Treasure Coast residents can expect a mix of service delays, closures and schedule adjustments as local governments outline holiday trash and recycling plans for the Christmas and New Year’s weeks.
Indian River County said its five Customer Convenience Centers and the main landfill will close on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.
Trash and recycling service will shift by one day in unincorporated areas as well as Fellsmere, Sebastian and Indian River Shores, with Thursday routes moving to Friday and Friday routes moving to Saturday on both holiday weeks. Recycling will follow the same schedule.
In Vero Beach, residents with Wednesday or Thursday collection on the holiday weeks will receive service on their next regular pickup day, according to the city’s solid waste division.
The Town of Orchid will also move Thursday customers to their next scheduled collection day. County officials encouraged residents with questions to contact their waste provider.
In the City of Stuart, Monday and Tuesday garbage routes will not change for either holiday week, and yard debris will continue on its normal schedule.
Recycling will follow a modified plan: Wednesday multi-family service will remain the same, while Thursday single-family routes shift to Friday and Friday routes shift to Saturday on both holiday weeks. Bulk trash routes will follow the same pattern, with Thursday collection moved to Friday and Friday collection moved to Saturday. City offices will close on all observed holidays.
Martin County said that whenever an observed holiday falls on a weekday, solid waste pickup will occur the next day, with all other routes sliding forward by one day for the remainder of the week.
If a holiday falls on a weekend, the schedule remains unchanged unless it is observed on a Monday or Friday, in which case a one-day delay will apply starting that Tuesday.
The county issued additional guidance for holiday recycling and disposal. Live Christmas trees will be collected on the regular Wednesday yard waste day, and during the week of Jan. 6, tree and yard waste service will follow the holiday schedule and occur one day later. Decorations must be removed before trees are set out.
The county listed several items that can be recycled, including clean aluminum foil and pans, cardboard boxes, non-glitter paper bags, nonmetallic tissue paper, catalogs and non-foil wrapping paper. Items that cannot be recycled include artificial trees, cookware, clothing, ribbons, ornaments, plastic bags and Styrofoam.
Martin County also reminded residents that batteries, cooking oil, holiday lights, extension cords, electronics and appliances must be taken to the Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Center in Palm City for free drop-off.
The site at 9155 Busch Street operates Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon, and is closed Sundays and legal holidays.
In unincorporated St. Lucie County, solid waste officials said there will be no collection on Christmas Day, and there are no make-up days. Service will resume on the next scheduled collection day.
Fort Pierce will suspend residential collection on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. There will be no residential or commercial collection on Christmas Day. Commercial service will continue on Christmas Eve, but residential routes will not. The city does not offer make-up service.
Port St. Lucie officials said only Christmas will affect curbside collection. Service on that day follows the city’s standard delay procedure, which is announced ahead of each holiday week.
Residents who have their trash collected by WM can also look to Waste Management's holiday website to keep on top of any schedule changes.