The Miami-Dade County Department of Solid Waste Management’s (DSWM) Waste Enforcement Officers are working to curb one of the most pressing issues facing the county’s single stream curbside recycling program and the recycling industry nationwide — contamination.
Recycling contamination occurs when items that cannot be recycled are placed into a recycling cart. DSWM recycling program administrators are hoping that conducting targeted neighborhood enforcement “blitzes” will help to better inform customers about proper recycling practices.
Recycling enforcement blitzes are taking place throughout the county in areas where recycling carts are visibly contaminated. DSWM enforcement officers check the contents of the blue recycling carts at curbside and courtesy stickers are posted on the contaminated carts. The stickered carts are not serviced by the county’s two recycling collection vendors. A corrective action door hanger also is left behind at the property. Both the cart sticker and the door hanger identify the contaminanted items that were found in the cart.
So far this year, 36 recycling blitzes have taken place all over the recycling service area with 843 recycling carts found to be contaminated. Blitzes are scheduled to take place weekly and will continue in the future as a means of further educating DSWM customers on proper recycling habits.
Recycling contamination is a growing problem in single-stream programs locally, in Florida and throughout the United States.
Most single-stream programs provide residents with a wheeled and lidded cart. Unlike the contents that were placed in the open-top bins used in the county’s previous dual-stream program started in the early 1990s, the contents of the carts used in the single-stream program are unknown to the driver who services the cart from inside the recycling truck using a robotic arm. With a closed lid, it is impossible for the driver to see what is in the cart at the point of collection unless the cart is ajar or completely open with visible contamination.
A great deal of what ends up in the cart is “wishful recycling.” Residents hope that someone else can use the items or they believe that the items are acceptable in the county’s program.
“Our recycling collection drivers share photos of oversized plastic toys, aluminum bifold doors, metal ironing boards, tires, barbecue grills, textiles, plastic tarps and even crib mattresses,” explained Jeanmarie Massa, DSWM recycling manager.
“Unfortunately, many of the unacceptable items interfere with the automated sorting equipment and the rest of the contaminants can render an entire load of good recyclables as unmarketable. When the materials can’t be sorted and eventually marketed, the recycling process is incomplete,” Massa added.
The DSWM is committed to educating its more than 350,000 recycling households on proper recycling and the impacts of contamination to the curbside recycling program. In addition to enforcement blitz activities, the department continues its year-round public education and outreach program designed to remind residents about proper recycling. The campaign includes traditional print, broadcast and online advertisements, outdoor and transit advertising, social media messaging, and public speaking and engagement activities with local public and private schools, civic and community organizations, and at special events throughout Miami-Dade County.
For more information on the DSWM’s single-stream recycling service and what can and cannot be placed in the blue recycling cart, call 3-1-1 or visit www.miamidade.gov/solidwaste.
