Why did Winter Garden dump recycling program?

Jan. 4 was the last day for residents in the city limits of Winter Garden to have their blue recycling carts emptied.

The city of Winter Garden has been losing $1 million annually to operate its curbside recycling program, which ended at the beginning of this month.

“It was costing a million dollars in losses, and we found that since 2018, when China stopped buying (recycling from the United States), there has been a very serious decline in materials being purchased for recycling, and a majority of it is being hauled to the dump,” said Steve Pash, assistant city manager of public services. “It’s winding up there. … A lot of people didn’t follow the instructions; there was a lot of contamination.”

For instance, frozen cardboard pizza boxes can be recycled, but takeout pizza boxes, which are contaminated with grease, cannot go in the recycling cart. Aluminum cans are recyclable, but aluminum foil and metal baking pans are not. Plastic containers can go in the recycling cart, but the plastic packages that hold fresh fruit, such as blueberries, blackberries and strawberries, are not allowed. Plastic grocery and shopping bags, if not recycled at the store, must go in the regular trash can as well.

National research showed only 1% of items designated for recycling actually ended up being recycled, he added.

“I think there’s a misconception that when people are taking their bin to the curb, they expect 100% of their materials are being recycled,” City Manager Jon C. Williams said.

Contamination and recycling the wrong materials contributed to the low percentage of items placed in the blue recycling cans actually being recycled.

In Fiscal Year 2023-24, about 2,432 tons of recycling was collected by the city of Winter Garden.

The city of Winter Garden established its recycling ordinance in September 1990.

“We’ve never charged a recycling fee so the cost for the recycling operation was $1 million,” Pash said. "The city can go in and adjust your rates to continue to provide that service on a monthly basis — or by ending that service you’re not going to see an increase. It’s going to minimize any increases in the solid waste program.”

He added that residents have offered to pay a minimal fee to keep the recycling services going, but the issue of incorrectly recycling remains.

Other residents are asking if they will receive a refund from the city or a decrease in the monthly garbage fee. Pash said residents will not receive a refund because they were never charged a fee for recycling services.

“Your solid waste department operates in an enterprise fund, so the cost of operation is funded by user fees,” Williams said. “The operational savings will come out of the amount of temporary labor for the service, fuel rates, vehicles, service, tipping fees, carts. …”

Some residents have complained without the recycling can, they will need a second garbage container to hold all the excess trash. Pash said the city would have to raise garbage rates to issue a second can to all city residents. Residents who need a second trash bin can receive one for an additional monthly disposal fee of $24.32.

The city maintains one 95-pound garbage can with twice-per-week pickup should be plenty if residents try to reduce the space they take up in the container by cutting up or crushing materials before throwing them away.

Winter Garden officials are working on a reduce and reuse campaign and have met with several organizations that are eager to work with the city on writing ordinances to that effect. In the meantime, Williams and Pash are encouraging residents to begin their own campaign to reduce the amount of garbage they produce.

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“We’re going to encourage refilling water bottles, coffee cups, lunch boxes; avoid paper plates and plastic utensils; use paperless billing; switch to rechargeable batteries; print double-sided; donate clothing and unwanted items; use old towels as cleaning rags; and reuse gift bags and tissue paper,” they said.

The city will pick up cardboard on residents’ designated yard waste and bulk pickup day. It also will continue to collect and recycle, free of charge, large electronics and appliances and repurpose yard waste.

“Our overall goal is to reduce the amount of trash that is being sent to the landfill,” Williams said. “That has a bigger environmental impact than recycling.”

RECYCLING CART PICKUP

The city has issued a schedule for picking up all recycling carts over the next few months.

Residents should place their recycling cart by the curb and leave it there until it’s removed. If the cart isn’t removed within the scheduled timeframe, residents can call (407) 656-2256 to arrange a pickup day.

Residents whose recycling day was Tuesday need to place their carts by the curb this week through Jan. 24. Those with a Wednesday recycling day should place their carts out Jan. 27 through Feb. 14.

Those with a Thursday recycling day need to place their carts out Feb. 17 through 28. Residents who recycled on Friday will leave their cart at the curb March 3 through 21.

The city is storing the recycling carts.

“While (the program) is being known as eliminated, it’s (actually) being postponed, and the service could come back in the future if the product actually comes back into play where companies are buying it and we can make it work,” Pash said. “We will have them here to redistribute in the future.

PERSONAL RECYCLING

Although the city of Winter Garden has suspended curbside recycling, there are personal recycling alternatives to process household recyclables. City officials suggest taking acceptable recyclables to local retailers and Orange County drop-off sites or contacting private recycling companies.

AMT Recycling, 531 Susan B. Britt Court, Winter Garden, is a private company that accepts cardboard and paper.

These Orange County sites in Orlando will accept recycled materials, but the city suggests contacting them to find out what materials they accept:

• Orange County Landfill, 5901 Young Pine Road

• Porter Transfer Station, 1326 Good Homes Road

• McLeod Transfer Station, 5000 L.B. McLeod Road.