Businesses must contract with private haulers for recycling
Comingling of recyclable materials will be allowed for residential curbside pickup effective Saturday, Sept. 2, in the city of Sarasota, the city has announced.
Plastics, paper, aluminum, steel, glass, cardboard and other items all may be placed in the same recycling bin for residential collection, a news release points out.
“Eliminating the requirement to sort materials will simplify the recycling process for residents,” said Todd Kucharski, general manager of the city’s Public Works Department, in the release. “We anticipate by making [the process] more user-friendly, more residents will participate in the city’s curbside recycling program,” he added in the release. “That will benefit our community by cutting the amount of waste going to the landfill, reducing landfill fees and preserving the environment and precious landfill space.”
“Over the years, comingling recyclables at the curbside collection point has become an industry standard,” the release points out. The city’s new residential recycling vendor as of Sept. 2 — Waste Pro — has procedures in place to accommodate the process, the release notes.
The city’s residential recycling contract with Waste Management expired Sept. 1.
Staff also is pointing out that businesses within the city of Sarasota will be responsible for establishing collection agreements with private haulers. Under the Florida State Statutes, municipalities cannot provide commercial recycling services, the release stresses. “Prospective customers are encouraged to shop around for service and quotes,” the release adds. City representatives do not endorse any company, the release says, though it does provide a list of companies in an effort to assist businesses.
Waste Management recently announced it will no longer offer recycling collection to some commercial properties in the city limits and that it is in the process of notifying those customers, the release points out. “As a result, some commercial entities which … are Waste Management customers will need to contract with a new recycling hauler [emphasis in the release],” the release points out.
A list of local private contractors offering commercial recycling collection may be found here.