Restaurant Dumpster Enclosures at Strip Centers: What Florida’s Food Rules Say About Keeping Them Clean

Florida’s rules for restaurants adopt the FDA Food Code’s chapter on refuse, and that code says a refuse enclosure must be kept clean and the bins cleaned often enough that they never build up soil or draw insects and rodents. It does not set a number of days. Here is what the rules say, with links, and what a landlord can check at the dumpster pad.

We are a pressure washing company, not lawyers. This is a plain-English summary of public rules, with links. Ask the state, your attorney or your restaurant tenant how they apply to your property.

How Florida’s food rules reach the dumpster

Florida’s rules for public food service establishments are in Chapter 61C of the Florida Administrative Code. They adopt parts of the FDA’s Food Code, 2017 edition, by reference, and the parts adopted include Chapter 5 and Chapter 6^[1]. Chapter 5 is where it covers refuse.

A second rule makes the link plain: standards for water, plumbing and waste “shall be governed by Chapter 5, Food Code”, and the federal code’s term “food establishment” applies to all public lodging and public food service establishments as defined in Chapter 509 of the Florida Statutes^[2]. In other words, a restaurant tenant in a shopping plaza is held to these refuse rules.

The rules are written for the restaurant, not the landlord. But the enclosure usually sits on the landlord’s pavement, and it is the part of the property customers, inspectors and other tenants all see.

What the federal code says about the enclosure

• Clean. “A storage area and enclosure for REFUSE, recyclables, or returnables shall be maintained free of unnecessary items, as specified under § 6-501.114, and clean.”^[4]
• In good repair. Storage areas, enclosures and receptacles for refuse, recyclables and returnables “shall be maintained in good repair”^[4].
• Lids closed. Receptacles kept outside must be covered “With tight-fitting lids or doors”^[4].
• Drain plugs in. Drains in receptacles “shall have drain plugs in place”^[4]. A missing plug is one way liquid ends up on the pad.
• No clutter or litter. The section the enclosure rule points to says the premises shall be free of unnecessary items, such as equipment that is nonfunctional or no longer used, and free of litter^[4].

Before

After

Left: before. Right: after. A commercial dumpster pad we cleaned. The bins are still full in the after photo; the difference is the pad.

How often should a restaurant dumpster pad be cleaned?

The code does not give a number of days. It gives a result. Soiled receptacles “shall be cleaned at a frequency necessary to prevent them from developing a buildup of soil or becoming attractants for insects and rodents”^[4], and the enclosure itself must be kept clean^[4]. Refuse must be removed from the premises at a frequency that will minimize objectionable odors and other conditions that attract or harbor insects and rodents^[4].

So the honest answer is: as often as it takes for the pad never to have buildup, standing liquid or the smell that draws flies. A pad behind a restaurant that throws out food waste and grease every night gets there much faster than one behind a store that mostly throws out cardboard. Our dumpster pad cleaning before and after shows what a pad looks like when it has gone too long.

The ground around it

Florida adds its own rule for the outside of a restaurant. Public food service establishments “and all property used in connection with their operations shall be kept free of litter”^[3]. The walking and driving surfaces of exterior areas must be maintained to minimize dust, and “These surfaces shall be graded to prevent pooling of water.”^[3] Puddles that never dry on a dumpster pad are worth noting, because the rule speaks to the surface itself, not only to what is on it.

Who does the cleaning, and with what

The code expects the cleaning to be done with real equipment. It says “suitable cleaning implements and supplies such as high pressure pumps, hot water, steam, and detergent shall be provided as necessary for effective cleaning of receptacles and waste handling units”^[4]. It also allows the work to be done by an outside company: “If APPROVED, off-PREMISES-based cleaning services may be used if on-PREMISES cleaning implements and supplies are not provided.”^[4] In the code, approved means acceptable to the regulatory authority^[4].

Who pays for and arranges the cleaning of a shared enclosure is a lease question. These rules do not answer it.

Where the wash water goes

The code also says receptacles must be cleaned in a way that does not contaminate food, equipment or utensils, “and waste water shall be disposed of as specified under § 5-402.13”^[4]. That section says sewage is conveyed to the point of disposal through an approved sanitary sewage system or other approved system^[4]. Local rules add their own limits on what can go into storm drains: our wash water guide covers Sarasota and Manatee County, and our guide to local exterior codes covers the local grease programs and Bradenton’s rule that trash areas be kept “neat and clean in appearance”.

What a property owner can check

• Walk to the enclosure, not just past it. Look at the pad under and between the bins, where liquid collects.
• Check the lids and doors. Outside receptacles are supposed to have tight-fitting lids or doors, and they are supposed to be closed.
• Look for drain plugs on bins that have drains.
• Look for puddles that never dry. The state rule says exterior surfaces should be graded to prevent pooling.
• Clear out what does not belong. Broken equipment and stored items in the enclosure are what the code calls unnecessary items.
• Talk to the restaurant tenant. The rules are on their license, and a clean pad is easier to keep than to recover.

Dumpster pads, walkways, walls and parking areas are the core of our strip center pressure washing in Sarasota and Manatee County, part of our commercial pressure washing in Sarasota. For the storefront side, see our guide to strip center walkways and slip hazards.

Sources

1. Florida Administrative Code Rule 61C-1.001, Definitions (Food Code adopted by reference)
2. Florida Administrative Code Rule 61C-1.004, General Sanitation and Safety Requirements
3. Florida Administrative Code Rule 61C-4.010, Sanitation and Safety Requirements (public food service establishments)
4. U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Food Code 2017 (PDF), Chapter 5, Part 5-5, Refuse, Recyclables, and Returnables