How Mixed Recycling Works In 新澳门六合彩
Have you ever wondered, 鈥渨hat happens to my recyclables after I place them in my recycling bin?鈥 Below, you will learn about how recyclables are collected in 新澳门六合彩, where they are taken locally for processing, how they are sold to manufacturers to be made into new products and how consumers play a key role in this process by buying products made from recycled content.
The Recycling Loop
Recycling is a series of steps which create a loop (the recycling loop). There are four primary steps within the recycling loop: collection, processing, manufacturing and buying recycled. For an item to truly be recycled, the loop must be closed.
![Graphic of the recycling loop including collection, processing, manufacturing and buying recycled.](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Recycle_Loop_2023_loop_black-arrows-for-light-background-1024x1024.png)
Collection
![Graphic of a recycling collection bin](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Recycle_Loop_2023_collection-834x1024.png)
What to Recycle
The recycling process starts with you placing the right items in your bin. No matter where you recycle in 新澳门六合彩, if you follow the Recycle Guide, you鈥檒l be recycling right!
Only the items listed on the front cover of the Recycle Guide are universally recyclable in 新澳门六合彩: glass bottles & jars, plastic bottles & jugs, metal food & beverage cans, cartons and paper & cardboard.
According to the 2020 Municipal Recyclable Materials Composition Study, the composition of collected mixed recyclables in 新澳门六合彩 by percent of weight are:
- 20.4% glass
- 9.1% plastic bottles & jugs
- 3.6% metal food & beverage cans
- 44.6% paper and cardboard (newspaper, cardboard, mixed recyclable paper, cartons (cartons make up 0.5%))
For the full countywide composition and contamination rate, view the 2020 Municipal Recyclable Materials Composition Study and see page 13, Table 3-2.
How Collection Works
In 新澳门六合彩, garbage and recycling collection services are managed independently by municipalities (incorporated areas) and County-licensed private haulers (unincorporated areas). 新澳门六合彩 does not offer garbage or recycling collection service except in the east Lealman community. Visit Collection: Garbage and Recycling for more information.
The primary role of 新澳门六合彩 Solid Waste is to manage the Solid Waste Disposal Complex which includes a Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Facility and landfill.
![Flow chart showing how garbage and recycling collection works in 新澳门六合彩](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Garbage-and-Recycling-Graphic-No-Header-663x1024.png)
Recyclables are also collected at recycling drop-off centers. Recycling drop-off centers are located throughout the county and are available to residents and visitors free of charge. These centers are managed by 新澳门六合彩 and its municipalities. to find the center closest to you.
![](/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/image-20230908-175514-f021c619-1-1024x768.jpeg)
Contamination
Contamination is any material that is not accepted in your curbside recycling program, such as plastic bags or liquid and food residue. Contamination can damage equipment, endanger staff, and make quality recyclables unusable.
Based on our study that was conducted in October 2020, the contamination rate of recyclables collected in the County was 18.8% by weight. That means that one in five items by weight should not have been placed in mixed recycling.
See image below for items that do not belong and are some typical examples of contamination in mixed recycling.
![Graphic depicting items that should not be placed in your recycle bin](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/do-not-recycle-items.png)
Processing
![Graphic of the recyclable materials sorting process](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Recycle_Loop_2023_processing-1024x815.png)
Recyclable materials are collected by a truck and taken to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF pronounced 鈥淢uRF鈥) to be sorted into various groups of materials, sold to end users and then turned into new products.
Local Material Recovery Facilities
Municipalities and private haulers transport collected recyclable materials to local, privately owned and operated MRFs.
![Image of recyclables being loaded off of a truck onto a MRF tipping floor](/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/SSR-tip-floor.jpg.png)
There are five major MRFs in the Tampa Bay Area:
- One in St. Petersburg, owned and operated by Waste Connections
- One in Clearwater, owned and operated by Recycling Services of Florida
- One in Tampa, owned and operated by Waste Management with a transfer station in Clearwater
- One in Sarasota, owned and operated by Waste Pro, with a transfer station in Clearwater
- One in Lakeland, owned and operated by Republic Services of Florida, with a transfer station in Tampa
Sometimes municipalities or private haulers will use transfer stations before transporting materials to a transfer station or MRF. A transfer station is a holding place or a hub for recyclables. They are used to combine materials and make transportation to a MRF more efficient and cost-effective.
