HYDE PARK, Fla. — If you live in Tampa, you can count on your trash being picked up twice a week—well, maybe not all of it, according to Steven Powell.
"There's a lot of things they won't take," he said.
Powell has lived in Hyde Park for more than 20 years. He said he loves his neighborhood, but every week, he's finding himself more frustrated when it comes to trash pick-up.
It's why he reached out to us to share what he and his neighbors say they're dealing with.
"It seems like they spend their day coming up with things you can't do and reasons they don't want to collect something. The latest one was your yard waste has to be organic, I call it, because it has to be in paper bags, little paper bags, or if you bundle stuff, you have to have it in a nice organic rope. I had the wrong color rope, so they refused to take it," Powell explained.
Powell also said that when he tries to get rid of waste at McKay Bay, he's stuck waiting in line for at least an hour. He added that it doesn't help that it's now only open four hours a day.
"They don't realize how they're making things more and more difficult. And if they do that, then people break the rules and dump it in a river or something awful," Powell added.
He said people are resorting to dumping their trash in his back alleyway. Powell said he's found tires, pallets, and even fencing materials back there.
We reached out to the City of Tampa, asking for clarification on what's accepted.
The Solid Waste Department sent us this statement:
In February 2024, the City of Tampa's yard waste collection program transitioned to a more sustainable collection method by removing all plastic bags from the waste stream. The removal of plastic bags allows yard waste to be given a new life through mulching and composting. The guidelines for the new yard waste program require residents to secure sticks and small branches into segments no greater than 4 feet in length and to use paper bags, or a 32-gallon reusable container for other vegetative materials such as leaves, trimmings and grass. Our solid waste drivers are committed to environmental stewardship, and to providing continued yard waste collection services to residents under this new yard waste program. Alternatively, City of Tampa residents are welcome to dispose of yard waste at the McKay Bay Transfer Station, which is currently operating under an abbreviated schedule due to upgrades at the City's Waste to Energy Facility. The Transfer Station is open from 8 a.m. to noon each day through June 2024. Please note that no changes have been made to residential garbage or recycling collection services. Residents are encouraged to visit tampa.gov/yardwaste [tampa.gov] to learn more about the new yard waste collection program and other Solid Waste services.
Meanwhile, Powell said he wished the city would communicate more with its residents about why the changes are in place.
"I'm a real environmentalist. I understand doing all this stuff right. So, I think they should do everything they can to try to encourage us to do it the right way, but not just say we're not accepting anything," Powell explained.
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