Demise of Blue Bags Brings Glitches to Recycling in Pasco County

Tampa Bay Times

The end of the blue bags came with some red flags for residents accustomed to Pasco County's curbside recycling program.

Pasco ditched its 23-year-old blue bag program Oct. 1. The move became necessary after recyclers declined to bid on the county contract to sort and resell plastic, glass and metal cans if the materials came wrapped in plastic bags. Residents are now mandated to put recyclable materials in their own containers if they want haulers to retrieve the items during twice-a-month pickups.

The changeover caught lots of people off guard and left some residents wondering why their recyclables hadn't been taken. Last week, for instance, a drive around five streets in the Land O'Lakes neighborhoods of Lake Padgett Estates East and Eagle Island Estates revealed three dozen homes with blue bags at the curb.

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