9 minute read

Recycling Right

Cities offer creative solutions to service challenges

by Kelli Gemmer Florida League of Cities

Recycling is an important part of waste management, but cities have faced challenges over the past few years, from declining recyclables resale value to pandemic effects.

China used to be one of the nation’s top collectors of recyclables. For many cities, recycling became economically unfeasible when China implemented a solid waste import ban in 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated the issue with a nationwide shortage of waste collection workers and increased residential waste caused by residents working from home. Contamination, which occurs when nonrecyclable items are mixed in with recyclables, continues to be an expensive challenge for cities as well.

Amid these challenges and rising costs, municipalities have had to get creative in how they approach this service.

A recycling truck in a Kissimmee neighborhood.

A recycling truck in a Kissimmee neighborhood.

Photo courtesy of City of Kissimmee

CITIES IMPLEMENT UNDERGROUND REFUSE SYSTEMS

In 2017, the City of Kissimmee partnered with Kissimmeebased company Underground Refuse Systems to become the first North American city to install an underground refuse system. These trash and recycling containers hold a large volume of refuse 12 feet underground until the City’s sanitation division picks it up on its scheduled day.

The systems eliminate odors, protect the refuse from weather and animals, save space and are more aesthetically appealing than regular containers. It also has a locking system that deters illegal dumping. (Watch a video of Kissimmee’s Underground Refuse System in action at bit.ly/3v5cLiO.) Kissimmee has seven units downtown, and the first unit was at City Hall.

Last fall, the City of Clearwater became the second city in the nation to install these Underground Refuse Systems. In addition to helping keep Clearwater “bright and beautiful” and reducing litter, the large volume of refuse that the systems contain has helped decrease collection frequency for the City. “It solved a lot of problems with public space recycling as well as garbage collection,” said Earl Gloster, Director of Solid Waste/Recycling.

One of Clearwater’s Underground Refuse System bins.

One of Clearwater’s Underground Refuse System bins.

Photo courtesy of City of Clearwater

Gloster has also seen contamination decrease with these systems. “The underground containers that we use are marked just like all of our recycling containers, but people seem to be more thoughtful about what they throw in it, and we’ve gotten some really clean recycling out of there,” he said. “This has helped us with the cost because the more clean recycling we have without contamination, the better off we are and the better price we’ll get for our recycling.”

Orlando tote distribution. has dedicated staff who assist with the entire recycling process including site consultations, educational workshops or presentations, recycling verifications, research on participation and contamination rates, and ongoing customer service. Additionally, the City has a Sustainability Action Plan that includes a goal of zero waste to the landfill by 2040. Recycling is just one component and is supplemented by a commercial food waste program, residential composting and other waste diversion efforts. For more information, visit bit.ly/3GEKEJt.

ORLANDO SETS POLICIES AND PLANS

In its recycling efforts, the City of Orlando has focused on commercial and multifamily waste, which accounts for nearly twice the residential waste tonnage.

Increasing commercial and multifamily recycling helps divert waste from landfills, recovers a greater percentage of raw materials and decreases garbage collection, resulting in a reduction of the total waste bill, the City said in a flyer on the benefits of recycling. “Strong waste reduction programs, such as commercial and multifamily recycling, can create new businesses and jobs and strengthen our local economy.”

Photo courtesy of City of Orlando

In 2019, the City passed a mandatory recycling ordinance requiring all commercial and multifamily properties to provide the opportunity for recycling. Before passing this ordinance, the City engaged in an extensive outreach campaign that included city officials and outside organizations such as property managers and owners, haulers, residents, businesses and other surrounding municipalities. In addition, Orlando conducted inspections of over 100 city facilities.

The City’s recycling ordinance takes a phased-in approach that allows increases in participation without an immediate or overwhelming increase in accompanying contamination. These phases are stretched out over four years, ending in April 2023.

Orlando has partnered with other organizations, including the Florida Beverage Association and The Recycling Partnership, to tackle challenges from the influx of new recyclers. The City

CITIES OFFER DROP-OFF LOCATIONS

Community collection events and drop-off locations provide an affordable opportunity to collect recyclables for many cities.

The City of St. Augustine offers three recycling events per year: in January after the holidays, April for Earth Day and November for America Recycles Day. The collection events focus on collecting outdated/broken electronics and used cooking oils and include free document shredding in April and November. The City also accepts recyclable materials daily during regular business hours throughout the year at the Solid Waste Facility and the Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Photo courtesy of City of St. Augustine

“As a coastal community, we have a responsibility to keep our local ecosystem thriving, and this can be accomplished by properly recycling waste as well as doing our part to maintain the City’s wastewater system,” said Glabra Skipp, Environmental Program Coordinator for St. Augustine.

