The City of Lakeland has inked a new contract with Republic Services to collect residents’ recyclables, but Polk County has announced that it will permanently end its recycling program in October 2024.
In a series of videos, County Commissioner Bill Braswell and newly retired Waste and Recycling Director Ana Wood explained that only 60-65% of county residents participate in recycling and a lot of what they put in their bins isn’t actually recyclable – so much of it ends up in the landfill anyway.
The change will affect people who live outside of Lakeland’s city limits and have black and yellow trash bins. It will not affect city residents whose trash bins are green.
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Does this affect Frostproof residents?. It is a regressive step.
90% of what’s thrown in garbage cans are recyclable. Items that are acceptable one year are not the next so people get frustrated and throw everything in the trash. Half the time, garbage isn’t collected as it is, let alone the recycling. Years ago one of the best paying jobs was waste collection. People that aren’t affected are making these decisions, their recycling is being collected- bet on it. Laziness and low pay are destroying the earth.
So in essence … they are giving the middle finger to the generations to come for those of us that do our part and do it correctly
Most of us have given up already anyway, because they only come around every once in a while. Recycling should be done at the plant anyway because they sell what is recyclable and can use those revenues to fund it. I suppose our trash bill will go down now with this loss of service?
We use our recycle bins every week. So, after October 2024 we will have to just put it all in the regular garbage?
So why don’t you hire the company that does recycling within the City Limits to do it all. The Company you had for outside City Limits to me wasn’t truly a recycling company. They wouldn’t take a lot of thinks like plastic bottles that are clearly marked for recycling.
Ok so you are saying Polk County…is this all of the county?
So what do we do with our recycling? Furthermore, those of us who actually GAS about our planet, will there at least be drop off locations throughout the county for recycling drop-off or will we be required to go to the county dump and pay money to recycle our plastics, glass, tins, and paper?
How can you end a recycling program at this time when we are inundated with the dire consequences of climate change? Wait no, please tell me I just didn’t read that. I just moved here and was waiting another 5 years to move but I cannot live in a county that “ends recycling”. This is not happening, find a different solution, we are educated and experienced people, and we can think and talk more about this to come up with a better solution. Please tell me I misread.
What is wrong with you all? You make these strict rules for acceptable recycle and wonder why we can’t dance to your rediculous tune? Thinks unacceptable in the year 2023. I will not just sit here and let you do this without a fight. I have a feeling this will not fly with most Polk County residents. I want my tax money back for this too! Bad move. Make our county better not backwards!
When we first moved here , the big excitement was the million $ recycle plant , and how much profit the cities will take in..blah blah blah… so then we went from a small box to a large container, not once did the city or county enforce recycling. then it started with no more glass…what a joke, glass is the easiest product to recycle. Who is taking in all this money?
If homeowners now need a second container, will we receive this for free? I doubt it.. So much for the dems green new deal..what a farce this whole thing has become, at our expense of course.. Will our garbage bill go down? Will we be allowed to keep the yellow can and use it for FREE to add garbage to?
Who is making these brainless decisions? Time to haul out the commissioners who make these lame rules.
I grew with almost every said above. As a matter of fact, I fill at last 4 recycle bins for each garbage bin set out. What will happen to our recycle. Do you plan do bury it with the other mountains of “stuff”?
I grew with almost every said above. As a matter of fact, I fill at last 4 recycle bins for each garbage bin set out. What will happen to our recycle. Do you plan do bury it with the other mountains of “stuff”?
This is not a duplicate. I gust read the article!
Problem is much of the things people put in the bins, thinking they are helping, is in fact runining the whole load and it gets dumped instead of recycled anyway. People cant follow the rules! Single stream recycling doesnt work period. If you want to help the environment, then separate all your various items and clean them properly and maybe we wouldnt be in this situation. For everyone 1 of you that does this, there is 100 that dont. They need to have drop locations for those that want to still recycle.