Garbage & Recycling

Hernando County does not pick up waste or recycling at the curb. Curbside collection services for unincorporated Hernando County are provided by Coastal Waste & Recycling. The City of Brooksville provides their own collection service.

You can reach Coastal Waste & Recycling at (352) 540-6457 for questions about your service, or visit www.coastalwasteinc.com/hernando-county.

Contact Coastal Waste & Recycling at (352) 540-6457 to find out your service days or for other questions about your curbside collection service.

You can also visit www.coastalwasteinc.com/hernando-county for more information.

Residential curbside collection service is provided by Coastal Waste & Recycling in all unincorporated areas of Hernando County, which excludes the City of Brooksville.

Service includes twice per week trash, once per week yard waste and once per week recycling collection.

Residents in the universal (mandatory) area of the County pay for this service through a solid waste collection assessment on their tax bill. It is not necessary to setup service, however if you do not have a blue garbage cart or recycling bins, please call Coastal Waste at (352) 540-6457 to request them. For more information on the collection assessment, see the FAQ for Non-Ad Valorem Tax Assessments below.

Residents in the subscription area must contact Coastal Waste at (352) 540-6457 to set up curbside service and to receive a blue garbage cart and recycling bins. Subscription area customers will be billed quarterly by Coastal Waste

The fees paid for curbside collection service only cover the cost for transportation of your trash, recycling, yard waste and bulk pickups from your home to the landfill.  The fees do NOT include the cost for disposal once it reaches the landfill.

Universal Area:

As of January 1, 2026, curbside collection in the universal (mandatory) area is  $217.37 per year, billed annually as a non-ad valorem assessment on your tax bill. The total annual charge for curbside collection appearing on your 2025 tax bill is $217.37 for service in 2026.

Subscription Area:

As of January 1, 2026, curbside collection in the subscription area is $16.96 per month, billed quarterly by Coastal Waste & Recycling. The total for curbside collection is $50.88 per quarter or $203.52 per year.

These prices include twice per week collection of garbage, once per week collection of recycling, once per week collection of yard waste and 4 limited bulk items per year.

The waste hauler may request an annual increase based upon changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), as applicable, during the previous Contract Year. Price increases must be approved by the Board of County Commissioners.

Coastal Waste & Recycling does not pick up residential trash in the City of Brooksville. Contact the City of Brooksville at (352) 540-3860 for information on your collection service.

The waste hauler uses automated garbage trucks to empty waste containers.  These trucks use an arm to lift, empty and lower the cart back to the ground, resulting in a safer and more efficient collection method.  In some areas where conditions prohibit the use of the automated side-loader trucks, the carts are collected with a tipper located on the back of the truck.

To accommodate this collection method, all waste must be placed in the two wheeled cart provided by the franchise waste hauler. The cart handles should face your house and the arrows on the lid face the street.  The cart should be approximately three feet from the roadway, but not in the roadway.  The lid must be closed. Carts should be placed at least 3 feet away from other obstacles, such as mailboxes and parked cars, and should not have any overhead obstructions, such as powerlines or tree limbs.  Do not place anything on top of your cart.  Carts that are not properly placed may not be serviced.

Place your container at the curb before 6 a.m. on designated days, but no earlier than 6 p.m. the night before.  Remove containers and any remaining trash by the end of service day.

• A cart-based automated / semi-automated collection system was implemented in February 2019.  Each customer receives a 95-gallon or 65-gallon, two-wheel cart to store their garbage. These carts are easy to maneuver and are provided and maintained by the contracted waste hauler. Garbage carts are emptied with automated side-loader trucks. These trucks use an arm to lift, empty and lower the cart back to the ground, resulting in a safer and more efficient collection method.  In some areas, where conditions prohibit the use of the automated side-loader trucks, the carts are collected with a tipper located on the back of the truck.

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics ranks refuse and recyclable material collectors as the seventh most dangerous fatal work occupation in the United States. The automated trucks require only one employee who does not have to leave the truck to collect garbage. This significantly decreases the risk of injury or death by automobile and improves efficiencies.  Using an automated arm or a mechanical tipper on the back of a truck reduces the incidence of workers compensation injuries associated with repeated lifting of garbage cans or exposure to chemical and biological hazards.

• You may place household trash such as kitchen and bathroom waste, packaging, clothing and miscellaneous household trash in the cart.  Items must fit in the cart with the lid closed.  Carts should not weigh more than 100 pounds with contents.

• Do not place recycling, yard waste, red bag medical waste, needles, hazardous waste, paint, chemicals, motor oil, liquids, dead animals, hot ashes, large car parts, tires, car batteries and/or construction debris including bricks, blocks or large pieces of wood, in your cart. Carts should not weigh more than 100 pounds with contents. Please contact Hernando County Solid Waste at (352) 754-4112 for information on the proper way to dispose of any of these items.

• BAG trash before placing in cart to prevent scattering during collection. Hauler is not responsible for spilled trash.  Residents are responsible for keeping areas free of spilled garbage.

No, only waste inside the blue cart with lid closed is collected.  Any garbage bags or other debris placed outside the cart will be left and must be placed inside the cart for collection on the following scheduled service day.

You can contact your current provider at (352) 540-6457 to schedule a bulk or extra bag pickup for an additional fee.

There are two garbage cart sizes available, 95- or 65-gallon. Customers may contact your current provider at (352) 540-6457 to request a different size cart.  A delivery fee will apply.

