What's in their lane
A Solid Waste department — Miami-Dade's countywide Solid Waste Management for unincorporated areas, or a city's own sanitation department where one exists — handles curbside collection, bulk trash pickup, and cleanup of illegally dumped debris on public property.
After major storms, debris collection often runs on a separate, announced schedule rather than the normal pickup routine — worth checking for before assuming a pile has been "missed."
More than curbside pickup
In the City of Miami, Solid Waste's job goes well past routine trash. The department also handles dead animal removal from public property, and the cleanup of animal remains left behind after religious offerings — both treated as public health matters that need a fast response, not just an eyesore to schedule around.
Public property vs. private property
Solid Waste generally only clears dumping on public land — a street, a right-of-way, a vacant public lot. Dumping on private property is the property owner's responsibility to clear, and a complaint about it is more likely to route to Code Enforcement than Solid Waste.
The Environmental Crimes Unit
Illegal dumping isn't only cleaned up after the fact — City of Miami Solid Waste runs its own Environmental Crimes Unit dedicated to catching people in the act, not just hauling away what they leave behind.
That unit is behind some of the department's most visible wins, including identifying the man caught on camera tossing an entire trash bin into Biscayne Bay — a video that went viral. Chief Edwin Lopez leads the team behind catches like that one.