Yard waste is a regular part of keeping a Winter Haven property tidy, and the rules depend on who collects at your address. This guide explains what the published sources say about yard waste collection, how to tell which provider serves you, and where storm debris fits in. For more resident information, see the Winter Haven residents page.
Weekly service inside the City of Winter Haven
The City of Winter Haven describes its residential service this way: "Residential Services are provided once a week with automated garbage collection, automated recycling collection, and yard waste collection." In plain terms, households that receive city service get garbage, recycling and yard waste collection once a week.
The city's garbage and recycling page is the place to look for current details about the program.
Check which provider serves your address
Not every address inside Winter Haven is served by the city. The City of Winter Haven notes that the container color is a clue: "If your garbage container is gray and recycle container is black, you are serviced by the County." Those residents are directed to contact Polk County Solid Waste and Recycling at 863-284-4319.
A quick way to sort this out:
- Look at your garbage and recycle containers.
- If the garbage container is gray and the recycle container is black, your address is serviced by Polk County.
- In that case, contact Polk County Solid Waste and Recycling at 863-284-4319.
- Otherwise, city service questions go to the City of Winter Haven Solid Waste line at 863-291-5756.
Knowing which provider serves you matters, because the yard waste rules described below are Polk County's residential rules.
Polk County rules for yard waste
Polk County Government publishes residential rules for yard waste. Residents served by the county should follow them, and they are a useful reference for anyone preparing yard material for pickup.
How to set out yard waste
Under the county's rules, yard waste must be bagged, bundled or containerized. Loose piles are not the expected way to set material out. Using a bag, a bundle or a container keeps the material together and makes it easier to handle.
The county also sets a limit on how much is collected: "Up to four containers will be collected per week." A resident with a large cleanup may need to spread the work across more than one week rather than setting everything out at once.
Size limits for branches
For branches, the county says they "should be no more than three feet in length and no more than two inches in diameter." Longer or thicker limbs should be cut down to size before they are set out. Trimming limbs to fit the limit and then bundling them is a practical way to prepare a pile.
A simple routine for weekly yard waste
Because service is weekly, a small routine can keep yard work manageable:
- Work out whether the city or Polk County serves your address.
- Cut branches to no more than three feet in length and no more than two inches in diameter.
- Bag, bundle or containerize the material.
- Keep the total to four containers per week if you are following the county rules.
- Call the right office if something is unclear.
What about storm debris?
The sources reviewed for this guide describe regular yard waste collection. They do not describe a separate storm debris pickup program, and they give no schedule, special rules or start dates for pickup after a storm. Because of that, this guide does not guess at how storm debris collection works.
What the sources do support is a sensible starting point. After a storm, residents can prepare material the same way the county describes for regular yard waste: bagged, bundled or containerized, with branches kept to the stated length and diameter. For anything beyond that, ask the office that serves your address. City residents can call the Solid Waste line, and residents with gray and black containers can call Polk County Solid Waste and Recycling.
If an official announcement about storm debris is issued, it will come from the city or the county, so those are the sources to trust for timing and any special instructions.
Who to contact
- City of Winter Haven Solid Waste: 863-291-5756
- Polk County Solid Waste and Recycling, for addresses with a gray garbage container and a black recycle container: 863-284-4319
- Polk County residential waste rules: Polk County Government
Sources
Compiled from the official sources below.