Walton County Landfill Reopens and Garbage Collection Resumes After Isaias
Garbage trucks return to Walton County roads Monday, Oct. 12, as the county landfill reopens and Waste Management resumes residential and commercial collection on regular schedules after Hurricane Isaias paused service across the region.
The Walton County Board of County Commissioners announced Sunday that the Walton County Landfill will reopen Monday, Oct. 12, and that Waste Management, the county’s contracted hauler, will resume both residential and commercial garbage collection. Regular collection schedules are back in effect, with garbage picked up on each customer’s regularly scheduled day — and trash must be inside the cart for it to be collected.
The pause began before the storm arrived. Waste Management suspended all residential and commercial collection across Okaloosa County, Walton County and surrounding municipalities on Friday, Oct. 9, and Saturday, Oct. 10, as Hurricane Isaias bore down on the coast, urging residents to keep carts, yard debris and bulk waste off the curb so loose items would not become projectiles or clog storm drains in high winds and flooding. The county’s solid waste offices and landfill, at 1118 Institution Road in DeFuniak Springs, closed to the public Thursday afternoon through Saturday. Officials said operations would resume Monday as soon as road conditions safely permitted, and the county noted that Waste Management personnel also needed time before the storm to prepare their own homes and keep their families safe.
For Freeport, the restart lands on the county’s most frequent service tier. Freeport sits in the county’s Service Area A, which covers Districts 1, 4 and 5 and the City of Freeport except the Bunker and Steelfield area, with twice-weekly garbage collection, once-weekly yard waste and once-monthly bulk pickup. The county’s collection rules still apply after the storm: carts must be placed curbside and free of obstructions, and only cart contents are collected — garbage left outside the cart will not be picked up. Customers with service questions can reach Waste Management at (850) 389-6121.
Storm debris remains a separate operation from regular garbage routes. Waste Management asks customers to keep containerized trash, recycling and yard waste separated from storm debris, which may be collected by a third-party contractor. The landfill resumes its normal hours of 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and residents with debris-related or other non-emergency questions can call the county’s Community Information Center at 850-892-8394.
Originally reported by Walton County Board of County Commissioners and WJHG Newschannel 7, with collection-area details from Walton County Solid Waste. Image: Waste Management.
