Sarasota County, Fla., Makes Transition to Single Stream Recycling

Sarasota County, Fla., has begun its transition to single stream recycling. New carts are currently being delivered to residents who live outside Sarasota, Venice, North Port and Longboat Key through December 20, and pickups are slated to begin on January 6, 2020.

Waste Management, the country’s disposal contractor, is sharing the $6.2 million cost of rolling out new containers, according to a Sarasota Herald-Tribune report. In addition, the hauler will deploy 27 new trucks fueled by compressed natural gas for curbside pickup.

Sarasota Herald-Tribune has more information:

Beginning Friday, weather permitting, residents of the unincorporated parts of Sarasota County will begin seeing big, rolling recycle bins perched at their curbs.

These larger containers, meant to hold all recyclable items mingled together, will show up at a rate of some 3,400 a day until Dec. 20, said Wendi Crisp, outreach coordinator for the county’s solid waste department.

But don’t start filling them right away with your cans, bottles and newspapers. The carts will come with a fresh set of instructions, including the warning that anything placed inside will not be picked up until Jan. 6.

“Just remember to think: New year, new cart,” Crisp said at a media presentation Monday. This change applies only to county residents who live outside Sarasota, Venice, North Port and Longboat Key.

And there will be a few other rules to keep in mind. Because the two main culprits that contaminate the single-stream process are plastic bags and gooey pizza boxes, residents are asked to be especially vigilant about such items — along with anything else wet or tangly that can gum up the works at a recycling plant.

Read the full story here.