Hours, fees and pickup rules change, especially after storms and at the start of a new fiscal year. Every line below links to the official page it came from. Confirm with Tampa or Hillsborough County before you load the truck.
Who picks up trash in Tampa
- The City of Tampa Solid Waste Department collects household garbage in blue carts twice a week for City of Tampa utility customers.[1]
- New Tampa is the exception: New Tampa homes are served by Hillsborough County Solid Waste Management, not the city.[1]
- City collection questions go to the City of Tampa Utilities Call Center at (813) 274-8811.[1]
Bulk trash pickup in Tampa
- Residential customers with active solid waste accounts in single family homes and properties of four units or less get one prescheduled S.W.E.E.P. bulk collection each year at no extra cost.[2]
- You look up your S.W.E.E.P. date by entering your address in the lookup tool on the city's S.W.E.E.P. page.[2]
- Items must be in one pile at the curb in front of your home no later than 8 p.m. on your Sunday S.W.E.E.P. date, and crews do not come back later in the week.[2]
- The earliest you may put items out is five days before your Sunday S.W.E.E.P. date.[2]
- S.W.E.E.P. piles should stay under 10 cubic yards, and larger piles may bring extra disposal fees.[2]
- Accepted S.W.E.E.P. items include appliances, furniture, mattresses, grills, toilets, carpet, wrapped flat glass, up to 4 passenger tires, railroad ties cut to 4 feet, and tree limbs and stumps.[2]
- S.W.E.E.P. does not take building materials such as fences, tile, drywall, brick, roofing, doors or windows.[2]
- S.W.E.E.P. also does not take electronics, household hazardous waste, gas cylinders, explosives, metal drums, boats, or regular yard waste.[2]
- Mirrors, window glass and glass table tops must be duct taped or wrapped before set out.[2]
- Items placed in front of vacant homes or lots are treated as illegal dumping and investigated by Code Enforcement.[2]
- If your S.W.E.E.P. date has passed, you can call (813) 274-8811 or use Tampa Connect to schedule a paid special pickup.[2]
- The city's fee schedule effective October 1, 2026 lists curbside collection of bulky items at $19.03 per cubic yard with a 1 cubic yard minimum.[4]
- The S.W.E.E.P. page and the FAQ still showed the older special pickup price of $18.12 per cubic yard when checked, so confirm the current rate when you book.[2]
- Special pickup charges are billed to your City of Tampa utility account.[3]
- S.W.E.E.P. is not offered in New Tampa, where Hillsborough County handles bulky waste.[2]
Tampa trash pickup schedule
- Recycling in green carts and yard waste are each collected once a week, with yard waste bagged, bundled or containerized in pieces under 50 pounds.[1]
- To find your collection day, enter your address in the My Collection Schedule tool on the city's Collection Days and Times page, or call 813-274-8811.[3]
- Carts must be at the curb by 6:00 AM on collection day.[1]
- Carts must be unblocked and set 3 feet away from other carts and obstacles.[1]
- Collection runs throughout the day and can go into the evening, and carts must be taken in by sunset.[1]
- During holiday weeks the city guarantees at least one collection per week but cannot guarantee twice weekly service.[3]
- If your garbage has not been picked up by 3 p.m., call 813-274-8811, option 3.[3]
Landfills and transfer stations near Tampa
Transfer station
McKay Bay Scale House and Transfer Station (McKay Bay Waste Management Resource Facility)
Run by: The McKay Bay Scale House is run by the City of Tampa Solid Waste Department.[2]
Address: The scale house is at 114 South 34th Street, Tampa.[5]
Hours: The scale house page lists hours of 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday, and closed Sunday.[5]
Phone: The scale house phone number is (813) 242-5320.[5]
Fees
- City residents with an active residential solid waste account can drop off select items at no extra charge.[5]
- Paid loads are charged by the ton, with processible waste listed at $130.00 per ton in the fee schedule effective October 1, 2026.[4]
- Any load containing tires is charged at the higher tire rate for the whole load.[4]
- Waste brought from outside the county is charged double the adopted disposal rates.[4]
- Paid disposal at the scale house is by credit card only.[5]
Accepted
- Free items for eligible residents are appliances (two per visit), barbecue grills with propane tanks removed, furniture, mattresses, and yard waste in paper bags or tied with jute twine.[5]
- For a fee, the scale house takes construction debris, household garbage, mixed loads, large car parts, carpet, tires and commercial waste.[5]
Not accepted
- The facility never accepts bricks, rocks, cinder blocks, dirt, liquid waste or wet drywall mud.[5]
- Household hazardous waste, propane and helium tanks, fluorescent bulbs, batteries and electronics are not accepted here.[5]
Rules
- Bring a driver's license or other government ID plus a utility bill showing an active City of Tampa solid waste account, both in the same name.[5]
