- January 30, 2026
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After hearing steady complaints from residents, Manatee County is revisiting its garbage contracts with Waste Pro and Waste Management.
“The problem we have here is that the prior board made a decision that one size fits all, and it just doesn’t work in all of the districts,” Commissioner Bob McCann said. "We have to find something that serves the public.”
Commissioners discussed the topic with Director of Utilities Patrick Shea during the Jan. 27 commission meeting and directed him to return to the next meeting on Feb. 10 with prices for twice a week pickups and large item pickups that don’t include a $59 fee per item.
Shea didn’t have numbers for the board, but he had already spoken with the haulers.
While it’s unlikely that twice a week pickups will return anytime soon, if at all, it is likely bulk pickup services will return in some form in the near future, whether it be on demand or through bulk pickup days.
“Everyone asks for it,” Commission Chair Tal Siddique said. “It’s comically absurd how bad the lack of large item pickup has become.”
Commissioner Amanda Ballard said people in her district are frustrated and struggling without the service. She recommended twice a week pickup be considered a longer term discussion and bulk pickup be considered an immediate need.
Most of the neighborhoods in Ballard’s district are not governed by homeowner associations.
“When someone finds out that it’s almost $60 to pick up an item, they say ‘No, thank you,’” Ballard said. “Then, the neighbors have no mechanism to get that item picked up, so items are sitting out by the curb for weeks, sometimes months, at a time.”
She called the lack of bulk pickups a health and safety hazard, along with a property value issue.
Commissioner Carol Felts said rural residents burn their yard waste, so they would gladly trade yard waste pickup to get bulk pickup back.
When Sarasota County transitioned into the same new system of using automated trucks for garbage collection in March 2025, the bulk pickup service was modified, not cut. With 48 hours notice, residents can call for a bulk pickup. Each household can have up to 10 cubic yards of trash hauled away, free of charge, four times a year.
While Shea said twice a week pickups would cause logistical issues and require new contracts, some type of bulk pickup could be negotiated within the county’s current contracts.
Twice a week pickup would require the haulers to provide more trucks, nearly double their current fleets, which would equate into higher rates for residents. Sarasota’s rates rose by 24% when the county signed its new contracts, and Sarasota County was already on a once a week pickup schedule.
Manatee County’s current contracts include community cleanup events, which are contracted for eight pickups a year. Residents have to deliver their own trash to a designated dump site.
The last event was held in Myakka City. While it was a successful event, McCann noted that most residents living on the west side of the county probably don’t want to drive their outdated appliances all the way to Myakka City.
The alternative is to wait until a community cleanup day is held closer to home or deliver large items to the Lena Road Landfill for $5 per car.
County Administrator Charlie Bishop pointed out that leadership from Waste Pro was in the room during the commission meeting.
“They’re hearing you loud and clear,” he said. “We’ve been working on the numbers.”
Shea is working with the haulers to take the remaining six community cleanup events contracted for 2026 and trade them for credits.
The value of those events is being discussed with the haulers now. Once determined, the credits will be banked and can then be spent.
Shea noted that the need for bulk pickup will have increased because of the transition to the new big bin system where not everything is picked up, but in 2023, only 2.7% of residents used the free annual pickup option.
“Even if that number were to triple, it’s not a huge number,” he said. “It seems like it’ll be pretty manageable.”
