Tampa, FL · bulk pickup rules
Bulk Trash Pickup Rules in Tampa, FL
The City of Tampa gives every residential account one prescheduled S.W.E.E.P. bulky-item collection a year at no extra cost. Need it sooner? A special pickup is $18.12 per cubic yard. Piles cap at 10 cubic yards, go out by 8 p.m. the Sunday of your date, and can't include building materials or electronics. Verified on tampa.gov on 2026-09-19.
5.0 · 119 Google reviews · Davenport & Polk County
Tampa doesn't run a weekly bulk day. It runs S.W.E.E.P., the Solid Waste Enhanced Environmental Program: one scheduled bulky pickup per year per home, looked up by address. Between S.W.E.E.P. dates the city sells a special pickup by the cubic yard, and residents with an active account can drop large items at the McKay Bay Scale House for free.
New Tampa is the exception. Those homes are collected by Hillsborough County and don't get S.W.E.E.P.
Every rule on this page was read from the authority's own page and carries its source and the date it was checked, most recently . Anything the authority doesn't state is left out rather than guessed. Rules change; the sources are linked at the bottom.
Who picks up bulk trash in Tampa
| Rule | What the authority says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | City of Tampa Solid Waste Department, 4010 West Spruce Street, Tampa, FL 33607. Customer service (813) 274-8811, Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | City of Tampa: Residential Services (2026-09-19) |
| Who qualifies | Residential customers with active solid waste accounts in single-family homes and multi-unit properties of four units or less. | City of Tampa: Solid Waste Enhanced Environmental Program (S.W.E.E.P.) (2026-09-19) |
| New Tampa | Serviced by Hillsborough County Solid Waste, (813) 272-5680. No S.W.E.E.P. collections there. | City of Tampa: Solid Waste Enhanced Environmental Program (S.W.E.E.P.) (2026-09-19); City of Tampa: Collection Days and Times (2026-09-19) |
| Free drop-off | Residents with active accounts can take large items like yard waste, furniture, mattresses and appliances to the McKay Bay Scale House, 114 South 34th Street, for free. Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 7am to 5:30pm; Wednesday and Saturday 7am to 3:30pm. | City of Tampa: Solid Waste Enhanced Environmental Program (S.W.E.E.P.) (2026-09-19); City of Tampa: Residential Services (2026-09-19) |
S.W.E.E.P.: one free bulky pickup a year
| Rule | What the authority says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| How often | One prescheduled S.W.E.E.P. collection every year at no additional cost. Enter your address on the city's S.W.E.E.P. page to see your date and set-out deadline. | City of Tampa: Solid Waste Enhanced Environmental Program (S.W.E.E.P.) (2026-09-19) |
| Need it sooner | Call (813) 274-8811 or use Tampa Connect to schedule a special pickup for $18.12 per cubic yard. The city says a cubic yard is about the size of an oven. | City of Tampa: Solid Waste Enhanced Environmental Program (S.W.E.E.P.) (2026-09-19) |
| Set-out window | One pile, curbside on the right of way in front of your home, no later than 8 p.m. on your Sunday S.W.E.E.P. date. Earliest set-out is five days before. Crews won't come back to areas already cleared. | City of Tampa: Solid Waste Enhanced Environmental Program (S.W.E.E.P.) (2026-09-19) |
| Pile size | Should not exceed 10 cubic yards (1 cubic yard = the size of 1 oven). Larger piles may incur additional disposal fees. | City of Tampa: Solid Waste Enhanced Environmental Program (S.W.E.E.P.) (2026-09-19) |
| Placement | Away from low tree limbs, electrical and phone lines, water meters and utility boxes. Piles blocked by vehicles or other items won't be collected. Items in front of vacant homes or lots are treated as illegal dumping and referred to Code Enforcement. | City of Tampa: Solid Waste Enhanced Environmental Program (S.W.E.E.P.) (2026-09-19) |
| Flat glass | Mirrors, window glass and table-top panes must be duct taped or wrapped. | City of Tampa: Solid Waste Enhanced Environmental Program (S.W.E.E.P.) (2026-09-19) |
What S.W.E.E.P. takes and what it refuses
| Rule | What the authority says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Accepted | Household appliances, furniture, mattresses, barbecue grills, toilets, carpet, flat glass (taped or wrapped), passenger tires (limited to 4), railroad ties cut to 4 feet, tree limbs and stumps. The city reserves the right to refuse items. | City of Tampa: Solid Waste Enhanced Environmental Program (S.W.E.E.P.) (2026-09-19) |
| Not accepted | Building materials (sheds, fences, tile, pipe, wood and plywood, brick, concrete blocks, rocks, doors, roofing material, windows, drywall), electronics, household hazardous waste (paints, solvents, oil, fuels), pressurized gas cylinders, explosives and ammunition, metal drums, boats, and yard waste such as grass clippings, leaves and small limbs. | City of Tampa: Solid Waste Enhanced Environmental Program (S.W.E.E.P.) (2026-09-19) |