新澳门六合彩 Solid Waste does not own or operate a MRF. The main role of the Solid Waste department is to manage the County鈥檚 garbage as a resource at the Solid Waste Disposal Complex. Join us for a tour to learn about our vision of zero waste to landfill by 2050 and why it鈥檚 important that we create less waste.
Municipalities (incorporated areas) and licensed haulers (unincorporated areas) collect recyclables and deliver them to a MRF for processing. Some municipalities contract with a private hauler for both collection and processing.
If you live in a municipality, see this table below for information about where your city/town takes your recyclable material*.
Municipality | Hauler | Transfer Station or MRF |
Belleair | Waste Pro | Waste Pro |
Belleair Beach | Waste Management | Waste Management |
Belleair Bluffs | Waste Management | Waste Management |
Belleair Shore | Waste Connections | Waste Connections |
Clearwater | Clearwater | Waste Connections |
Dunedin | Waste Pro | Waste Pro |
Gulfport | Gulfport | Waste Connections (curbside) / Recycling Services of Florida (drop-off) |
Indian Rock Beach | Waste Connections | Waste Connections |
Indian Shores | Waste Connections | Waste Connections |
Kenneth City | Waste Pro | Waste Pro |
Largo | Largo | Waste Management |
Madeira Beach | Waste Pro | Waste Pro |
North Redington Beach | Waste Pro | Waste Pro |
Oldsmar | Coastal Waste and Recycling | Waste Management |
Pinellas Park | Waste Management | Waste Management |
Redington Beach | Waste Connections | Waste Connections |
Redington Shores | Waste Connections | Waste Connections |
Safety Harbor | Safety Harbor | Recycling Services of Florida |
Seminole | Waste Pro | Waste Pro |
South Pasadena | Waste Connections | Waste Connections |
St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg | Waste Connections |
St. Pete Beach | Waste Connections | Waste Connections |
Tarpon Springs | Waste Management | Waste Management |
Treasure Island | Waste Pro (single-family residential) / Conex Recycling (multi-family residential) | Waste Pro (single-family residential) / Republic Services of Florida (multi-family residential) |
*This table was updated on 04/24/23.
If you live in an unincorporated area, see the table below for information about where your private hauler takes your recyclables*.
Hauler | Transfer Station or MRF |
Coastal Waste and Recycling | Waste Management |
Solar Sanitation | Waste Management |
Waste Connections | Waste Connections |
Waste Management | Waste Management |
Waste Pro | Waste Pro |
*This table was updated on 04/24/23.
Recyclables that are collected at county-managed drop-off locations are taken to Recycling Services of Florida.
How Recyclable Materials are Sorted
MRFs use machines to sort recyclables by physical properties such as weight, shape, size and magnetism. Because all materials are placed in one bin during collection (mixed recycling), recyclables need to be separated into bales of each material type before they can be sold to manufacturers.
![Image of MRF worker removing contamination from a conveyor belt](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IMG_3567-1024x768.jpg)
MRF employees pull out contamination from recyclables from a belt that is moving at a speed of three feet per second. MRF employees focus on removing materials that can damage equipment down the line – it’s impossible to remove all contamination. While personal protective equipment is donned and safety precautions are followed, contamination and hazardous items can endanger staff.
![Video of sorting machinery at a MRF](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ezgif.com-video-to-gif.gif)
MRF equipment quickly rotate to separate heavier products like glass containers from lighter products like cardboard, paper, and plastic bottles. This equipment easily gets tangled with contamination like plastic bags.
![Image of MRF employees removing tanglers, a common contaminant, from sorting equipment](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/tanglers-in-star-screens-1024x766.jpg)
In this image, plastic bags, cords, and wires get tangled in the machinery at MRFs. As a result, workers use box cutters to remove contamination from the star screens. Contamination increases recycling costs and degrades the quality of materials, reducing the ability of the materials to be recycled. Help contribute to the success of recycling programs by reviewing what can and cannot be recycled in your local program.
![](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Photo-Jul-08-11-24-01-AM-1024x768.jpg)
![](/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Photo-Jul-08-11-24-05-AM-1024x768.jpg)
MRF glass is transported to and cleaned by a secondary processor after it leaves a MRF where it is cleaned and separated by color into clear, green and brown stockpiles. Cleaned glass is transported to manufacturers to be made into new products such as new glass bottles or fiberglass.
After sorting, materials are baled, stored and marketed to end users.
