Pinellas County leads the state of Florida in recycling efforts according to data recently released by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The agency’s 2017 annual recycling rates for individual counties and the entire state show that Pinellas County has the highest county recycling rate at 82 percent. This is due to a credit for producing renewable energy at its Waste-to-Energy facility and recycling through traditional programs, such as curbside recycling.
For the last three years, Pinellas County has led the state of Florida in recycling. However, there is still room for improvement. Residents may be aware of challenges facing recycling markets and can do their part by placing quality materials in their recycling containers.
From the curb, materials are transported to a materials recovery facility (MRF). Plastic, glass, metal bottles and containers, and paper are processed at MRFs, then baled to be sold and used again.
The Tampa Bay area is a “MRF shed.” A MRF shed is similar to a watershed, in that water in a region flows to a water body. Recyclable material in the Tampa Bay area flows mainly to two regional MRFs. Therefore, what one municipality does in the MRF shed can impact the other municipalities. Placing the right materials in recycling containers increases the efficiency of the MRFs and the quality of material produced. The cleaner the material, the better for all.
Sharing MRFs means that regional municipalities are able to share the same message about how to properly recycle across Tampa Bay. To further citizen engagement, Pinellas joined a regional “Trash the Tangler” campaign to encourage residents to keep recycling tangler–free. A tangler is an item, such as plastic bags, cords and clothes that jam recycling processing equipment, making it difficult for MRFs to recycle valuable material. Residents are encouraged to get the most out of their recyclable material by keeping tanglers out of their recycling bin. Residents can place tanglers in the trash or recycle at alternative locations.
To learn more about the regional campaign and proper recycling procedures, visit www.TampaBayRecycles.org and www.pinellascounty.org/recycle