As Miami-Dade struggles to decide where to build a new waste-to-energy incinerator and Broward County works toward approving a new waste management master plan, the need to recycle correctly has never been more urgent.
A few months ago, a brand-new facility was unveiled, promising to bring recycling into the future and make the process more effective and affordable. Now, South Floridians are being urged to step up and get it right.
“Recycling really works, and recycling really is real. If you put good, clean material at your curb, it comes here,” said Dawn McCormick, communications director for Waste Management Florida.
The facility is South Florida’s latest high-tech effort to tackle a growing solid waste crisis.
“We run it through a $90 million facility. We have bales at the end that we have markets for, mostly in the United States, and those become new products,” McCormick said.
Waste Management unveiled the new, high-tech, 127,000-square-foot recycling facility in West Pembroke Pines in February. It can process 275,000 tons of material each year at a rate of 60 tons per hour.
“What we can do is recycle some additional items, which we’re excited about -- some additional types of plastics and other things that our optical sorters are able to allow us to do,” McCormick said.
The effort is critical as both Broward and Miami-Dade counties each produce more than 5 million tons of waste every year -- double the national average.
“Right now in South Florida, we have limited landfill space, and the clock is ticking,” McCormick said. “I think all of our elected officials and our counties are aware of that and trying to preserve the space that does remain.”
In Miami-Dade alone, about 36% -- or 1.8 million tons -- of materials are recycled each year. However, 39% of what enters the recycling stream is contaminated, meaning it doesn’t belong there and drives up costs.
“It just doesn’t work well in our equipment, and it ends up getting into the other bales of cardboard and other things where it doesn’t belong,” McCormick said.
Instead, plastic bags should be returned to retailers that have designated recycling bins. Recyclables should be placed loosely in the bin.
Officials also warn against putting items like garden hoses, plastic tubing, cords, electronics and batteries -- especially lithium-ion batteries -- into recycling bins.
“This is not what we want. We don’t want the tanglers and the hoses and the cords,” McCormick said. “We don’t want electronics, and we don’t want any types of batteries, especially your lithium-ion batteries, which are sparking fires in our collection trucks and facilities.”
Those items should be taken to county household hazardous waste sites.
“We’re looking just for bottles, cups, jugs and tops,” McCormick said.
Plastic dairy tubs, like yogurt and cheese containers, can now be recycled, as long as they are rinsed out. Plastic cups are also now accepted, though plastic cutlery still belongs in the trash.
Paper and cardboard remain highly recyclable, including pizza boxes as long as there’s no food inside. Residents are reminded to break down and fold boxes and discard packaging materials.
The most valuable recyclable item remains aluminum cans.
“Recycling an aluminum can has the most environmental benefit. It also has the most economic benefit,” McCormick said. “An aluminum can can be back on your store shelf in 60 days, and it continuously can be recycled. There’s no end to it.”
To help residents recycle correctly, Miami-Dade has partnered with the Scrapp recycling app, which allows users to scan a barcode to see if an item belongs in the bin.
“Recycling works when you do it right,” McCormick said. “It’s a small effort, both at home and even on the go. Bring those materials back, recycle them curbside. You’re doing a tremendous benefit to our environment, and at the same time, you’re saving landfill space and doing the right thing.”
Waste Management is also recycling glass, but it must be shipped to another site in Central Florida, adding extra cost. Because of that, not all cities offer glass recycling.
Officials also warn against “wishcycling” -- throwing items in the bin in hopes they can be recycled. When in doubt, throw it out.
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