Commercial Recycling & Garbage

​The following is an excerpt from the Alachua County Code of Ordinances regarding the collection of recyclable materials at commercial properties. The Alachua County Code of Ordinances can be found in its entirety at www.municode.com.

Sec. 75.302. - Collection service and recycling requirements for commercial property and commercially collected residential property.

For commercial property within the unincorporated area, the county shall make available commercial collection service, the cost of which shall be billed and collected by the permit holder.

1. An owner of commercial property shall provide for the disposal of solid waste and proper recycling of recyclable material generated on such property at a solid waste management facility either by entering into an agreement with a permit holder or by other lawful means. The owner and the tenant of commercial property shall provide for the “source-separation” of the designated recyclable materials from its solid waste. The owner and tenant of industrial property shall also provide for the source separation of metals and packaging materials. The owner and the tenant of commercial property shall provide for the proper recycling of such recyclable material at a materials processing facility either by entering into an agreement with a permit holder or certified recycler, or by other lawful means. Every property owner shall ensure that all recovered materials shall be placed in a recycling container to minimize contaminating the recovered materials with solid waste so that no more than 25 percent of the weight or volume in the recycling container is solid waste.
   
   
2. Commercially collected residential property. The owner of all commercially collected residential property shall establish a recycling program that is convenient and accessible to the residents for recycling of designated recyclable materials. The owner shall provide recycling containers of at least a 90 gallon capacity and shall provide a sufficient number of containers for capacity equal or greater than 90 gallons for each 20 dwelling units on the property.
   
   
3. Location of containers. Every property owner shall keep all recycling containers in a safe, accessible location as agreed to by the permit holder and customer. Recycling containers on parcels consisting of multi-family dwelling units shall be placed adjacent to the commercial service container for the collection of solid waste, or at an alternate location approved by the county manager and shall be convenient to the residents’ use thereof. In the event an appropriate location cannot be agreed upon, or is not convenient to residents’ use, the county manager shall designate the location.
   
   
4. Maintenance of containers. If a permit holder or certified recycler provides recycling containers to its customers, the permit holder or certified recycler shall be responsible for the proper maintenance of the container. Customers who acquire their own containers from any other source are responsible for ensuring that the container can be serviced by the permit holder’s or certified recycler’s equipment and for the proper maintenance of the container, except that any damage done by the permit holder or certified recycler shall be the responsibility of the permit holder or certified recycler.