With around 50% of household waste recycled, Floridians are pretty good students. However, with more than 700 kg of waste per inhabitant per year, the residents are among the biggest creators of garbage in the USA. So how do you sort and recycle on a daily basis to save money?
In Florida, what do we recycle
About fifteen types of waste are collected in Panama City, but this varies from one waste collection center to another. Let’s start with recyclables. This is waste that is systematically recycled. However, each county has a certain freedom concerning the management of the waste of their citizens. Remember to check with your municipality to find out about the regulations regarding waste management in your area.
- Cardboard (cereal boxes, cake boxes, pizza boxes and others) provided they are not too soiled (too dirty or too wet).
- Paper (letters, newspapers, advertisements, magazines, leaflets) is almost always recycled. However, photo paper and wallpaper that are laminated and have a specific treatment are not recycled.
- Steel and aluminum (cans, aluminum trays, cans, aerosols). Aluminum coffee capsules can also be recycled.
- The glass (glass bottle, broken glass).
- Plastic bottles. As a general rule, only the plastics used for the manufacture of bottles and other vials are recycled. This means that your water, milk or oil bottle as well as your shampoo bottles or your cosmetics bottles are recyclable, but that plastic cups, plastic tableware or plastic food trays are not. not.
- Raw plant waste and eggshells (compost). There are compostable bags available in the supermarket.
Sometimes some packaging is made up of several materials, some of which are recyclable. In order to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in a taxed garbage bag, it is interesting to separate these materials. For example, removing cartons around yogurts, separating transparent plastic from carton for gift wrapping, peeling plastic film from carton when buying smoked salmon, etc. Please note that beverage cartons are unfortunately not recyclable and must be thrown in the ordinary trash.
What waste should never be put in a bin
There are wastes that cannot be thrown in a conventional trash can. For some of its waste, there are specific disposal channels.
- Batteries, batteries and light bulbs which are recycled via specialized channels (at the recycling center or via terminals available in certain supermarkets).
- Medications to bring back to the pharmacy.
- Waste electrical and electronic equipment, for which there are dedicated channels, but which you can take to the recycling center. Any purchase of an electrical or electronic device includes a tax which finances the recovery and elimination of defective objects. As a result, the law obliges sellers to collect used devices
- Cooking oils could be thrown in your ordinary trash, but it is better to send them to the recycling center. Above all, do not throw in the pipes, as this can clog them and complicate the treatment of wastewater.
- Motor oils and other waste oils must be disposed of in your recycling center or at your garage.
- Tires that must be taken to a specialist, to the recycling center or to a distributor.
- Large waste scrap metal, wood or materials that must be taken to the recycling center.
How do I organize my sorting
By sorting well, a household in Panama City can reduce the number of garbage bags by 4, or even more. For a household of 4 people who use 2 bags of 35 liters per week, this represents a saving of nearly $15 per month or $180 per year. Almost enough to pay for your telephone subscription. Sorting is therefore beneficial for the wallet, but also for the environment.
The first thing to do is to inform other members of your household, especially children, so that they understand exactly what should be thrown in the trash and what should be sorted. Then it’s about finding a space where you can put your bags or bins in which you can put your recyclable waste. It is not necessary to have 15 different bins, usually 2 or 3 are enough. For example, a bin for paper and cardboard, another bin for your pet bottles, aluminum, glass, then a final one for compost. Of course, it depends on which waste you produce the most. So there is no absolute rule. Provide a bag for paper and cardboard.
Recyclage express will soon offer you very practical bins for recycling that can be adapted to all spaces.
How do I send my waste to collection points or recycling centres
In Florida, everyone has in principle access to a recycling center and there are many ecopoints. Depending on the county where you live, different containers and dumpsters are available to you directly at the bottom of your building. If you are lucky, you have a container for your incinerable bins, another for paper and cardboard and then another for glass.
Many counties like Bay County, generally on the outskirts of large cities, only provide a single container for taxed garbage bags at the bottom of your building.
With regard to waste management in Florida, it’s the same principle, some counties have several ecopoints where it is possible to throw away pets, aluminum, glass, sometimes batteries and light bulbs. Other counties do not offer any ecopoints. There is therefore a certain inequality regarding access to the waste disposal service.
Depending on the amount of recyclable waste you produce, you will need to go to the ecopoint or your recycling center generally once a week. Be sure to consult the timetable for your recycling center, as they vary greatly from one municipality to another. Other waste that is not directly recyclable can only be deposited in the recycling center.
We need better waste management in Florida. If you don’t have time to go to a collection point or a recycling center, some waste management offer you a subscription system. They come 1 to 4 times a month to pick up your recyclable waste at your doorstep.