Most household waste will fit easily in the cart, however only the contents of the cart with lid closed will be collected. Excess trash may be saved for the next collection day or taken to a drop off facility.

Residents who frequently have excess trash should consider reducing waste through recycling. Curbside recycling is included in your service with once-per-week collection of paper, cardboard, plastic, aluminum, and tin.  Contact your current provider at (352) 540-6457 to request recycling bins.

If you still need a second cart, contact your current provider at (352) 540-6457 to request a second garbage cart.  A delivery fee and additional monthly fee apply.

No, customers may only use the blue carts provided by our current provider for trash collection. The automated trucks arms are calibrated for the specific carts that are provided by your current provider. Other types of carts are not guaranteed to be compatible with the arms and may cause the carts to be damaged or destroyed.

For example, the arm may grip the cart too tightly and crush it OR the arm may grab the cart too lightly and it will fall into the truck where it cannot be safely retrieved.

If the collection truck causes the damage or damage is the result of normal wear, the damaged cart will be repaired or replaced at no charge. Damage resulting from negligence or abuse by the resident will be the responsibility of the resident.  

Please call your current provider at (352) 540-6457 to request repair or replacement.  Customers are responsible for keeping the carts clean and sanitary.

When you set up curbside service, a garbage cart will be assigned to your address. You should only use the cart assigned to your address.

Place address stickers on the cart for identification. Carts without addresses may not be collected.

Curbside recycling is a great opportunity to help yourself, your community and the environment.  Recycling is collected in two sorted bins one time per week.

If you do not have bins, you may request them online at www.hernandocounty.us/solidwaste or by calling your current provider at (352) 540-6457.  

One set of bins is provided by the hauler. Bins are approximately 18-20 gallons in size and open top. Place sorted bins curbside before 6 a.m. on your service day.  Remove empty containers at the end of the service day.  Recycling should be sorted as follows:

One bin for paper and cardboard including magazines, newspapers, paper, junk mail, cereal boxes, soda boxes, pizza boxes, corrugated boxes, shredded paper (in paper bags, not loose). Cardboard must be under 3' X 3' and fit inside bin. 

One bin for plastic, aluminum and tin including aluminum and tin (steel) cans, rigid plastic containers, milk, soda, water, cooking oil, salad dressing, shampoo and laundry detergent. Chemical containers must be empty and rinsed.  
Exceptions: No motor oil or other automotive lubricant containers. One partial can of oil will contaminate the WHOLE bin of plastics.

Do NOT Mix trash or plastic bags with your recycling.  Recycling must be free of food waste, trash, plastic bags, or any material not listed above. Mixed or contaminated recycling will NOT be collected.

All recycled items must fit into bins. If needed, additional containers of a like size and style can be used.  Suggestions include laundry baskets or storage totes.

Yard waste is collected once per week in customer provided containers.  Do not use the provided garbage cart or recycling bins for yard waste.  Customers may set out up to 12 containers, bags or tied bundles under 50 pounds and 45 gallons each.

Bundles must be under four feet long and tied. Individual branches must be less than four inches in diameter and four feet in length.  Loose yard waste and untied piles or stacks of yard waste are not collected.

• No, Commercial yard waste generated by your landscaper is not permitted to be left curbside for residential collection.  Tree removal and debris from land clearing is not eligible to be collected at the curb.

Live Christmas trees and wreaths may be disposed of with yard waste if cut to under 4-foot lengths and cleaned of all decorations and tinsel.

Artificial Christmas trees and wreaths may be disposed of as trash by calling your current provider at (352) 540-6457 to schedule a bulk pickup. 

Small wreaths that fit inside the garbage container and decorations may be disposed of by placing inside your garbage cart on your regular trash day.

Bulk items are a special collection and must be scheduled by calling Coastal Waste & Recycling at (352) 540-6457. Do not place items at the curb until 6 p.m. the night before the scheduled collection. Each customer may have six bulk collections with up to 10 items per collection included with their curbside service each year. Additional items require pre-payment of an added fee.

Bulk items include furniture, non-freon containing appliances and other large household items that do not fit in the garbage cart. Exceptions: Refrigerators, freezers, propane tanks or other items that use freon, gas or hazardous waste cannot be collected curbside. Glass table-tops, mirrors and similar items will only be collected curbside as bulk in non-broken condition.

For safety reasons, please remove or seal doors on all appliances so that children cannot crawl inside and become trapped.

Waste is collected on all holidays except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Independence Day (Fourth of July). There are no make-up days.

Call Coastal Waste & Recycling at (352) 540-6457 to report the missed pickup or complete the online Missed Pickup Form.

• Yes, Hernando County offers a door service program to qualified households at no additional cost.  Door service provides for the garbage cart and the recycling bins to be picked up from the front door or garage door on collection days.  To receive door service, all adults in the household must qualify.  Please contact Hernando County at (352) 754-4112 to apply. 

Residents in the Universal (mandatory) area should leave the cart and bins with the house. Residents in the subscription area should return the cart and bins to Coastal Waste & Recycling so that billing can be stopped.

Contact Coastal Waste at (352) 540-6457 for questions about moving.

In 2025, the County's contract with Republic Services, which had been in place since 2012, expired. The County requested proposals from multiple haulers and evaluated them using scoring criteria such as cost, services, and qualifications. Coastal Waste & Recycling received the highest overall score and the lowest-cost bid, and began providing curbside collection services on January 2, 2026.