![Bales of plastics at a MRF](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/baled-plastics-255x191.jpg)
![Bales of plastic at a MRF](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/baled-plastic-2-255x191.jpg)
![Bales of metal at a MRF](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/baled-metal-255x191.jpg)
![Bales of cardboard at a MRF](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Waste-Connections-22-255x191.jpg)
Bales of plastic jugs, plastic bottles, metal cans and paper and cardboard stored at Waste Connections鈥 MRF in St. Petersburg.
Manufacturing
![Graphic of items made from recycled materials](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Recycle_Loop_2023_manufacturing-824x1024.png)
Recyclables are sold to manufacturers to be made into new products.
Local MRFs sell recyclables to manufacturers throughout the southeast region. Below is a summary of how your recyclables are made into new products at regional manufacturers:
- Cardboard: repulped into different types of boxes like pizza and shipping boxes
- Mixed paper: repulped to be used as office paper or paperboard
- Metal food and beverage cans: melted down and used to make ingot, or blocks of metal, and fishing products
- Plastic bottles and jugs: ground down and extruded into pellets to be used for modeling
- Glass: melted down into cullet and used to make new glass bottles and jars
The Glass Recycling Process
Producing new glass products made from recycled glass takes 30% less energy than producing glass from raw materials (sand). Glass is used to make fiberglass and glass containers. Glass never wears out and can be recycled infinitely.
Sarasota, Florida is home to a glass recycler (Strategic Materials) who cleans MRF glass and sends it to northern Florida and southern Georgia to be made into new materials, such as fiberglass and glass containers.
Click the image below to watch the NPR Planet Money video: (3:09 min.)
The Paper and Cardboard Recycling Process
Mixed paper can be recycled to make new paper products.
The video below explains how paper and cardboard recycling works.
The Metal Recycling Process
saves 95% of the energy that is needed to make aluminum from its virgin source. Aluminum cans are 100% recyclable and there is no limit to how many times they can be recycled. Around 75% of the aluminum made is still in circulation.
The Plastic Recycling Process
Recycling plastic bottles compared to making this plastic out of virgin materials.
Located in Englewood, Florida, the uses recycled plastic containers to make furniture that local municipalities and businesses can purchase.
The National Waste & Recycling Association鈥檚 (NWRA) article states that plastic bottles and jugs are recyclable and are being recycled. This article supports 新澳门六合彩鈥檚 list of recyclable materials, which includes plastic bottles and jugs. For example, 29.1% of PET bottles (i.e., plastic water bottles), 29.3% of natural HDPE bottles (i.e., milk jugs), and 18.1% of colored HDPE (i.e., laundry detergent bottles) were recycled in 2018, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency鈥檚 most recent report. The NWRA is a trade association that represents private waste and recycling companies; its members are the companies that are the sorting and marketing recyclable materials.
Buying Recycled
![Graphic of shopping cart with items made with recyclable materials](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Recycle_Loop_2023_buying-998x1024.png)
When you buy products that are made with recycled materials, you are recycling and closing the recycling loop. This increases the demand for products made with recycled materials. Visit the as a resource for the truth in advertising.
Examples of products made from recycled materials include:
- Paper napkins, paper towels, and toilet tissue
- Writing papers, greeting cards and envelopes
- Paperboard packaging (such as cereal, cake and cracker boxes)
- Reusable cloth bags made from plastic bottles
- Outdoor rugs made from plastic bottles and jugs
- Glass bottles and jars
- Metal food and beverage cans
![Aluminum can](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/aluminum-can-683x1024.jpg)
![Outdoor rug](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/recycled-rug.png)
Additional Resources
- Where Does It Go? Search Tool
- Recycle Guide & Downloadable Signage
- Household Chemical Collection
- Collection: Garbage & Recycling
- Hours: Solid Waste Disposal Complex
- Disposal Fee Information
- Educational Resources: Garbage and Recycling
- Recycling FAQ
- Artificial Reef Program
- Mulch Pickup Program
- For Businesses: Garbage & Recycling Resources
- How Mixed Recycling Works In 新澳门六合彩
- Video Library: Garbage and Recycling
- Holiday and Gift-Giving Guide
- Pinellas Partners in Recycling
- Waste-to-Energy Facility
- Bridgeway Acres Landfill
- Solid Waste Master Plan
- Solid Waste Disposal Accounts
- Lealman Garbage and Recycling Collection
- Tampa Bay Recycles
- Why Recycling Is Important
- Discover Careers with 新澳门六合彩 Solid Waste
Have more questions about recycling?
Email us at recycle@pinellas.gov.