2020 Recycling Award Winners Webinar
A message from Governor Ron DeSantis – Observing Florida Recycles Week 2020
For Florida Recycles Week, Some Dos and Don’ts of Recycling
Florida Recycles Week (Nov. 9-15) and America Recycles Day on Sunday, Nov. 15, are great times to celebrate the tremendous environmental benefits of recycling and personally commit to doing our part to recycle right.
As North America’s largest residential recycler, Waste Management managed the recycling of more than 15 million tons of aluminum and steel cans, cardboard and paper, and plastic bottles and jugs in 2019.
These recycling efforts saved 196 million trees, 46 billion gallons of water and avoided 29 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions — the equivalent of removing 6 million cars from the road each year!
While it’s important to recycle, it’s especially important to recycle right.
In Florida, that means recycling only clean and dry paper and cardboard, bottles and cans in your curbside residential recycling container.
Do not recycle plastic bags or plastic film such as dry-cleaning bags or bread bags curbside. They cannot be separated at the recycling processing center, jam up the machines and can cause fires and injuries to our workers. Instead, take plastic bags and plastic wraps back to a retailer that can recycle them separately.
Also, do not bag your recyclables, or they won’t get recycled because we can’t see what is inside. Place recyclables in your container loose and dry.
While the recycling markets have been challenging the past few years with China closing its door to most recycling material, Waste Management is still finding markets for good, clean recyclable material. In fact, 100% of the plastic bottles we recycle are staying here in the United States and being remade into new plastic bottles, park benches and playground equipment.
And while the cost of recycling has gone up due to challenging markets and too much garbage being placed in recycling containers, Waste Management is working cooperatively with the counties and cities we serve to keep recycling environmentally and economically sustainable.
You can do your part by recycling right — “When in Doubt, Throw it Out.” And remember to buy products made from recycled content, too!
Dawn McCormick, director of communications for Waste Management Inc. of Florida, chair of the Florida Recycling Partnership and Vice Chair of Keep Florida Beautiful
Educational Webinar to Kick Off “Florida Recycles Week”
America Recycles Day
Recycling Champions Award
The Florida Recycling Partnership has a Recycling Champions Award that recognizes companies, organizations, governmental entities or individuals that have made a significant impact in the recycling industry. Do you have an education program that inspires recycling and/or reuse? What about a program in the area of waste reduction, reuse or one that had a significant impact on recycling? We are also looking to recognize new innovative programs such as water reuse and recycling, energy efficiency and/or environmental stewardship.
Nominations are now open so let us know who has a recycling program that is moving the needle! Self-nominations are welcomed – so let us know how you are making a difference in the world of recycling! It is the perfect opportunity to showcase your program.
The deadline to submit is October 1, 2020. Notification of award decisions will be made in November, with the award presented during Florida Recycles Week scheduled for November 16 – 20, 2020.
Question? Contact Keyna Cory at keyna@flrecycling.org or 850.728.1054
Broward County Parks & Recreation, Special Populations Section Wins Recycling Champion Award
Florida Recycling Workgroup
July 17, 2020
Download PDF
University of Florida Finds 25% Contamination in Recycling Stream
Examining Contamination Rates at Florida Materials Recovery Facilities
WRAP Campaign Increases Awareness, Recycling of Plastic Film Packaging
New Recycling Containers Debut in Florida Capitol Complex
Tallahassee, FL. – A new Capitol Complex Recycling Program has launched to encourage legislators, staff, and Capitol visitors to recycle bottles and cans during the 2018 Legislative Session. This program is a collaboration between the Florida Beverage Association, Florida Recycling Partnership, Keep Florida Beautiful, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). The new bottle-shaped recycling containers were provided by the Florida Beverage Association through a grant from the American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America.
“The Florida Beverage Association and its members are committed to minimizing their environmental impact and are making it easier for consumers to do the same. Environmental responsibility, including the design of our packaging, water use, and the way we ship our products, is a top priority for our industry. We are proud to partner with the Florida Recycling Partnership, Keep Florida Beautiful and FDEP on the Capitol Complex Recycling Program,” said Liz DeWitt, Executive Director for the Florida Beverage Association.
New containers have been strategically placed throughout the Capitol. The goal of the project is to increase the recycling rate in the Capitol by 25% during the first six months of 2018.
The containers are wrapped with the new FDEP logo “Rethink. Reset. Recycle.” promoting their new www.FloridaRecycles.org campaign to encourage everyone to recycle the right items such as bottles and cans.
“We want to thank the Department of Management Services, President Joe Negron and Speaker Richard Corcoran for their support of the recycling project. The goal is to increase awareness about recycling and remind everyone about the new FDEP Rethink. Reset. Recycle. program,” said Keyna Cory, Executive Director for the Florida Recycling Partnership.
Natural Resources &
Public Lands Subcommittee
November 15, 2017
Florida Recycles Day
What have you recycled today?
There are many actions each of us can take to reduce our environmental impact and support a clean community. One of the easiest actions to take every day is to recycle.
That’s why the Florida Recycling Partnership invites all Floridians to join us when we host Florida Recycles Day on Wednesday, November 15 beginning at 9:00 am at the Florida Capitol – Plaza Level in celebration of America Recycles Day, a Keep America Beautiful national initiative.
This will be the 5th Annual Florida Recycles Day at the Capitol hosted by the Florida Recycling Partnership and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Florida has a recycling rate of 56% which is ahead of the national average of 34%. Together, we can certainly recycle more and recycle right.
DEP will launch a new statewide recycling education program RETHINK … RESET … RECYCLE during the November 15 event. We need to RETHINK what we recycle and RESET our behavior to focus on what we RECYCLE. The new FloridaRecycles.org campaign is in partnership with the Florida Recycling Partnership, Recycle Florida Today, Waste Management, Waste Connections, Marpan, and Single-Stream Recyclers LLC and is designed to boost awareness of the top items in a successful recycling program including paper and cardboard, plastic bottles and jugs, and aluminum and steel cans.
Through the simple act of recycling (and buying products made with recycled content), we can continue to “give our garbage another life.” That plastic bottle can become a pair of jeans and that aluminum can become a new aluminum can in less than 60 days.
But it all starts with putting more of the right clean and dry recyclable items into your curbside recycle container – and keeping non-recyclable materials OUT especially plastic bags (take them back to your retailer to recycle), cords and hoses, food and clothing. Remember, when in doubt, it’s better to “throw it out” than ruin your good recyclables.
With this in mind, and as America Recycles Day approaches on Nov. 15, the Florida Recycling Partnership wants to thank you for your efforts to recycle – at home, at work or school, and on the go. Join us in our effort to make our state environmentally and economically healthier by recycling more and recycling right.
For more information regarding Florida Recycles Day at the Capitol, go to www.flrecycling.org
#whathaveyourecycledtoday
Keyna Cory
Executive Director
Florida Recycling Partnership
keyna@flrecycling.org
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