City of West Palm Beach, FL
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Vegetation Amnesty Days May 6 - 17, 2024
What is Vegetation Amnesty?
The Sanitation Amnesty Program occurs annually for a set period of days, allowing Residential Customers to place large amounts of Vegetation Waste out for weekly pick-up at no charge. The waste is placed at curbside in front of their residence, there is no size restriction on the pile, and the pick-up occurs on their regular scheduled yard waste day.
What is the Benefit of Amnesty?
The Amnesty Program is mutually beneficial to the resident and the city:
The benefit to the resident:
During Amnesty, at no cost to the resident, the city will pick up an unlimited amount of yard waste, thus allowing the resident to prepare their property for hurricane season. A normal Yard Waste pick-up that exceeds 10 cubic yards, would result in an additional service charge to the resident, but during amnesty the fee is waived.
The benefit to the city:
The Amnesty Program helps the City provide a comprehensive city wide clean-up effort of yard debris prior to hurricane season.
To take advantage of the Yard Waste Amnesty Days please follow the City’s regular Yard/Bulk rules, with the exception of size.
- Place your yard waste at the curbside no earlier than 6:00 p.m. the night before your regular yard waste pick up day.
- Make sure that your yard waste is contained in one pile only in front of your house.
- Place grass cuttings, small trimmings and leaves in plastic bags.
- Cut tree limbs and branches into lengths no longer than four feet.
- Cut tree trunks and stumps into section no longer than four feet and no larger than twelve inches in diameter.
- Do not mix yard waste with any other type of debris.
Yard Waste Amnesty Days do not apply to Commercial Properties or Landscape Contractors.
YARD WASTE
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Leaves, grass clippings, branches, small tree limbs and tree trunks.
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ONE PILE, up to 10 cubic yards (18' Long x 4' Wide x 4' High), can be placed in front of the resident’s home one day before scheduled pickup.
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Prior to hurricane season there are Amnesty days when exceptions are made for the amount of yard waste that can be placed curbside for pickup.
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Vegetation must be in front of the home that it was removed from.
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Small clippings, grass and leaves must be bagged to prevent them from being blown into storm drains. This increases flooding during the rainy season.
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Tree branches and limbs, must not exceed four feet in length and six inches in diameter.
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Stumps are not to exceed 12 inches in diameter and should be stacked neatly so that they can be picked up properly.
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Vegetation does not include wood, board or lumber.
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Real Christmas trees are considered vegetation and are picked up at curbside. Make sure trees are free of lights and decorations.
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Any pile of vegetation larger than ten cubic yards is a violation and will be subject to a fee, please call our office at (561) 822-2075 to schedule a pick up.
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We do not pick up Commercial Properties yard waste or Landscape Contractors yard waste.
Some helpful tips:
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Place yard waste at the curb/edge of the street the day preceding your scheduled pick-up day.
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Place grass cuttings, small trimmings and leaves in plastic bags weighing no more than 50 pounds.
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Cut tree trunks and stumps into sections no longer than four feet and no larger than 12 inches in diameter.
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Clean up debris remaining after pick-up.
Please Don't:
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Place yard waste within 10’ of any obstruction such as a wall, fence, tree, guy wire, vehicle, etc..
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Place yard waste in cardboard boxes or garbage containers.
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Place yard waste on top of water or gas meters.
4. Mix yard waste with any other items.
BULK ITEMS PICKUP
- Bulk items are picked up once a week.
- Up to 3 bulk items can be placed at the curb for collection.
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More than 3 bulk items requires a special pick up which can be scheduled, for a fee, by emailing publicworks@wpb.org or calling (561) 822-2075.
Did You Know?
- Place objects at curbside so as not to interfere with garbage, recycling or yard waste pickup.
- Please do not place more than three items at curbside.
- For additional information see our A-Z Guide to Waste Disposal & Recycling
Bulk Items Include:
Tables / Chairs, Gym Equipment, Household Items, Mattress and Box Springs, Large Child's Toys, BBQ Grills, Sofas, Large Appliances, Small Appliances.
White Goods Include:
Stove, Oven, Refrigerator, Freezer, Air Conditioner, Dish Washer, Washing Machine, Dryer, Hot Water Heater, Toaster. *Please remove doors from large appliances and tape all glass doors diagonally from corner to corner.
E-Scrape Includes:
Computers, Laptops, Monitors, Printer/Scanner/Fax, Gaming Systems, Televisions, All Telephones, VCR/DVD Players, Microwaves.
Items that will not be picked up include:
- Miscellaneous garbage that should go into your household garbage can
- Building materials
- Commercially generated waste
- Propane tanks, water tanks or any type of drum(s)
- Any type of vehicle equipment
- Wood Fencing, decks, concrete
- Freon-containing items such as refrigerators, freezers, air-conditioners, etc. must be put out on the same day you receive vegetation waste pick-up. No vegetation is to be mixed with bulk items. The above-mentioned freon containing items are the only items to be placed next to your vegetation pile.
- Moving Boxes*
- No construction material of any kind will be picked up as part of regular Sanitation service. The City will pick up these materials at an additional fee upon request. Regulations that govern your local landfill consider construction material contamination, and the fees associated with disposing of it are higher. Examples of construction material are cabinets, sinks toilets, roofing, fencing, wood, concrete, drywall, etc.
- All construction material generated by a contractor must be disposed of by that contractor. Also, construction material generated by do-it-yourself projects must be disposed of by the homeowner. This material can be delivered to the Solid Waste Authority’s landfill or any SWA permitted facility. Call (561) 697-2700, toll free 866-792-4636 or visit www.swa.org for additional information.
- No Hazardous Materials of any kind are allowed. This includes but is not limited to: paint, pesticides, oil, batteries, and propane tanks. Please contact the Solid Waste Authority.
*Moving Boxes
The City offers a one time courtesy collection of large quantities of boxes up to 30 days after moving in. These boxes will be removed as bulk on your yard waste day if you have called to alert us ahead of time. The boxes must be empty, broken down, and tied as compactly as possible. Any packing material (i.e. packing peanuts, packing pillows, paper, styrofoam, etc..) must be secured in bags.
Yard Waste & Bulk Pick Up Schedule:
MONDAY
- 25th Street to 59th Street from the Intracoastal Waterway, west to Northshore Drive
TUESDAY
- Okeechobee Boulevard to Southern Boulevard including: Barcelona Road to Pershing Way
West of Olive Avenue to I-95 - Andros Isle, Briar Bay, Hamilton Bay, Oakton Preserve
WEDNESDAY
- East of Olive Avenue: Belmont Avenue to Arlington Road between Olive Avenue & Flagler Drive,
Baywinds, Ibis, Ironhorse, Riverwalk
THURSDAY
- Okeechobee Boulevard to 25th Street
- Saratoga Lakes & PTE, The (3) Bears, Brittany, Spencer Lakes, Lakes of Laguna, Jonathan’s Cove
FRIDAY
- Southern Boulevard to Arlington Road – West of Olive Avenue to I-9