SPRING: Time for Clean-up!
How Do I Dispose of …
Small Appliances
Microwave Ovens, Toasters, Broilers, Vacuums, Hair Dryers, etc.
Disposal: Dispose of with your regular household garbage.
Large Appliances
Refrigerators, Washers, Dryers, Ovens, Dish Washers, etc.
Disposal: Call your Franchised Hauler (Waste Pro or Advanced Disposal) and request a special pick up. Hauler will schedule pick up. There is no additional charge to residential customers. For safety reasons, please remove or seal doors with heavy packing tape on refrigerators, freezers, washers and dryers before placing the appliance out for collection.
Electronic Items
Computers, Printers, Televisions, Keyboards, etc.
Disposal: Place curbside next to, but separated from, regular garbage. Driver will log and tag as electronic equipment and an electronics truck will come the following day to collect.
Note: If you are unable to wait for your regularly scheduled pick up, you can bring non-chemical items to the Resource Recovery Facility’s Citizen Drop Off area at 10500 Buckingham Rd Fort Myers, FL 33905. You will be charged by weight.
Hazardous Chemicals
Many cleaners, paints, varnishes, motor oil, antifreeze, fuel, poisons, pesticides, herbicides, fluorescent lamps, batteries, etc.
Disposal: ALL chemicals must be taken to the Topaz Court Solid Waste Annex at 6441 Topaz Court, Fort Myers, FL 33966.
Paper Shredding
DO NOT put shredded paper in your recycle bin. The sorting equipment tears it into tiny pieces where it simply becomes litter mixed in with the recyclable commodities — lowering their market value. Please place shredded paper in your garbage can so it can be converted to electricity at the Waste-to-Energy plant.
Yard Waste
Residents of Lee County receive one curbside yard waste collection each week. Yard waste consists of:
- grass clippings
- tree limbs and branches
- palm fronds
- leaves
- fallen fruit
- dead plants and flowers
Disposal: Yard waste must be placed in a container (50 pounds or less), or securely tied into bundles not heavier than 50 pounds and no longer than 6 feet in length. Up to 50 pounds of unbundled palm fronds may be placed at the curb. Any excess palm fronds must be tied into bundles, each weighing 50 pounds or less.
Don’t Bag It…Yard waste is shredded for mulch and distributed at five locations around the county. It is also a primary component in OrganicLee® compost. Placing yard waste in a tub or reusable can rather than a plastic bag saves you the cost of the bag, reduces plastic waste, leaves the yard waste ready for processing, and results in a cleaner finished product. If you must use a plastic bag, please make sure that the contents can be easily identified by the refuse truck driver (leave a small branch sticking out).
Note: Fencing and ornamental wood borders are not yard waste. Please dispose of these items in the regular household garbage. Call your waste hauler for a cost estimate for large-scale yard waste disposal projects when containerizing or bundling is difficult.
Franchised Haulers for Estero Zip Codes:
34135 Advanced Disposal 239-334-1224
33928 Waste Pro 239-337-0800
RECYCLING
Paper: Junk mail, newsprint, magazines, printing paper, phone books, etc. Basically, any kind of paper except shredded, waxed, metallic or soiled. (No hard cover books — donate those instead).
Metal Cans: Aluminum or steel (tin) cans; aluminum foil & disposable pans are good, too!
Cardboard: Any kind of box that does NOT have a waxed coating (such as those used to hold milk, juice and broth). Flatten it to save room in your cart.
Plastic Containers: Look for the Numbers 1-7 within the recycle triangle on the bottom of the container (NO Styrofoam, NO plastic bags).
Glass: Green, brown and clear bottles and jars
If you need more information please visit: https://estero-fl.gov/for-residents/utilities/#garbage