For more than 40 years, Theresa Aguiar’s waste pickup days were on Wednesdays. Now, they’re a day earlier.
That change isn’t the only shift the 72-year-old Gainesville resident is having to adapt to. She has a 20-gallon garbage bin and said she faces rising costs that concern her as a senior resident. She faces financial strains after leaving work to take care of her father, she said, and she no longer receives Social Security benefits.
She said she’s frustrated with a fee increase because she already produces little waste. She tries to reduce the waste she creates by avoiding foods that come in boxes or wrappers, she added.
“I probably have the lowest carbon footprint in this county,” Aguiar said. “I put my garbage out once a month, sometimes every six weeks.”
The changes come as part of a new contract between Gainesville and GFL Environmental Inc., which shifts payment from monthly utility bills to annual property tax bills and changes how residents pay for waste collection.
Shanica Crider is adjusting leases and figuring out how to handle new waste fees as Gainesville shifts responsibility for curbside waste collection onto property owners.
Crider, a 40-year-old Gainesville realtor and property manager, said the change will put additional pressure on landlords because they’ll be responsible for waste collection charges previously paid through tenants’ utility bills.
“It’s a lot of legwork for us as property managers to now navigate the responsibilities that used to be on a tenant,” Crider said.
Crider manages more than 30 residential properties across Gainesville. In addition to managing properties, she’ll now have to monitor garbage and recycling bins, pay for overuse of waste collection services and update leases to outline new waste fees.
Landlords, including Crider, may consider charging tenants a one-time fee for bins or adding costs to monthly rent, she said.
The change is especially complicated for properties with multiple units, she said. Residents may have garbage bins of different sizes, requiring property managers to determine which tenant is responsible for additional charges.
Changes also came after leases were signed, she added, requiring property managers to make adjustments when the lease term is already underway.
“It’s just a lot more hand-holding than if it was in the tenant’s responsibility,” she said.
Residents will no longer pay for solid waste collection through a monthly Gainesville Regional Utilities bill. Instead, the charge will appear as a separate fee on their annual property tax bills. The new funding model is meant to simplify billing and clarify what services are provided by the city and GRU, according to the Gainesville city site.
Residents will also see new waste collection rates.
The collection costs will vary based on the size of a property’s waste bin. Gainesville spokesperson Rossana Passanti said residents with 20-gallon waste bins will see lower collection costs while those with 35-gallon, 64-gallon or 96-gallon bins will pay more than they have in the past.
The new structure is intended to ensure residents pay based on the service they receive, Passanti said. It was approved during a June 4 city commission meeting.
Under the new rates, residents can expect the following monthly costs compared to previous monthly rates in parentheses:
- 20 gal.: $30.68 ($25.75)
- 35 gal.: $32.63 ($33.50)
- 64 gal.: $36.40 ($41.25)
- 96 gal.: $40.56 ($51.25)
The city’s Hardship Assistance Program is offered to help reduce waste, stormwater and fire services costs for low-income and senior homeowners.
In addition to payment changes, the new contract extends the pickup schedule from three to five days, a change that’s designed to more evenly distribute pickup, reduce route congestion and improve reliability, Passaniti said.
Residents can find their new collection days on the city’s online Garbage Day Lookup map by entering their address.
Contact Lily Hartzema at lhartzema@alligator.org. Follow her on X @lilyhartzema.
Lily Hartzema is a senior journalism student at UF with a minor in geography. This is her third consecutive semester at The Alligator. She previously served as a copy editor in Summer 2026 and is a returning metro reporter. In her past-time, she enjoys reading, exploring new trails and photographing anything that catches her eye.
