Vero Beach trash pickup: your days, the yard waste limits, and the holiday skips coming up

Fall cleanup season is here. The palms drop fronds, the hedges need a trim, and the garage always has one more thing that should go. Before you haul it all to the curb, it helps to know the rules. A pile that is too big, or out on the wrong day, can sit there.

This guide is for homes inside Vero Beach city limits, where the City of Vero Beach Solid Waste Division picks up the trash. Here is what the city's own rules say.

First, are you in the city or the county?

A Vero Beach mailing address does not always mean you live inside the city. Homes in unincorporated Indian River County get a different service, run by Waste Management for the county. The city's website has an "Am I a City or County Resident?" lookup map. Use it first, so you follow the right set of rules.

Garbage: your days and how to set it out

The city collects household garbage twice a week. Your days depend on which side of the railroad tracks you live on:

• East of the tracks: Monday and Thursday.
• West of the tracks: Tuesday and Friday.

The city's information sheet sets the timing. Put garbage out no earlier than 5 p.m. the night before, and no later than 6 a.m. on pickup day. Bring the containers back in by 7 p.m. Trash that goes out after 6 a.m. may have to wait until your next pickup day.

Bag your garbage and tie the bags. The city does not take loose trash dumped in a can. The limit is two cans or bags per home on each pickup day. If you use your own cans, each one should be no bigger than 45 gallons.

Yard trash: Wednesday, with limits

Yard trash is picked up once a week, on Wednesday, all over the city. The city's residential page asks you to have it at the curb before 7 a.m. Each week the regular pickup takes one of these:

• Up to four standard cans, 32 to 45 gallons each.
• Up to eight bags of grass or leaves. The city prefers paper bags.
• Up to four bundles.

Limbs and branches must be under 4 feet long and under 3 inches across. Bundles must be tied, no longer than 4 feet, no higher than 2 feet, and no heavier than 40 pounds. Logs and stumps are not part of the weekly pickup. They need a special pickup.

Big piles, furniture and appliances: schedule a special pickup

Anything bigger than the weekly limits is a special pickup. That includes oversized yard piles, furniture, mattresses, grills with the tank removed, and appliances like empty refrigerators, freezers, ranges and water heaters. Call the Solid Waste Division at 772-978-5300 to set it up.

There is a charge. The city figures it by the size of the pile in cubic yards: length times width times height, in feet, divided by 27. A pile 10 feet long, 10 feet wide and 4 feet high works out to about 14.8 cubic yards. Ask for a quote when you call. The landfill may add its own fees for some materials.

Paint, batteries and chemicals do not go in the trash

Paint, pesticides, fluorescent bulbs, batteries, motor oil, gas, tires and other chemicals go to the Indian River County Landfill or a county Customer Convenience Center. The landfill is at 1325 74th Ave. SW and is open every day from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., except major holidays.

The convenience centers are open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and are for residents only. All of them are closed on Wednesdays. The ones closest to Vero Beach are Gifford (4901 41st St., also closed Tuesdays), Winter Beach (3955 65th St., also closed Tuesdays) and Oslo (950 1st Place, also closed Thursdays). For questions, the county's number is 772-226-3212.

Recycling is a separate service

Inside the city, curbside recycling is run by Waste Management under a county contract, once a week. City homes got a new recycling cart in October 2025, and some got a new recycling day at the same time. You can find your day on the county's recycling route schedule or call Waste Management at 772-569-1776.

Holiday days with no pickup

The city lists these days as no-pickup days for the rest of 2026:

• Veterans Day: Wednesday, Nov. 11.
• Thanksgiving: Thursday, Nov. 26.
• Day after Thanksgiving: Friday, Nov. 27.
• Christmas Eve: Thursday, Dec. 24.
• Christmas Day: Friday, Dec. 25.

The city's rule is that when a garbage day lands on a holiday, that pickup is skipped and collection picks up again on your next regular day. So the week of Thanksgiving, Monday-Thursday homes get Monday only, and Tuesday-Friday homes get Tuesday only. Veterans Day falls on a Wednesday, which is yard trash day, so call the city before you put a big pile out that week.

What to do

1. Check whether you are in the city or the county using the lookup map on covb.org.
2. Find your garbage days: east of the tracks is Monday and Thursday, west is Tuesday and Friday.
3. Cut limbs under 4 feet long and 3 inches across, and tie bundles under 40 pounds before Wednesday.
4. For anything bigger, call 772-978-5300 for a special pickup and ask for a quote first.
5. Take paint, batteries, oil and chemicals to the landfill or a convenience center, and remember they are closed on Wednesdays.
6. Put Nov. 11, Nov. 26–27 and Dec. 24–25 on the calendar as no-pickup days.