Over 175 residents participated in the City’s January 2022 event, which diverted two truckloads of electronic-waste from landfills and 35 gallons of cooking oil from storm and sewer drains. At the November 2021 event, the City recycled 8,160 pounds of paper, five gallons of cooking oil and five pallets of electronics.

St. Augustine Solid Waste Manager Olivia Smith said, “Waste management strategies are an essential part of creating sustainable and educational programs, which properly divert materials throughout our community. The success of these events over the past decade is derived from the outreach awareness and variety of environmental programs created at low to no cost.” (For more information and video highlights from past events, visit bit.ly/3uGZ1ec.)

The City of Pensacola recently opened a new recycling drop-off center open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is video monitored 24/7 to ensure proper use of the site and to deter illegal dumping of nonrecyclable materials. The center includes three containers for residents to properly dispose of recyclables including cardboard, plastic, glass and more.

Recycling containers at Pensacola’s 24/7 drop-off center.

Recycling containers at Pensacola’s 24/7 drop-off center.

Photo courtesy of City of Pensacola

CORAL SPRINGS REWARDS RESIDENTS

Earlier this year, the City of Coral Springs launched a recycling rewards program aimed at reducing contamination, which helps keep the cost of recycling down. The program rewards residents who have curbside recycling and recycle the correct materials.

Residents registered in the program may have their filled recycling bin checked for contamination on their collection day by a city employee. If the bin passes a contamination review, the resident could receive a $25 gift card and be highlighted on Coral Springs’ social media pages to encourage fellow residents to recycle right. Gift cards are limited, and not all who register will be selected. The City also shares photos of City Commission members using their blue roll-out cart for curbside recycling to promote the initiative.

Coral Springs City Commissioner Nancy Metayer.

Coral Springs City Commissioner Nancy Metayer.

Photo courtesy of City of Coral Springs

“We’ve already had an incredible response to the Recycling Rewards program from Coral Springs residents,” said John Norris, Public Works Director for the City. “The program is moving us toward our goal of achieving a citywide contamination level of 30% or lower by the end of the summer.”

Coral Springs Sustainability Manager Monica Ospina said, “The Recycling Rewards program directly correlates to our sustainability efforts. Our goal is to always be focused in the three Ps: people, planet and prosperity, and having an active recycling program in the City hits all of those marks.”

Coral Springs is also engaging local students in recycling. In partnership with the City, Coral Springs Charter School launched an on-site school recycling program in January. In the program’s first month of operation, 10 96-gallon recycling carts were processed with a 0% contamination rate. The City also hosted a recycled art contest for local K-12 students judged by city staff.

Environmental Awareness Club at Coral Springs Charter School.

Environmental Awareness Club at Coral Springs Charter School.

Photo courtesy of City of Coral Springs

PAIRING ACTION WITH EDUCATION

While offering opportunities for recycling is important, it is also crucial to educate residents on what items are recyclable. (See how cities find innovative ways to educate residents in the 2020 First Quarter issue of Quality Cities at bit.ly/3gimIRD.) For example, plastic bags are one of the most common recycling contaminants. Reducing contaminated materials will help save recycling costs, tax dollars and the environment.

Because contamination is considered garbage, the processor charges to dispose of it, and these costs can offset any revenue a city might receive from the valuable recyclables. “Contamination is not good for recycling, and the more educated and astute about recycling that we can get our residents to be, the better off we’ll all be,” said Gloster.

The City of North Port posts recycling tip videos ranging from typical nonrecyclable items that might be found in bins to common questions on items such as batteries and pizza boxes. The City’s award-winning Solid Waste Division also releases an annual lipsync video each year to thank its residents for their work to improve clean recycling habits. (Watch the video at bit.ly/3svYSsv.)

Photo courtesy of City of North Port

FUTURE OUTLOOK

While it has been a challenging few years for the recycling industry, recycling is on the increase, according to Gloster.

“Over the past six months, the recycling markets have improved greatly,” he said. “We have started to receive a little revenue return on our recycling, and that’s a positive for the industry. Processors are starting to see the market change. As more processers come online and more mills are available to process the recyclables and turn them back into durable goods in this country, the market will get better.”

Kelli Gemmer is the Assistant Editor for the Florida League of Cities.

Recycling Resources

▸ The Florida Beverage Association offers a grant program to community organizations for programs and initiatives that work to advance the physical health of its local citizens and/or the environmental sustainability of its communities. Past recipients of the community grant include the Cities of Miami, Orlando and Tampa. For more information on the program, visit flabev.org.

▸ FloridaRecycles.org is a public education program sponsored by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and fellow partners to educate residents on recycling. It provides downloadable resources at floridarecycles.org/resources.

▸ The Recycling Partnership offers free toolkits to cities looking to improve recycling, including “DIYSigns” editable templates to show what is recyclable and where. Visit bit.ly/3v0Kbzb for the templates bit.ly/3gg5p3w for more free resources such as a social media kit and recycling anti-contamination kit.