Residential Solid Waste Services

Standard Service Guidelines

Household trash and recycling materials must be placed in the carts provided; bagged or stacked items will not be collected as part of normal service. You must call for non-containerized items to be removed. A minimum $50 fee to collect trash not placed in automated trash carts.

  • Each home is provided one 64-gallon Green Trash Cart and one 64-gallon Blue Recycle Cart
  • Green Trash Carts are emptied twice each week.
  • Blue Recycle Carts are emptied once each week.
  • Set carts within 6 feet of the roadside and 6 feet apart (if possible) with arrows pointing toward the roadway.
  • $65 one-time fee charged for additional green trash carts; small fee charged for each collection from additional green trash carts (call for rate).
  • No fee for additional blue carts.

Yard waste (vegetation) is collected manually in 32–gallon containers (provided by the resident) or bundled and tied piles.

  • Each home may set out six 32-gallon containers or six bundles to be collected once per week.
  • Containers and/or bundles may not weigh more than 50 pounds each.
  • Branches must be cut to 4 feet in length.
  • Christmas trees are collected at the roadside.

Carts and containers may be set out no earlier than one (1) day preceding your service day. They must be removed from the roadside by 8 pm on collection day. Village Code, Ch. 46, Sec. 40

A red tag is placed on non-compliant household trash, recycling, yard waste, and bulk waste that are set out incorrectly. Contact Waste Management to discuss proper disposal methods for collection.

Recycling

CLEAN ALL recyclables AND PLACE them into your BLUE recycling cart. Items are sorted at the facility.

Metal

  • Aluminum Cans (rinsed/cleaned)
  • Tin cans
  • Aluminum Foil and foil containers (CLEAN ONLY)

Paper (must be kept dry)

  • Brown Paper Bags
  • Catalogs and magazines
  • Telephone books and paperback books
  • Fax and copy paper, construction paper
  • Corrugated Cardboard (broken down)
  • CLEAN parts of pizza boxes (the top is usually clean)
  • Juice, Milk, and Soup cartons (rinsed/cleaned)
  • Junk Mail, including envelopes
  • Newspaper with Inserts
  • Paper Egg Cartons

Plastics And Glass

  • Jars and Bottles (clean and caps removed)
  • All plastics #1 to 7 (rinsed/cleaned) no Styrofoam

Bottle caps and most lids are not recyclable. If there is no number on the plastic, throw it in the trash.

Not Allowed In Recycling Carts

  • NO paper towels, napkins, microwave popcorn bags, batteries, liquids, food, aerosol cans, bottle caps, Styrofoam, packaging foam, plastic bags, or garbage bags in your recycling carts.
  • Food-soiled recyclables must be cleaned before recycling or thrown in the trash if not cleaned.
  • NO propane bottles or tanks!

More Recycling Facts

  • Unclean recyclables contaminate entire loads and may lead to loads of recycling being transferred to trash dumping sites. Rinse and clean all recyclables.
  • Aluminum Foil and foil containers may be recycled only if completely cleaned—no food residue remaining.
  • Household items such as dishes and drinking glasses are not recyclable.
  • Avoid plastic shopping bags, they are a petroleum-based product that can harm and kill wildlife when they blow into the environment and the plastic releases dangerous chemicals into the land and water as it breaks down. Many reusable bag options are available. If you use plastic shopping bags, please recycle them at a local grocery store collection container. DO NOT PLACE PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS IN YOUR RECYCLING CONTAINER.
  • Avoid Polystyrene products and Styrofoam, they are petroleum and chemical-based products that pose dangers to human health and the environment. Do not place Styrofoam in your recycling container.

Plastic bags and polystyrene products remain in the environment for 500 to 1,000 years. You can make a difference by avoiding these products!

Special Collection Services

Contact Waste Management to schedule a special roadside pick-up for the collection of items listed below. Special Pick-ups will be made within five working days of your request. Most household items are collected free of charge. Fees apply to construction debris, automotive debris, and oversized yard waste.

Do not pile items underwires, near fire hydrants, or near trees. Do not mix items together.

  • Oversized Yard Waste:  Neatly pile your palm fronds, coconuts, and tree branches at the roadside. All must be cut to 6 feet in length. Fees apply.
  • White Goods: Neatly pile your unwanted household furniture and appliances at the roadside. No Fee.
  • Carpeting: Roll and tie your 6-foot-wide carpeting pieces and place them at the roadside. No Fee.
  • Construction and Automotive Debris: Before setting out this debris, contact our solid waste provider to discuss whether a special pick-up or the delivery of a dumpster is right for your situation. Fees apply.
  • Oversized Recyclable Materials: Neatly pile your oversized recyclable items, such as moving boxes, furniture, and appliance cardboard boxes at the roadside. No Fee.

Residential Hazardous Household Collection Program

Four times a year, Islamorada residents may take household hazardous waste products for free disposal to a special drop-off location.

Household waste materials include used motor oil, antifreeze, hydraulic fluids, paints, stains, strippers, wood preservatives, roof and tar patching compounds, adhesives, putty, caulk, fiberglass and epoxy resins, acetone, mineral spirits, muriatic acid, lye, pesticides, fertilizers, and weed killer, household and drain cleaners, pool cleaning products and tires off the rim that do not exceed a light-duty SUV. Batteries of all sizes and electronic and fluorescent lighting waste are also accepted during the events. 

Visit the Residential Household Hazardous Collection Program page for quarterly collection dates and locations.

E-Waste Disposal (Computer & Electronic Waste)

Contact Waste Management to schedule a free residential roadside pick-up of televisions, electronic entertainment devices, computers, monitors, printers, fax machines, and mobile phones. Service is year-round. Pickups will be made within five working days.

Electronic waste is also accepted at the quarterly Residential Household Hazardous Collections.

Used Motor Oil

Residential used motor oil is accepted at the quarterly Hazardous Household Collections. Free residential used motor oil disposal service is also provided for Village residents year-round. Drop off up to five gallons per visit between the hours of 8 am and noon, Monday through Friday, at the Waste Management local office, 86490 Overseas Highway.

View or print the tri-fold brochure with the information (PDF) for more information.