♬ Walking you through a waste wonderland ♬
County Commissioner Robert S Weinroth reminds you that with the holidays comes gifts, good times and … garbage!
Here is everything you need to know about your recycling opportunities and weird winter wastes.
Holiday Collection
Under the new collection service contract using standardized garbage carts, garbage in the unincorporated county will be collected outside of the cart from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1,. Residents still should place all debris normally collected on these days curbside by 6AM.
New Year’s Day (Friday, Jan. 1, 2021) will not affect your scheduled garbage, recycling, yard waste and bulk waste collection services in unincorporated Palm Beach County. All material should be at the curb on New Year’s Day by 6AM. as collection service may be much earlier than normal.
In the City of Boca Raton, Thursday collections (garbage, bulk and recycling) will be handled on Wednesday and Friday collections will be handled on Thursday.
While SWA administrative offices will be closed on New Year’s Day, there will be a limited number of Customer Service team members available to assist residents with any garbage or recyclable collection questions or concerns. SWA Customer Service can be reached at 561.697.2700 or 866.792.4636.
Residents in unincorporated Palm Beach County can always see their updated collection schedule, set reminders and sign up for collection information by clicking the “My Pick-Up Days [swa.org]” button at SWA.org [swa.org].
County residents living in one of Palm Beach County’s 39 municipalities should contact their municipality directly for their holiday collection schedule. A list of municipal contacts can be found online.
Resolve to Recycle
Many of us celebrate the values we hold most dear at this time of year. Thank you for making Recycling Right a part of your holidays.
Many food and drink containers can be recycled in your blue recycling bin, including:
- Plastic Bottles and Containers – Lids on; 2 gallons or less
- Cans, Food and Beverage
- Glass Bottles and Jars – Lids off
- Cartons, Milk and Juice– Lids on
- Drink Boxes – No pouches
The yellow recycling bin is the place for all fiber, including:
- Cardboard – Flattened with packaging removed. Palm Beach County residents can also take oversized cardboard to one of more than 250 community cardboard drop-off locations.
- Newspapers and Inserts – No plastic bags
- Office and School Paper
- Magazines
- Dry Food Boxes – No food stains
- Paper Bags
- Cardboard Paper Rolls
- Pizza Boxes – No food stains; tear the stained side off
Thank you for not placing these items in your blue or yellow recycling bins:
- Plastic Bags
- Foam Products
- Aluminum Foil or Pans
- Shredded Paper
- Plastic Eating Utensils or Straws
- Paper Plates
- Paper Towels or Napkins
- Coat Hangers
- Light Bulbs
- Needles
For more information about Recycling Right, or to order new recycling bins, call 866.NEW.BINS (866.639.2467) or visit SWA.org/RecycleRight.
Electronics Recycling and Home Chemical Disposal
Are you upgrading your electronics or cleaning out the garage after setting up the decorations? Palm Beach County residents can bring outdated devices and wastes such as holiday lights, used cooking oil, old paint, fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, automotive fluids, and more to any of the seven Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County Home Chemical and Recycling Centers. Watch the SWA’s fun parody video on disposing of home chemicals.
The SWA’s locations include (from north county to south county):
- Jupiter
North County Transfer Station
14185 Military Trail (SWA Rd) in Jupiter
Monday – Friday: 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday: 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- West Palm Beach
Home Chemical and Recycling Center
6161 N. Jog Rd in West Palm Beach
Monday – Friday: 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday: 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Belle Glade
Glades Regional Transfer Station
1701 State Road 15 in Belle Glade
Monday – Friday: 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Royal Palm Beach
West Central Transfer Station
9743 Weisman Way in Royal Palm Beach
Monday – Friday: 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday: 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Lantana
Central County Transfer Station
1810 Lantana Rd in Lantana
Monday – Friday: 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday: 7 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- Delray Beach – West
Southwest County Transfer Station
13400 S State Road 7 in Delray Beach
Monday – Friday: 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday: 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Delray Beach – East
South County Transfer Station
1901 SW 4th Ave. in Delray Beach
Monday – Friday: 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday: 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.
See the full list of all of the hazardous waste items accepted in the SWA’s program online.
Tips for Other Items
- Unincorporated Palm Beach County residents can place their live Christmas tree curbside on the regular yard waste collection day. Remember to remove all decorations, lights and tinsel.
- Pre-lit and artificial trees should be discarded as trash.
- Plastic bags and film (like wrap on water bottle cases) can be recycled at most local supermarkets in special bins. Soiled bags and film should go in the trash.
- Foam food trays and egg cartons can be recycled at most local supermarkets in special bins.
- Oversized and large volumes of flattened cardboard boxes may be recycled at any of the Home Chemical and Recycling Centers or at one of the hundreds of community drop-off locations.
- Holiday ornaments, decorative pieces, clothing and toys that are in good condition can be donated to a local nonprofit, church or shelter to be reused.
- Tree trimmings such as tinsel and garland should be discarded as trash. Palm Beach County residents can bring holiday lights to any of the seven Home Chemical and Recycling Centers.
- Excess trash can be taken to any of the SWA’s transfer stations or the North County Landfill during regular hours, but there is a nominal charge for disposal that is payable in cash only.
Much more information is available online at SWA.org. Residents can also contact SWA Customer Service with their questions or comments at 561.697.2700, toll-free at 866.SWA.INFO (866.792.4636), or ContactCIS@swa.org.
Wishing you and your family a Happy Holiday Season from the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County!
The Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County is a Dependent Special District that was created by the Florida Legislature in 1975.
Since then, the SWA has developed an award-winning integrated solid waste management system to handle the county’s waste and recyclables. We call ourselves AWAY: whether you throw it, recycle it or flush it AWAY, we put your waste to work. Each year, we:
- Process more than 100,000 tons of recyclables each year
- Burn approximately 1.8 million tons of trash each year to generate electricity at renewable energy facilities
- Produce enough electricity to power approximately 74,000 homes
- Recycle more than 150,000 tons of wastewater treatment residuals (sludge from flushes) into environmentally-friendly fertilizer
- Safely dispose of more than 4 million pounds of home hazards a year
- Collect water off of the roofs of Renewable Energy Facility 2 and store it in a 2 million gallon cistern, which is used as part of the energy making process