| Electronics and chemicals | Taken free at select Hillsborough County facilities; the city points to tampa.gov/HHW. | City of Tampa: Solid Waste Enhanced Environmental Program (S.W.E.E.P.) (2026-09-19) |
Yard waste rules in Tampa
| Rule | What the authority says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| How often | Once weekly, containerized, bagged or bundled in less than 50 pound increments, on the same schedule as recycling. | City of Tampa: Collection Days and Times (2026-09-19) |
| No plastic bags | Since February 1, 2024 (City Code Sec. 26-171), yard waste must be in a reusable container of 32 gallons max, biodegradable paper bags made for yard waste, or bundles tied with natural fiber jute twine. Plastic bags, including compostable ones, are not collected. | City of Tampa: Yard Waste FAQs (2026-09-19) |
| Size limits | Materials less than 4 feet in length, less than 40 lbs., and 16" or less in diameter. | City of Tampa: Yard Waste FAQs (2026-09-19) |
| Unprepared piles | Tagged and left. No make-up service; reset it correctly for the next regular collection day. Cardboard boxes, wheelbarrows and recycling carts don't count as containers. | City of Tampa: Yard Waste FAQs (2026-09-19) |
| Not yard waste | Lumber, fencing and other treated wood. Landscaping companies must haul what they generate (Sec. 26-148 (6)); curbside is for yard waste the resident produced. | City of Tampa: Yard Waste FAQs (2026-09-19) |
| Carts | Curbside by 6:00 AM, unblocked and 3 feet from other carts or obstacles, and back out of sight from the street by sunset. | City of Tampa: Collection Days and Times (2026-09-19) |
The honest comparison
When Big Rob's beats waiting for S.W.E.E.P. in Tampa
If your S.W.E.E.P. date is coming up, stack the pile and let the city take it; it's the free option and it takes appliances, furniture and even stumps. The problem is the calendar. Once a year means a sale, a move or an eviction rarely lands on your date, and the city's alternative is $18.12 a yard with the same refused list: no drywall, no fence, no doors, no windows. Tampa is 64 road miles from Davenport, so it's a scheduled trip, usually next day, not a same-day run.
What you get for the trip is a flat price with the building materials allowed: From $125 for a single item, $225 for a quarter trailer, $350 for a half, $525 for three-quarters, $700 for a full one, all-inclusive. The crew carries it out of the house or off the back porch. A fridge ends up at the scrap yard where the refrigerant is recovered. Rob has 5.0 stars on 119 Google reviews.
Junk Removal in Tampa · Hillsborough County landfills and drop-offs · How pricing works
Questions
Tampa questions
When is bulk pickup in Tampa?
Once a year. Each residential account gets one prescheduled S.W.E.E.P. collection at no extra cost; look up your date by address on the city's S.W.E.E.P. page. Put everything in one pile at the curb by 8 p.m. on the Sunday of your date, no more than five days early.
How much does Tampa charge for a special bulk pickup?
$18.12 per cubic yard, scheduled through (813) 274-8811 or Tampa Connect. The city describes a cubic yard as about the size of an oven. Residents with active accounts can also drop large items at the McKay Bay Scale House for free.
Will Tampa's S.W.E.E.P. take a refrigerator or construction debris?
Household appliances, yes. Construction debris, no: sheds, fences, tile, pipe, plywood, brick, concrete blocks, doors, roofing, windows and drywall are all on the not-accepted list, along with electronics, paint, fuel, gas cylinders and boats. Piles over 10 cubic yards may be charged extra.
Sources
- City of Tampa: Solid Waste Enhanced Environmental Program (S.W.E.E.P.) · verified
- City of Tampa: Collection Days and Times · verified
- City of Tampa: Yard Waste FAQs · verified
- City of Tampa: Residential Services · verified
Left out on purpose
- S.W.E.E.P. dates by neighborhood: the city provides them only through its address lookup.
- Refrigerant or door-removal rules for appliances: not stated on the S.W.E.E.P. page.
- Whether the $18.12-per-yard special pickup has a minimum charge or a maximum size: not stated.
- Tampa's monthly residential solid waste rate: not on the pages read for this one.
- The two posted yard waste weight figures (under 50 pounds on the collection days page, less than 40 lbs. on the yard waste FAQ) are both quoted as the city lists them; the pages don't reconcile them.
- McKay Bay Scale House rules for what counts as an active account, load limits or ID: on tampa.gov/scalehouse, not read for this page.
Rather not wait on Tampa?
Call before noon and it's usually gone today. Or text a photo of the pile and Rob sends back a flat quote.
5.0 · 119 Google reviews · Tampa, FL