Trash and recycling pickup in Boca Raton: schedule, holidays, bulk

Last checked Oct. 19, 2026. Facts on this page come from the City of Boca Raton’s Sanitation Division pages. Updated each time the city changes its schedule or fees.

The City of Boca Raton runs its own garbage, recycling, yard waste and bulk pickup for homes inside the city limits. Garbage goes twice a week; recycling, yard waste and bulk items go once a week, all on a schedule set by your collection area. The charge is on your water bill.

Who to call

• Missed pickup, new or damaged cart, recycling bins, paid bulk pickup: Sanitation Division, 561-416-3367, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays
• Sanitation office: 2500 NW First Ave.
• Holiday and service alerts: text SanitationAlert to 38276, or sign up through Alert Boca
• Hazardous waste, extra drop-off: Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County, 866-792-4636
• Official page: Residential Curbside Collection

What day is my pickup?

The city splits Boca Raton into four collection areas. Find yours on the Sanitation Collection Map on the city’s curbside collection page.

Pickups run Monday through Friday. The city says material may go to the curb no earlier than 7 p.m. the night before and no later than 7 a.m. on your collection day, and carts must come back in within 12 hours of pickup.

The cart rules

From the city’s resident guidelines and garbage container page:

• Bag and tie all garbage, and keep it fully inside the city-issued cart. Overflowing carts and garbage in other containers are not collected.
• Put the cart at the edge of the curb or swale with the bar on the front facing the street, so the truck’s automated arm can reach it.
• Keep it at least 5 feet from other carts, bulk items, yard waste, trees, mailboxes, poles and parked cars, and not under wires or branches.
• Carts are numbered and assigned to your address. If you move, the cart stays. Call 561-416-3367 if it is lost, stolen or damaged.

Every curbside home gets one cart free. A second cart costs $46 for a 65-gallon cart or $50 for a 95-gallon cart, plus $6.75 a month on the water bill.

Holiday schedule

There is no collection on certain city holidays; pickup moves to another day that week. The city’s Holiday Sanitation Schedule for 2026-27 lists the next changes:

Sign up for the SanitationAlert texts for any change at short notice.

Recycling

Boca Raton uses two bins, according to the city’s recycling page:

• Yellow bin: paper and cardboard. Cut cardboard down to 2-by-2-foot pieces and put it in or next to the yellow bin. Bigger boxes left whole go with bulk pickup.
• Blue bin: glass, plastic and aluminum.

Call 561-416-3367 to have bins delivered; you must live inside the city limits. The Solid Waste Authority’s Recycle Coach app and the authority’s site list what goes where.

Yard waste

Yard waste is picked up once a week on your recycling day, from the swale or the edge of the pavement, according to the vegetative waste page:

• Bundle or bag it. Do not put it in cans or bins, and do not mix it with bulk items.
• Limbs and palm fronds can be no more than 4 inches across and 5 feet long.
• Keep piles off the driveway, at least 5 feet from carts and within 6 feet of the paved street edge, away from mailboxes, meters, storm drains and wires.
• The city does not pick up material left by hired landscapers or tree services.

Bulk pickup

Bulk items go out on the same day as recycling and yard waste, per the city’s bulk waste page. That covers furniture, bicycles, televisions and appliances such as refrigerators, washers and dryers (remove the doors).

Anything bigger than 2 cubic yards, about a washer and dryer together, needs the paid “Pay for Pickup Option,” which also gets items collected on a day that is not your scheduled day. The bulk page lists a minimum of $161.71 for up to 2 cubic yards and $35.66 for each extra cubic yard. Call 561-416-3367 to book.

Hazardous waste and electronics

Paint, pool chemicals, motor oil, propane tanks, pesticides, fluorescent bulbs, lithium and rechargeable batteries, and electronics including phones and tablets must not go to the curb. The city’s hazardous waste page sends residents to the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County’s transfer stations. Everyday alkaline batteries can go in the garbage.

What it costs

Curbside residential service is $27.90 a month since Oct. 1, 2025, and multifamily units pay $16.89 a month, according to the curbside collection page. Both show on the city’s water bill, which comes every other month. The fee covers garbage, recycling, yard waste and regular bulk pickup.

Frequently asked questions

What day is trash pickup in Boca Raton? It depends on your collection area. Areas 1 and 3 get garbage on Monday and Thursday; Areas 2 and 4 on Tuesday and Friday.

What day is recycling pickup in Boca Raton? Recycling, yard waste and bulk items go out one day a week: Monday in Area 1, Tuesday in Area 2, Thursday in Area 3 and Friday in Area 4.

Does Boca Raton trash pickup change on holidays? Yes. Veterans Day pickup moves to Thursday, Nov. 12, and there is no collection Nov. 25-27, Thanksgiving week.

How do I get rid of a couch or a fridge in Boca Raton? Put it at the curb on your recycling day, at least 5 feet from carts, trees and mailboxes. Anything over 2 cubic yards needs the paid pickup; call 561-416-3367.

How much is trash pickup in Boca Raton? Curbside service is $27.90 a month, and multifamily units pay $16.89, billed on the water bill.

What this means for you

• Look up your area on the map once; it sets both your garbage days and your recycling day.
• Carts out by 7 a.m., not before 7 p.m. the night before, back in within 12 hours.
• Columbus Day week runs a day late for Monday and Tuesday homes.
• Paint, pool chemicals and lithium batteries go to a Solid Waste Authority site, never the curb.

More city services: who to call at City Hall, property taxes and moving to Boca Raton.