Junk removal in Sweetwater, without waiting on a 311 appointment

01

Sweetwater's bulky pickup now runs through the county

Sweetwater is one of the ten cities whose trash Miami-Dade's Department of Solid Waste Management collects. Garbage goes out in green carts on Tuesdays and Fridays, at the curb by 7 am. The city's waste page says plainly that weekly bulky waste sweeps in Sweetwater have been discontinued. Now you schedule bulky pickups in advance through 311.

Under the county rules, each household gets two bulky pickups a year, up to 25 cubic yards each. You book online, in the MDC Solid Waste App or by calling 311, and you have to book before anything goes to the curb. Appointments open 30 days ahead, and there are no waitlists or fit-ins. The pile goes out no more than 3 days early and by 7 a.m. on the day. Since April 1, 2023, an early pile can get anything from a warning to a civil citation.

02

Mattresses, heavy items and what the county won't take

The details matter at the curb. Mattresses must be fully sealed in a plastic mattress bag and taped, and an unbagged one can be fined. Refrigerator and freezer doors come off. The pile has to sit within 10 feet of the street, at least five feet from mailboxes, cars, trees and poles, with 15 feet of clearance overhead. Things the county will not take at all:

• Any single item over 150 pounds
• Microwaves, electronics and TVs
• Central air units, fiberglass insulation and auto parts
• Rock, dirt, sand, liquids and household chemicals
• More than 4 tires, or tires over 48 inches

or call (754) 249-1015

03

Kitchen and bath tear-outs in Sweetwater

Construction material at the curb (cabinets, bathtubs, sinks, vanities, drywall, tile, lumber, concrete) is limited to no more than 3 cubic yards, per Miami-Dade DSWM. The county's Trash and Recycling Centers take up to three cubic yards per customer per day. A real kitchen or bath tear-out goes past that fast.

Permits inside city limits come from the City of Sweetwater Building and Zoning Department, not the county. The city says all construction valued over $100 needs a building permit, and its online permits portal handles applications and inspections. Your GC or you as the owner pull it. Rapid Haul does the non-structural tear-out and hauls every bit of the debris. Room tear-outs start at $750; hauling a remodeler's leftover debris starts at $200.

The city's Engineering Division handles permits for work in the public right-of-way; work on private property goes through the Building Department.

04

A built-out city with homes from the 1970s on

Sweetwater was platted as Sweetwater Groves in the 1920s land boom and had 183 homes by 1959. It grew fast in the 1970s after FIU opened to the south and the expressways went in. Today it has about 4,353 homes, 14 shopping centers and very few vacant lots, and in 2010 it took in the Dolphin Mall area. Long-time residents downsizing, families moving, and owners redoing older kitchens are the calls that fit here.

Rapid Haul is based in Hollywood and Miami-Dade is one of its two main counties. Text (754) 249-1015 with a photo, get one flat price for labor, loading, hauling and disposal, and the crew carries it out, often the same day when you call early. No appointment window, no bagging the mattress, no early-pile citation. Starting prices:

• Furniture and mattress removal from $125
• Appliance removal from $100
• Garage cleanouts from $300
• House cleanouts from $1,000

or call (754) 249-1015

05

Self-haul options near Sweetwater

As a DSWM service-area city, Sweetwater residents can use the county's Trash and Recycling Centers, open daily 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Bring a Florida license or ID showing your address. By address, the closest is Snapper Creek at 2200 SW 117 Avenue, and you can use any center in the network. Bigger loads go by weight to the West Transfer Station at 2900 SW 72 Ave or, for construction debris, the North Dade Landfill.