- The waste must come from the address on your solid waste account.[5]
- Closed toed shoes are required, and dump trailer operators must wear a hard hat.[5]
- People who live outside Tampa city limits are directed to Hillsborough County disposal options.[5]
- The McKay Bay complex includes a waste to energy plant that burns trash to make electricity, and the facility was being renovated when the page was last updated in August 2025.[6]
Landfill
Southeast County Landfill
Run by: The Southeast County Landfill is a Hillsborough County solid waste facility.[8]
Address: The landfill is at 15960 County Road 672, Lithia, FL 33547.[12]
Hours: The landfill is open Monday to Saturday, 7:30 AM to 5 PM.[12]
Phone: Hillsborough County Solid Waste customer service is (813) 272-5680.[12]
Accepted
- The landfill accepts non burnable solid waste such as broken furniture, scrap metal including appliances, and tires.[12]
- The City of Tampa lists this landfill as an alternative tire disposal site.[5]
Not accepted
- The landfill does not take construction and demolition debris, yard and wood waste, liquid waste, hazardous waste or drummed waste.[12]
Rules
- The county says its landfill is mainly used by commercial haulers and self haulers with vehicles that can unload themselves.[8]
- No hand unloading is allowed after 4:30 PM, so late arrivals must be able to tip or mechanically unload.[12]
- Landfill roads are mostly unpaved and can get muddy after rain.[12]
Drop off center
Northwest County Solid Waste Facility
Run by: Northwest County Solid Waste Facility is a Hillsborough County site with a Community Collection Center and a transfer station.[8]
Address: The facility is at 8001 W. Linebaugh Avenue in Tampa.[10]
Hours: County Community Collection Centers are open Monday through Saturday, 7:30 AM to 5 PM, unless noted otherwise.[10]
Accepted
- Hillsborough County residents can drop off up to five intact household electronic items per household each month at Community Collection Centers.[10]
Rules
Hazardous waste disposal in Tampa
- Do not put household hazardous waste in your curbside garbage or down the drain.[7]
- The City of Tampa contracts with Hillsborough County so city residents can use county household hazardous waste collection sites.[7]
- Tampa residents pay no additional charge when they show a valid driver's license as proof of city residency.[7]
- The City of Tampa no longer holds its own annual household chemical and electronics collection event.[7]
- County collections run 8 AM to 2 PM on the first Saturday at Sheldon Road in Tampa, the second Saturday at South County in Gibsonton, and the third Saturday at Hillsborough Heights in Seffner.[9]
- Accepted items include car and power tool batteries, household cleaners, paint, automotive fluids, pool chemicals, lawn chemicals, fluorescent lamps, flares and ammunition.[9]
- Paint is limited to 10 one gallon containers or 5 five gallon containers per month, sealed and not leaking.[9]
- Propane and helium tanks and fire extinguishers are limited to five 30 pound tanks or less.[9]
- Gasoline and diesel are accepted in containers up to 5 gallons, and the container is returned on request.[9]
- Alkaline batteries are not accepted and go in the garbage can, not the recycling bin.[9]
- Medications, sharps, explosives, radioactive materials and business waste are not accepted at household hazardous waste collections.[9]
- Electronics are not taken at household hazardous waste events and go to Community Collection Centers instead.[10]
Hazardous waste drop off
Sheldon Road Household Hazardous Collection Site
Run by: The Sheldon Road site is run by Hillsborough County Solid Waste.[8]
Address: The site is at 9805 Sheldon Road, Tampa, FL 33635.[11]
Hours: It is open only on the first Saturday of the month from 8 AM to 2 PM.[11]
Phone: Questions go to Hillsborough County Solid Waste at (813) 272-5680.[11]
Rules
- You must show a state issued photo ID with a Hillsborough County residential address.[11]
- Commercial waste and waste over the quantity limits are refused, and the site may close early in bad weather.[11]
- Sheldon Road takes household hazardous waste only and is not a Community Collection Center for electronics.[10]
Check with the city first
- Tampa's bulk pickup price changed on October 1, 2026, and some city pages still show the older rate, so confirm the per cubic yard charge when you book.
- The city's McKay Bay pages list two different sets of drop off hours, so call the scale house before you haul a load.
- If you live in New Tampa, your trash, bulk and disposal rules come from Hillsborough County, not the City of Tampa.
- Storm debris rules and holiday collection changes are announced separately after each event, so check the city's news page after a storm or holiday.
We left these out because we could not read them on an official page when we checked:
- McKay Bay drop off hours
- Bulk special pickup price
- Southeast County Landfill fees
- Whether City of Tampa residents may use county Community Collection Centers for bulky waste
- Specific holiday collection dates