Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, land to bury our trash is not infinite. Residents across Central Florida are feeling the pinch as the cost of trash disposal continues to rise, with the City of Apopka recently implementing significant rate hikes for solid waste services. Starting in January 2026, Apopka residents will see their monthly garbage collection fees increase by nearly 15%.
City officials cited rising operational expenses, including fuel costs, labor shortages, increased trash disposal costs and stricter environmental compliance, as the primary drivers behind the change.
The situation isn’t just isolated to Apopka. Orange County, which operates the Orange County Landfill, one of Central Florida’s largest disposal sites, has also raised its tipping fees over the past year and will continue to do so at 13% YOY. As of late 2025, the landfill charges waste haulers $54.20 per ton, up from $47 per ton this time last year. This increase trickles down to municipalities and private waste haulers, which then pass the cost onto residents and businesses who pay for trash. The Orange County Landfill serves not only unincorporated areas but also neighboring cities like Apopka and Orlando, meaning the financial impact reverberates across much of Central Florida and causes other garbage disposal sites to raise their prices.
These escalating costs highlight a broader trend across the state: as landfills reach capacity and environmental regulations tighten, the true price of waste is becoming harder to ignore.
O-Town Compost urges government officials to act now and invest in composting and recycling programs at the municipal-level. Also, it’s important to focus on public outreach and education to make sure people know how to properly sort their waste and minimize contamination. The longer we wait the higher the premium on permitted landfill capacity gets, and we get closer to a trash disposal crisis (currently happening in South Florida with Miami-Dade and Broward Counties where trash is being railed up to Georgia-area landfills). Let’s invest in waste diversion so future generations will have a better future.
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Commercial and Multi-Residential Composting Services in Alachua County and the City of #Gainesville.
