South Florida Recycling: Dos and Don'ts to Combat Growing Trash Problems

Recycling Challenges in South Florida

• ⚠️ Miami-Dade County generates 5 million tons of trash annually, with only 37% being recycled and a significant 40% contamination rate.
• 📉 Broward County faces similar statistics, highlighting a widespread issue with recycling effectiveness.
• confused individuals are making mistakes, leading cities to find recycling unaffordable.

Common Recycling Mistakes

• 🚫 Plastic bags are a major problem; they are never recyclable and cause significant damage to machinery, increasing costs.
• 🚫 Items like plastic grocery bags, shopping bags, and dry cleaning covers are also not recyclable, despite common misconceptions.
• 💡 Wish cycling, or putting items in the bin with the hope they are recyclable (like infant car seats), clogs machinery and halts the entire process.
• 🗑️ Single-use plastics like solo cups and plastic utensils are not recyclable and contribute to landfill waste or pollution in waterways.

What Can Be Recycled

• 💧 Number 1 PET plastics (water bottles, soda bottles, oil jars) are in high demand, provided they are rinsed clean of residue.
• 🥛 Number 2 HDPE plastics (milk jugs, detergent bottles) are also recyclable.
• ♻️ Number 5 plastics (dairy tubs) have low market demand, meaning they are often not recycled unless they are a #1 or #2.
• 🥫 Cans are always recyclable, yet a significant portion are still thrown away in Florida.
• 📦 Cardboard and paper are in high demand, especially flattened cardboard, including clean pizza boxes.

Recycling Correctly for the Future

• ✅ The key is to recycle right: no plastic bags, only clean, dry, empty cardboard, paper, bottles, and cans.
• 🗑️ When in doubt, throw it out in the garbage to avoid contamination.
• 💻 A new website has been launched to simplify the recycling process and eliminate guesswork, especially as landfill space diminishes.