Garbage and Recycling — Sebastian, Florida

Curbside garbage collection in Sebastian is provided by WM, formerly Waste Management, under a franchise with the city. According to the City of Sebastian, WM is the environmental solutions provider for the City of Sebastian, and beginning July 1, 2023 the city moved to universal curbside collection service, required for all City of Sebastian residences. Each Sebastian residence receives collection once a week for garbage, yard waste and bulk waste.

Two governments share the system. The City of Sebastian sets the franchise and the household rate, while the Indian River County Solid Waste Disposal District, known as the SWDD, runs the county landfill, the recycling program and the drop-off centers that Sebastian residents use. The county describes its solid waste management system as an organized dependent special district known as Indian River County Solid Waste Disposal District. Vero News reported in July 2025 that the county's four municipalities, the cities of Vero Beach and Sebastian and the towns of Orchid and Indian River Shores, have their own trash hauling contracts and costs, while recycling has been handled countywide.

Before July 2023, curbside pickup in Sebastian was a subscription that some households used and others did not. The city's garbage collection FAQ states that the City of Sebastian City Council voted to transition to universal curbside collection service beginning July 1, 2023, so every residence now pays for and receives the service. The FAQ describes it as one-time per week garbage and yard waste collection service, as well as on-call bulk waste collection, while the city's main collection page lists weekly garbage, yard waste and bulk waste service.

WM delivered a new 96-gallon garbage cart to every Sebastian home between June 12 and June 30, 2023, and only the new carts were serviced after July 1, 2023. Households that found the 96-gallon cart too large could, beginning October 1, 2023, ask WM to exchange it for a 64-gallon or 35-gallon cart. A second cart was available for a one-time charge of $87.55, with no added monthly charge, according to the city FAQ. Each Sebastian address has an assigned collection day shown on a city map and in the Indian River County pickup schedule lookup, which notes that its bulk trash schedule applies only to unincorporated Indian River County.

The city FAQ, written for the 2023 changeover, gives the universal service monthly rate as $19.45, with a 3% franchise fee added, making the total monthly rate $20.03. WM first billed Sebastian residents quarterly, in advance, and continued to invoice residents quarterly through September 2024. The City of Sebastian then announced it would assume responsibility for invoicing beginning October 1, 2024. The city's collection pages do not publish a rate after 2023, so the 2023 figures above are the most recent Sebastian rate in the public record cited here.

Disposal is priced separately at the county level. A Vero News report on July 17, 2025 said that a typical Indian River County family generates about 1.5 tons of trash, yard waste and recyclables a year and pays around $163 in landfill fees, which appear on property tax bills. The county commission approved increases of 15 percent annually in 2026, 2027 and 2028, then 6 percent per year for two years, to a total of $260 by 2030. The SWDD assessment page explains the basis: residential waste generation is applied at 1.60 WGUs per single family residence and 1.20 per multi-family or mobile home park unit in Indian River County, where one WGU equals one ton per year.

Recycling in Sebastian runs on the county system. Vero News reported that Indian River County has had countywide universal curbside collection of recyclables since 1991. In the October 2025 county changeover, the Indian River County SWDD FAQ told residents of the City of Vero, Sebastian and Fellsmere that the only change would be a new recycling cart and possibly a new collection day effective October 1, 2025, with mailed notice of the new day in September 2025.

The county recycling page describes a new 95-gallon blue recycling cart for single stream recycling service in Indian River County, picked up once a week, with a printed label on the lid listing what belongs in the cart. Contamination has been a long running concern: Vero News noted that the county moved to universal trash pickup in unincorporated areas partly because some residents were putting household garbage in their blue recycling bins. After collection, Indian River County recycling is sorted at the landfill and trucked to St. Lucie County for processing, according to the same 2025 report, which added that the sorting tent was destroyed by Hurricane Milton in 2024.

Inside city government, the Sebastian Natural Resources Board supports the overall reduction in the use of single-use plastics by the City, its residents and businesses, and promotes recycling awareness. Its pages link Sebastian residents to Indian River County recycling guidance and landfill tours.

Indian River County operates a landfill and five Customer Convenience Centers. The county lists the Roseland CCC at 7860 130th St, Roseland, the drop-off site closest to most of Sebastian, along with centers in Winter Beach, Gifford, Oslo and Fellsmere. The centers are open 7:00 am to 6:00 pm for residential use only and are closed on Wednesday and on major holidays, and each center closes one more weekday as well (Tuesday at Roseland, Thursday at Fellsmere).

Beyond regular recyclables, the Indian River County centers accept household hazardous waste, including rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, motor oil and paints, and items the blue cart does not take, such as white foam, plastic bags, plastic wrap, scrap metal, electronics, tires and small yard waste. Construction and demolition debris, and branches over three inches in diameter, go to the Indian River County Landfill at 1325 74th Ave SW, Vero Beach, which is open seven days a week from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm.

The disposal side traces to Indian River County Ordinance 87-67, which established the Solid Waste Disposal District and its assessment program. Since January 1, 2011, the county has contracted Republic Services to operate the Class I landfill near Vero Beach, the Material Recovery Facility and household hazardous waste services, according to the SWDD; the county page notes a 2017 renewal running to December 31, 2024. Landfill tipping fees in Indian River County stayed the same for 27 years before new rates took effect October 1, 2023, with 3 percent annual increases after that.

Growth is driving new spending. Vero News reported in July 2025 that the Indian River County landfill's current cell, finished in 2024, is expected to fill in about five years, and that planned projects include a new $14 million cell, a $5 million household hazardous waste and recycling transfer facility, and a $2.25 million widened landfill entrance. The same report said the companies that haul trash, operate the landfill and process recyclables for Indian River County had raised their fees by about 49 percent overall.