Junk removal in South Bay, by request, on Lake Okeechobee

01

Trash and bulk pickup in South Bay: call City Hall first

South Bay runs its own collection. The city's comprehensive plan lists solid waste collection as a private hauler under contract, with disposal by the Solid Waste Authority (SWA). SWA itself only handles collection in unincorporated Palm Beach County, and it lists City of South Bay Public Works, 561-996-6751, as the contact.

Which hauler has the contract today is not clear from public records. A city-posted notice from Hurricane Dorian in 2019 came from Waste Management. Since then the city has put out two bids, RFP-2024-04 for solid waste, bulk waste and recycling collection and RFP-2025-02 for solid waste removal, and both were listed as under evaluation when we checked.

We also could not find a published bulk schedule, bulk limit or yard waste rule for the city. So the honest advice is simple: call Public Works before you set anything out. If the answer doesn't fit your timeline, or the pile is a whole house, that is when a hauler makes sense.

02

Drop-off near South Bay

The nearest SWA facility is the Glades Regional Transfer Station and Home Chemical and Recycling Center at 1701 State Road 15 in Belle Glade. It is open Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with no Saturday hours listed. SWA says only its West Palm Beach and Western Delray Beach chemical centers are staffed, so the Belle Glade center is self-serve.

On its pickup guidelines page, SWA quotes a fee of $80 per ton for delivering construction-type debris, like glass doors and windows, to an SWA facility. That page is written for unincorporated customers, so whether the same fee applies to South Bay residents is not confirmed. A weekend cleanout cannot go there until Monday.

or call (754) 249-1015

03

Permits and tear-outs in South Bay

Permits here come from the City of South Bay, not Palm Beach County. The Planning and Building office is at City Hall, 335 SW 2nd Ave, with staff listed for permits and inspections. The city posts a Building Permit Application, Building Permit Requirements, a Contractors Registration Form and a Notice of Commencement, and also takes permits through its iWorQ citizen portal. We found no separate demolition form, so the general Building Permit Application is the starting point.

Your general contractor or you as the owner pulls the permit. Rapid Haul does not. Dany's crew does the non-structural tear-out and the haul: old tile, tubs, vanities, cabinets, flooring and drywall, loaded and taken away.

04

Homes and jobs around South Bay

The city sits on the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee, where State Highway 80 and U.S. Highway 27 meet, about 45 miles west of West Palm Beach. It had 4,860 people in the 2020 Census and 1,099 housing units, 7.0% vacant. Census estimates show 59.8% of homes owner-occupied, a median owner-occupied value of $142,300, and 3.64 people per household. South Bay Correctional Facility is on U.S. Highway 27 South.

A Palm Beach planning report describes the Glades urban area, which includes South Bay, as largely older single-family homes and mobile home parks, in a region built on sugar cane, rice, sod and vegetables. That points to the usual jobs here: bathroom and kitchen tear-outs in older houses, mobile home clear-outs, sheds, and furniture and appliances after a move. Belle Glade and Pahokee are the neighboring Glades cities.

or call (754) 249-1015

05

How a South Bay job gets priced

Rapid Haul is based in Hollywood and works Broward and Miami-Dade every day. Palm Beach County is by request, when the job is worth the drive, and South Bay is a long drive. That makes bigger jobs the better fit: full house cleanouts from $1,000, room demo from $750, deck demo from $550 and shed removal from $350.

Text photos to (754) 249-1015. Dany will tell you honestly whether the trip works, and if it does, you get one flat price covering labor, loading, hauling and disposal. No same-day promises out here; you set the day together. Jobs of $1,000 and over take a 50% deposit. Rapid Haul carries $1M general liability insurance.