‘Tis the season to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Below you will find information on holiday collection schedules, tips on how to dispose of unique holiday items, recycling options and more.
Holiday Trash Collection Schedule
Holiday Collection Days and Facility Closings
- All Hillsborough County solid waste facilities, including community collection centers, yard and wood waste processing sites, transfer stations, resource recovery, and the Southeast County landfill, will be closed on the following holidays:
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Eve Day, Dec. 24, all facilities close at 2:30 p.m.
- Christmas Day, Dec. 25
- New Year's Day, Jan. 1
- Residential trash, recycling, and yard waste collection schedules will be impacted as follows:
- Regular collection of trash, yard waste, and recycling on Christmas Eve Day, Dec. 24
- No collection of trash, yard waste, or recycling on Christmas Day, Dec. 25
- No collection of trash on New Year's Day. Jan. 1. Normally scheduled recycling and yard waste will be collected.
- There are no holiday make-up days for collection. If your collection date falls on a holiday, services will resume on the next regularly scheduled collection day.
- Trash and recycling must be placed inside the carts to be collected.
Live Christmas Trees
- Curbside pickup of live Christmas trees is available by following these steps:
- Remove all decorations, lights, and tinsel
- Cut the tree into sections no larger than 4-feet long and 6-inches in diameter
- Place curbside on your regular yard waste collection day
- Drop off live trees at one of the following Yard Waste Processing Facilities, after removing all decorations, lights, and tinsel:
- 13000 U.S. Highway 41 in Gibsonton
- 8001 W. Linebaugh Ave. in Tampa
Excess Trash
- Excess trash that will not fit in the gray garbage cart may be disposed of at any of the County Community Collection Centers when accompanied by a copy of the resident’s Hillsborough County Tax Bill. Fees may apply for food waste.
Food and Beverage Containers
- Recyclable food and beverage containers should be emptied and rinsed before placing them loose in the blue recycling cart.
- Plastic bottles and containers No. 1-7
- Aluminum, tin, and steel cans
- Cartons, such as those for soy milk, juice boxes, chicken broth, etc.
- Glass bottles and jars
- Large volumes of recyclables that will not fit in the blue curbside cart may be recycled at any of the County Community Collection Centers for no additional fee.
Plastic Bags & Wrap
- Plastic bags, bubble wrap, and film cannot be recycled in your curbside blue cart
- Clean and dry plastic bags and film can be recycled at participating supermarkets in special bins located near the store entrance
- Loose and soiled bags, plastic film, shrink wrap, and bubble wrap should be placed in the trash cart
Cardboard Boxes
- Flattened cardboard boxes can be recycled in the curbside blue recycling cart, however all cardboard must fit inside the cart to be collected
- Oversized and large volumes of flattened cardboard boxes may be recycled at any of the County Community Collection Centers for no additional fee
Foam Packaging
- Foam packing materials can be disposed of in the gray garbage cart or dropped off for recycling at the Dart Container Corp. facility, 4610 Airport Road in Plant City
- Clean foam food trays and egg cartons can be recycled at most local supermarkets in special bins located near the store entrance
Holiday Ornaments and Decorations
- Holiday decorations and ornaments, including pre-lit and artificial trees, should be discarded as trash if the items can’t be donated
Wrapping Paper and Cards
- Greeting cards and wrapping paper, as long as it is free of ribbons, foil, and other non-paper items, can be recycled by placing loose in the curbside blue recycling cart.
- Gift bags, tissue paper, ribbons and bows are NOT recyclable in the cart.
Cooking Oil
- Used household cooking oil may be recycled at the County’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Centers or at any Cooking Oil Recycling Effort (CORE) station for no additional fee.
Holiday Lights
- Strings of holiday lights may be safely disposed of in the gray garbage cart or recycled as electronics at any of the County Community Collection Centers for no additional fee.
- Pre-lit trees should be placed in the regular trash.
Electronics
- Items containing a digital display or circuit board, including televisions, computers, laptops, mobile devices, stereo equipment, gaming consoles, VCR/DVD players and printers, may be safely recycled at any of the County Community Collection Centers for no additional fee.
- Small bathroom and kitchen appliances such as toasters, crock pots, electric skillets, blenders, hair dryers, and curling irons may be discarded in your regular trash.