What you can't throw away in Florida: items banned from landfills
Florida's list of banned materials is short — five categories, set out in administrative rule rather than statute. What's more useful is knowing what isn't on it. Electronics are not banned from Florida landfills. Here's the full list, the exceptions that actually matter, and where each item goes instead.
Banned from Florida landfills — the full list
| Item | The rule | Where it goes instead |
|---|---|---|
| Lead-acid batteries (car batteries) | Banned from any landfill — 62-701.300(8)(a)1 | Any auto parts retailer takes them free, usually with a core credit; or county household hazardous waste |
| Used oil | Banned from any landfill except as allowed under chapter 62-710 — 62-701.300(8)(a)2 | Auto parts stores and county HHW centers — Alachua County's rural collection centers take household hazardous waste from county residents |
| Yard trash | Banned from a Class I landfill, except as allowed under s. 403.708(12)(c), F.S. — 62-701.300(8)(a)3 | Yard waste or composting facility — and it's cheaper: $48.70/ton in Orlando vs $56.40 Class I, $43.92 vs $69.83 in Cape Coral |
| White goods (fridges, washers, dryers, stoves) | Banned from any landfill — 62-701.300(8)(a)4 | Scrap metal / appliance drop-off — Jacksonville takes appliances at $20 each |
| Whole waste tires | May not go in any landfill or C&D debris facility, except as provided in chapter 62-711 — 62-701.300(8)(b) | County tire program — $2.00 each (max 8) in Orlando, $1.50 passenger in Jacksonville, 12 a year for Hillsborough County customers near Tampa |
Source: Florida Administrative Code Rule 62-701.300, September 2026. Separate restrictions apply to waste-to-energy facilities, which additionally may not receive lead-acid batteries, mercury-containing devices or spent mercury lamps. Oily wastes and sorbents used for maintenance are exempt from the used-oil prohibition.
What Florida doesn't ban — and why it matters
If you've moved to Florida from another state, or you're clearing out a relative's place, the absences on this list matter as much as the entries.
Electronics aren't banned. Florida has no state prohibition on landfilling televisions or computers. Most counties still run free electronics drop-offs and would rather you used them — but a TV in your landfill load breaks no state rule.
That said, "not banned" isn't the same as "recommended". Many Florida counties run electronics recycling and would rather you used it; check your city page for the nearest drop-off. Our electronics recycling guide covers the options.
Nor are aluminum cans, plastic bottles, wooden pallets or oyster shells. Recycling them is the better route, but no Florida rule keeps them out of a landfill.
Class I, Class III, and why the class decides the rule
Florida's yard trash ban has a qualifier most summaries drop: it applies to Class I landfills. Florida sorts disposal facilities into classes, and both the prohibitions and the price follow the class rather than the material alone.
This has a real consequence at the scale house. In Orlando, Class I household waste is $56.40/ton while construction and demolition debris is $42.70/ton — construction debris is cheaper than household trash, which is the reverse of most states. Yard waste sits between them at $48.70/ton. In Cape Coral the spread is wider still: $69.83/ton household against $43.92 for yard waste.
So the ban and the economics point the same way. Pulling limbs, leaves and grass out of a mixed load isn't just staying on the right side of 62-701.300 — in Cape Coral it's the difference between $69.83 and $43.92 a ton on that portion. Ask which class your load is being assessed as; it's the single most useful question you can put to a Florida scale house.
Sorting a Florida cleanout, in order
Because Florida's resident programs are funded by your annual assessment, most of the alternatives here cost nothing. A sensible order:
- Car batteries and used oil first. Banned, and auto parts retailers take both free — often with a core credit on the battery.
- Then appliances. White goods are banned from any landfill. Refrigerant-containing units need proper handling; see our appliance disposal guide.
- Then tires. Whole tires can't go in a landfill or a C&D facility. Hillsborough County customers near Tampa get 12 a year; Orlando takes 8 a visit at $2.00 each. Our tire guide has the detail.
- Then yard waste — banned from Class I, and priced $7–$26 a ton below household trash depending on the county ($48.70 vs $56.40 in Orlando, $43.92 vs $69.83 in Cape Coral). This is where the real money is.
- What's left is the paid load. See what it costs to dump in Florida for per-city rates, and remember to take ID: many county sites are for residents only.
Find a drop-off near you
Enter your ZIP or city for the nearest disposal and recycling sites, then open your city's page for exactly what it accepts.