility Address
2200 Second St, Fort Myers, FL 33901
Collection Schedule
The city provides twice-weekly garbage pickup, weekly recycling, and weekly yard waste collection.
Bin Colors
Green or Black for garbage, Blue for recycling.
Guidelines & Rules
🎄 Holiday Delays
Service is pushed back by one day for Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.
🛋️ Bulk Waste Pickup
Horticulture and bulk items are collected on the same day as your recycling.
⚠️ Important Guidelines
Garbage must be placed curbside by 6:30 a.m. in the city-provided roll-out carts.
Comprehensive Guide & Details
City of Fort Myers Automated Waste Collection
Residential sanitation within the City of Fort Myers is managed directly by the municipal Solid Waste Division, utilizing an efficient automated cart system. Homeowners are assigned specific collection days for their standard household refuse. To guarantee that your garbage is hauled away, your designated city cart must be wheeled to the curb no later than 6:30 a.m. on the morning of your route. The container needs to be positioned with the lid hinges facing your property and the opening facing the street. Because the trucks use mechanical arms, citizens must leave at least three feet of unobstructed space around the receptacle, ensuring it is safely distanced from parked vehicles, mailboxes, and utility poles.
Sorting Recyclables in the Blue Cart
Fort Myers strongly encourages environmental sustainability through a comprehensive single-stream recycling program. Your blue rollout cart is strictly designated for acceptable recyclable materials, which include flattened cardboard, aluminum beverage cans, glass bottles, and rigid plastics. A major directive from the Solid Waste Division is to keep all items completely loose. Bagging your recyclables in plastic grocery sacks is strictly prohibited, as flexible film heavily damages the sorting equipment at the Lee County material recovery facility. Any cart found containing tanglers, styrofoam, or food waste will be red-tagged by the route inspector and left unemptied.
Curbside Horticulture and Yard Debris
Maintaining a property in Southwest Florida generates a significant amount of tropical yard waste. The city provides a weekly curbside collection for vegetative debris, but proper preparation is absolutely vital. Small trimmings, such as grass clippings and pine needles, must be contained within personal trash cans or heavy-duty paper yard bags. If you are trimming trees, branches and palm fronds must be securely tied into bundles. For the protection of the municipal workers who manually load this material, no single bundle, can, or bag can exceed a maximum weight of 50 pounds, nor can any branch measure longer than six feet.
Bulk Item Pickups and Heavy Furniture
When dealing with heavy spring cleaning or property upgrades, Fort Myers residents can utilize the city's bulk waste services. Oversized household goods such as discarded mattresses, rolled carpeting, and broken sofas can be placed at the curb. However, residents are highly encouraged to contact the Solid Waste Division call center in advance to notify them of an exceptionally large load. For major white goods—such as refrigerators, freezers, and washing machines—state safety regulations mandate that all locking doors must be completely detached prior to being placed on the swale to eliminate any risk of child entrapment.
Household Chemical Disposal Facilities
Toxic chemicals and volatile substances pose a catastrophic fire risk to standard garbage compactors and must never be placed inside your curbside carts. Items such as leftover latex paint, pool chlorine, motor oil, and rechargeable lithium batteries are classified as household hazardous waste. Fort Myers residents must securely store these dangerous materials and transport them directly to the Lee County Topaz Court Solid Waste Annex. This permanent regional facility safely neutralizes and processes hazardous chemicals and outdated electronics, ensuring they do not contaminate the delicate Gulf Coast ecosystem.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When is trash collected in Fort Myers?
A: The city provides twice-weekly garbage pickup, weekly recycling, and weekly yard waste collection.
Q: How does the holiday schedule affect garbage pickup?
A: Service is pushed back by one day for Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.
Q: Which bins should I use for trash and recycling?
A: Green or Black for garbage, Blue for recycling.
Q: How can I schedule a bulk waste pickup?
A: Horticulture and bulk items are collected on the same day as your recycling.
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