Junk removal in Pahokee, by request when the job is worth the drive

01

What Pahokee's weekly bulk pickup takes, and its size limits

Pahokee contracts its trash out through the Public Works Department. The current hauler is Big Dog Express of South Florida, Inc., and the city's agreement runs through February 28, 2027. Your bulk day depends on which side of South Lake Avenue you live on:

• Southwest of South Lake Avenue: garbage Monday and Thursday, bulk and vegetation Thursday
• Northeast of South Lake Avenue: garbage Tuesday and Friday, bulk and vegetation Friday
• Shive Drive, E. 7th Street, King Bee and Padgett trailer parks: garbage Monday and Thursday, bulk Thursday
• Recycling everywhere: Wednesday

02

When the curb is not enough

The city takes furniture, stoves, refrigerators and similar items on your scheduled day. The limits are about size. No piece of debris can be larger than 4 feet by 4 feet by 4 feet, and oversized piles of vegetation or wood are left behind, with your address referred to Public Works and Code Enforcement for a special pickup. City code (Sec. 11-8) includes trash removal up to 3.375 cubic yards, defined as 4½ feet wide by 4½ feet long by 4½ feet deep. Over that, you pay the actual cost, and never less than $100.

Piles go on your own property, no farther than six feet from the edge of the street and not within fifteen feet of a fire hydrant. Extra service is available for a fee by calling Public Works at (561) 924-7832, Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

One rule is specific to the lake. City code bans tree trimming piles once a National Hurricane Center forecast puts Palm Beach County or the Lake Okeechobee area in the cone within five days, unless the trimmings are hauled straight to a proper disposal site.

A whole-house cleanout will go past the curb limit fast. That is the job worth calling Dany for: one price, everything carried out and taken away, no special-pickup referral.

or call (754) 249-1015

03

Tear-out debris and the city's franchise hauler

Pahokee does not collect construction or remodel debris at the curb, and the city code says debris from building, rebuilding or altering a structure must be removed by the owner or the contractor doing the work.

Here is the part to know before you book anything. Resolution 2025-15 gives Big Dog Express the exclusive right to collect garbage, trash, vegetation, recyclables and construction debris, and to provide roll-off service, inside the city limits. That means debris from permitted demolition in Pahokee may have to go through the city's franchise hauler. Dany will tell you what applies to your job before booking. He will not try to work around it.

Permits come from the City of Pahokee Building, Planning & Zoning Department at 207 Begonia Drive, (561) 924-5534, ext. 2003 or 2004, or through the city's online iWorQ portal. The city uses the Palm Beach County universal permit application, which has a Demo type of work, and its forms page includes an asbestos notification statement. The GC or the property owner pulls the permit. Rapid Haul does non-structural tear-out only.

04

Homes on the south-eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee

Pahokee was incorporated in 1922 and sits in the region known as the Muck, where sugar cane, citrus and corn grew in drained Everglades soil. The sugar plant closed in 2009, and the city has lost population since 1990.

The 2020 Census counted 1,936 housing units, 12.9% of them vacant, with a rental vacancy rate of 11.1%. Vacant houses and rentals between tenants are where full cleanouts come from: furniture, appliances and years of belongings that will never fit through a 4-foot curb limit.

or call (754) 249-1015

05

How pricing works this far from Hollywood

Rapid Haul is based in Hollywood. Broward and Miami-Dade are the main service area, and Palm Beach County is by request, when the job is worth the drive. Pahokee is a long way out, so it fits bigger jobs: a full house cleanout (from $1,000), a garage cleanout (from $300) or a large load of furniture and appliances. Dany does not promise same-day here.

Text photos of everything to (754) 249-1015. Dany sends one flat, all-in price covering labor, loading, hauling and disposal, and a date that works. Junk removal is paid after the job. Jobs of $1,000 and over take a 50% deposit.

Pahokee's solid waste goes to the Solid Waste Authority's Glades Regional Transfer Station on State Road 15 in Belle Glade, where loads are weighed for tipping fees. The household chemical center there is open weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed weekends.