What it costs to dump in Florida: 2026 landfill fees by city
This is the Florida breakdown. For the national picture — how gate rates, minimum charges and by-vehicle pricing compare across every state we cover — see how much it costs to dump at a landfill.
Florida sets disposal county by county, and the biggest thing that decides your price isn't the county. It's whether you live in a city or in the unincorporated county around it. Several counties fold a free allowance into the property-tax assessment, but it usually covers county customers only. City residents in Tampa, Miami, Tallahassee and Ocala get a different deal, and sometimes no drop-off at all. We checked 18 Florida cities against each county's own fee schedule. Here's what they found.
2026 cost to dump in Florida, city by city
| City | Residents pay | Standard gate rate | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville | $1 for the first 500 lbs on Saturdays (residents) | $30.30/ton; yard waste $25/ton | Declare tires and appliances at the scale house: a tire is $1.50 declared, $13.50 dumped on the hill |
| Panama City | $5 flat at Bayline Drive (residents); $50 punch card for 26 visits | $38.19/ton at Steelfield Road, $5 minimum | Bayline takes small loads only; free Waste Amnesty Days twice a year |
| Pensacola | No resident discount | $45.06/ton, $11.64 minimum; yard trash $27.62 | Clean concrete and clean dirt are free |
| Lakeland | Residents use the North Central Transfer Station | $48.30/ton since Oct. 1, 2026, $10 minimum | The landfill itself is now commercial haulers only |
| Orlando | $10 minimum | $56.40/ton; C&D $42.70 (landfill only); yard waste $48.70 | Uncovered loads pay double |
| Clearwater & St. Petersburg | $4.25 a car, $11.75 a pickup, flat | $58.86/ton ($63.57 from Oct. 1, pending approval) | Out-of-county waste pays double |
| Tampa | City: free at McKay Bay + 1 free S.W.E.E.P. pickup a year. County: 10 cubic yards a year free | Commercial rates at the Southeast County Landfill | The County centers' bulky allowance is for County customers only |
| Sarasota | No resident discount | $60.85/ton, $15 minimum; yard trash $47.43 | Mixed loads charged double; plastic bags with yard waste cost $15 |
| Fort Myers & Cape Coral | $15 flat per citizen load at Buckingham; Cape Coral runs its own residents' bulk drop-off | $69.83/ton; C&D $70.25; yard waste $43.92; $15 minimum | Lee County waste only; shingles go to the Felda landfill |
| Fort Lauderdale | $10 per passenger vehicle | $100/ton bulk and C&D; yard trash $75 | The County landfill takes no household garbage |
| West Palm Beach | No resident discount | $42/ton; yard waste $35; C&D $80; $10 minimum | Out-of-county waste is $156/ton |
| Miami | City of Miami: weekly curbside bulky pickup. Eligible County customers: 13 centers, no fee | $115.80/ton at County landfills, + $17.30/ton at transfer stations | City of Miami residents can't use the County centers |
| Gainesville | 5 Rural Collection Centers, no fee listed, 1 level truck bed a day | $65/ton at Leveda Brown | Neither takes construction debris |
| Ocala | Unincorporated: covered by the $215 assessment. City residents: $215 permit for the recycling centers | Baseline: $10 a car, $20 a truck flat, or $65/ton | For a one-off load, city residents should use Baseline's flat rate |
| Tallahassee | Unincorporated Leon County: 1 free level-pickup load | City residents: no garbage or bulk at the County site (use Marpan) | Household hazardous waste and up to 4 tires are free for all county residents |
Rates checked against each county's or city's own published fee schedule, September 2026. Specialty items (tires, appliances, electronics, Class III debris) are usually billed separately from household waste. Always confirm with the facility before a big load.
Find a landfill near you
Enter your ZIP or city for the nearest disposal sites, then open your city's page for its exact hours, fees and what it accepts.
What “free” actually means in Florida
Many Florida counties pay for disposal through an annual solid waste assessment on the property tax bill, so the gate is where you use what you've already paid for. Three things follow from that:
- It usually covers county customers only. In Tallahassee, Leon County's free load is for unincorporated residents, and City residents can't drop garbage or bulk items at the County facility at all. Miami-Dade's 13 centers aren't open to City of Miami residents. Hillsborough's bulky allowance is for County customers, not the City of Tampa. Marion County's centers need a $215 permit if you live inside Ocala.
- It has limits. Hillsborough County customers get 10 cubic yards a year. Alachua's rural centers take one level truck bed a day. Leon's free load is one level pickup bed.
- You'll be asked for proof. Miami-Dade scans your Florida license against its property database. Hillsborough wants a photo ID and your property tax bill. No proof, no free drop-off.
City residents usually have their own route instead: Tampa's McKay Bay Scale House and S.W.E.E.P. pickup, Miami's weekly curbside bulky collection, Ocala's $10 flat rate at Baseline.
The cheapest and most expensive places to dump in Florida
Cheapest per ton: Jacksonville's Trail Ridge Landfill at $30.30, and on Saturdays residents pay $1 for the first 500 lbs. That's a sofa, a mattress and a few bags of junk for a dollar.
Cheapest small load: Pinellas County's flat $4.25 a carload ($11.75 a pickup) at the complex that serves Clearwater and St. Petersburg. Bay County's Bayline center is $5 flat, or under $2 a visit with the punch card.
Most expensive: Miami-Dade's public rate of $115.80 a ton, plus $17.30 a ton more at its transfer stations. Broward is next at $100 a ton.
Free, if you qualify: Hillsborough County customers (10 cubic yards a year), Alachua's rural centers, eligible Miami-Dade County customers, and unincorporated Leon and Marion counties.
The hidden fees that catch people out
- Mixed loads. Sarasota charges an unseparated load double the garbage rate. Pinellas, Orlando and the SWA in Palm Beach charge a mixed load at the higher category. Pull the yard waste out and it's cheaper, from Jacksonville's $25 a ton to Pensacola's $27.62.
- Uncovered loads. Orlando doubles the fee. Pensacola charges $7.02, the SWA $10, and Bay County $5.
- Minimum charges. $5 in Bay County, $9 in Orlando, $10 in Polk, Broward and Palm Beach, $11.64 in Pensacola, and $15 in Lee and Sarasota counties.
- Undeclared items. In Jacksonville a tire declared at the scale house is $1.50, and the same tire dumped on the hill is $13.50.
- Class I vs Class III. Florida sorts landfills by class, and the rate follows. In Orlando, construction debris ($42.70 a ton) is cheaper than household garbage ($56.40). Ask which stream your load falls in.
Some things can't go in the load at any price
Florida prohibits five categories of material from landfill disposal under Florida Administrative Code 62-701.300: lead-acid batteries, used oil, white goods, whole waste tires, and yard trash in a Class I landfill.
Notably, electronics are not on Florida's list. A television or computer isn't prohibited from a Florida landfill. Plenty of Florida counties still run free electronics drop-offs and would rather you used them — but you're not breaking a rule if you don't.
The full list, the exceptions, and where each item goes instead is in our guide to what you can't throw away in Florida.