The Gainesville garbage day changes on Monday, October 5, 2026, for about 65% of city households. The city’s new collection contract with GFL Environmental spreads pickup from three days a week to five, and garbage, recycling, yard waste and bulk items all go out on the same day, by 7 a.m. (City of Gainesville).
Photo: The west face of Gainesville City Hall, Florida. Michael Rivera, 2014-12-13. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source. Resized for web.
Next door, homes in unincorporated Alachua County switch to their own new GFL agreement on Thursday, October 1, with new collection days and new weekly limits (Alachua County).
What changes in the city
| Week of September 28 | From Monday, October 5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Collection days | Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, as before | Five days a week, a day set by your address |
| What goes out that day | Garbage, recycling, yard waste and bulk | The same, all on one day |
| Set-out time | 7 a.m. | 7 a.m. |
The week of September 28 runs on the old schedule, with no change to Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday collection. The five-day schedule starts October 5 (City of Gainesville). Carts go out by 7 a.m. and come back in by 9 p.m. on collection day; repeat offenders who leave carts at the curb can be charged $35 each time (City of Gainesville).
How to find your new day
Enter your address in the city’s Garbage Day Lookup Map, reached from GainesvilleFL.gov/recycle, or call the Public Works Solid Waste Division at 352-334-2330. Affected households are also being told by mailer, email and yard sign (City of Gainesville).
The bill moves too, for a different reason
From October 1, city solid waste charges leave the monthly Gainesville Regional Utilities bill and become a special assessment on the non-ad valorem property tax bill. The city says the billing change is separate from the new contract and is not why collection days are changing (City of Gainesville). Annual tax bills are mailed by the Alachua County Tax Collector beginning November 1 (City of Gainesville).
Because the property owner now pays, only homeowners may ask for a different garbage cart size, and each property gets one change a year. Recycling bins can still be requested at any time (City of Gainesville).
Unincorporated Alachua County changes October 1
Alachua County’s residential agreement with GFL Solid Waste Southeast takes effect October 1, the first entirely new collection agreement for the unincorporated area since 2009. The routes have been rebalanced, so many days change; the county’s microsite has an address map (Alachua County).
- One day for everything. Garbage, recycling, yard waste, bulky items and large appliances are collected on the same day.
- Yard waste: up to 2 cubic yards a week, about 10 reusable containers or paper lawn bags. Limbs no longer than 5 feet, no thicker than 8 inches and no heavier than 40 pounds. The rest waits for the next collection day.
- Bulky items: up to 2 cubic yards a week, including interior construction debris from do-it-yourself projects.
- Large appliances: up to three a week per household, with doors taped shut or removed.
- Missed bulk: bulky items and appliances are not considered missed until noon the next day.
- Who to call: GFL at 1-844-351-0622 or AlachuaCountyCustomerService@gflenv.com for collection problems; the county at 352-338-3233 for cart size changes.
What this is not
The two changes cover different homes. City of Gainesville addresses change on October 5 and call the city at 352-334-2330. Addresses in unincorporated Alachua County change on October 1 and call GFL at 1-844-351-0622 (City of Gainesville; Alachua County).
