Recycling 101Stephanie Mills and Bianca Cassouto

About Us Stephanie Mills- Graduate Student in Global

Sustainability- Undergrad in Environmental

Studies/Biology- Hazardous Waste Cleanup/

Brownfields, Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Bianca Cassouto- PCGS Graduate Student - Undergrad in Geography

Geosciences- First Environmental

Internship: Litter Prevention Coordinator

- The Sustany Foundation - Green Me Locally

Tampa is a single-stream city!

How do they do it?

City of Tampa Recycling Guidelines

Recycling 101● Computer paper/mixed paper ● Colored paper ● Corrugated cardboard● Kraft paper ● Magazines/Catalogs● Newspaper & inserts ● Paperboard (cereal boxes & soda

boxes)● Phone books ● Junk Mail

*We throw away enough office paper each year to build a 12 foot high wall of paper from New York to Los Angeles!

Recycling 101

● Aluminum/tin cans & bottles

● Aluminum foil & pie tins

*We throw away enough aluminum each year that we could rebuild our entire commercial air fleet every 3 months!

Recycling 101● Glass beverage

* Glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled endlessly without loss in quality or purity – something no other food and beverage packaging option can claim* Recycled glass is substituted for up to 95% of raw materials

Recycling 101● Plastic Containers #1-7

*We throw away enough plastic soda bottles each year to circle the earth four times!

Recycling 101● Aseptic juice boxes● Gable top containers

*The paper fiber contained in cartons is extremely valuable and useful to make new products.

Recycling 101 Reminders● Materials must be clean and well

washed ● Caps and tops to certain recyclable

materials cannot be recycled● It is now considered best practice to

leave lids on bottles- Due to small size they end up

in residue● No plastic bags

- Grocery bags - Garbage bags- Dry cleaning bags

Avoiding Contamination

What Causes Contamination?

● Putting the wrong materials into the recycling bin may ruin the entire batch● The higher the quality of the recycled material, the more the companies will want

to buy it, and the higher the price they’ll pay for it

What can happen when you put the wrong things in the recycling bin?● Sorting machines can become damaged

- Costing time and money● Broken machines mean timely sorting by hand● “One bad apple could spoil the bunch” pretty much sums up the situation

- Too much waste in one load means the whole thing can end up in the landfill

Recyclable or Not Recyclable?Can these materials be recycled? If yes, where should they be taken?

● Soda bottle caps/lids● Food covered items - paper products,

cardboard, aluminum● Cardboard lined with plastic● Light bulbs/fluorescent● Mirror/window glass*● Ceramics● Plastic sandwich bags* ● Plastic utensils● Styrofoam

● Plastic grocery bags

● Ink cartridges

● Pens/razors/toothbrushes/hangers

● E-waste/electronics

● Paint cans/motor oil containers

● Tires

● Scrap metal

● Wood*

● Medicine

● Saran/cling wrap

● Spray Paint/Aerosol Cans*

Recyclable or Not Recyclable?Can these materials be recycled? If yes, where should they be taken?

● Bottle caps/lids - generally NO - only #1 and #2● Food covered items - paper products, cardboard, aluminum - NO - remove food

residue to recycle● Cardboard lined with plastic - YES - new initiatives now allow these types of

products to be recycled with regular curbside recycling● Light bulbs/fluorescent - Not in curbside, only at Hillsborough County drop-off

recycling facilities● Mirror/window glass - NO - too thick to be processed with recyclable glass● Ceramics - NO● Plastic utensils - NO - made of different types of plastics● Styrofoam - Not in curbside, only at certain drop off facilities● Batteries - Not in Curbside, only at Hillsborough County drop off facilities

Recyclable or Not Recyclable?Can these materials be recycled? If yes, where should they be taken?

● Plastic grocery bags/Ziploc bags - Not in curbside, only at certain drop off facilities

● Ink cartridges - Not in curbside, only at certain drop off facilities

● Pens/razors/toothbrushes/hangers - NO - only #1 and #2

● E-waste/electronics - Not in curbside - only at certain Hillsborough County drop off facilities

● Spray paint/aerosol containers - YES - as long as they are empty of contents

● Paint cans/motor oil containers - NO - contents must be taken to hazardous waste disposal facility

● Tires - NO - only at certain Hillsborough County recycling facilities

● Scrap metal - Not in curbside, only at certain drop off locations

● Wood - NO - depending on type, can be taken to salvage yards or composting facilities

City of Tampa Recycling Facilities

● USF Tampa Campus - Sycamore Drive - behind soccer fields, right off 50th

St.● McKay Bay Waste-to-Energy Facility

- 107 North 34th Street, Tampa FL 33605● Royal Regional Parking Lot- Downtown Tampa

- 307 Royal Street, Tampa FL 33602- Coming April 2015

County Facilities in Hillsborough● Alderman Ford Facility, 9402 SR 39, Lithia.

Phone: 757-3820- Accepts collectible waste, non-collectible

waste, scrap metal, tires and lead acid batteries

● Hillsborough Heights Facility, 6209 CR 579, Thonotosassa. Phone: 744-5533

- Accepts collectible waste, non-collectible waste, scrap metal, tires, lead acid batteries and recyclable curbside materials

● Northwest County Facility, 8001 W Linebaugh Ave., Tampa, Phone: 264-3816

- Accepts collectible waste, non-collectible waste, yard waste, scrap metal, tires, lead acid batteries and recyclable curbside materials

● South County Facility, 13000 U.S. 41, north of Big Bend Road, Gibsonton. Phone: 671-7611

- Accepts collectible waste, non-collectible waste, yard waste, scrap metal, tires and lead acid batteries

● Wimauma Facility, 16180 West Lake Drive, Wimauma (1.5 miles north of SR 674). Phone: 671-7706

- Accepts collectible waste, non-collectible waste, yard waste, scrap metal, tires and lead acid batteries

● Resource Recovery Facility, 350 N Falkenburg Road, Tampa. Phone: 744-5591

- Accepts yard waste only

Hazardous Waste RecyclingMaterials accepted include: ● Paints and solvents● Used motor oil|● Automotive products● Pool chemicals● Mercury containing devices,

such as fluorescent light bulbs & thermometers

● Lawn, garden and household chemicals

1st Saturday of each monthTown & Country Collection Site9805 Sheldon RoadTampa, FL 33635

2nd Saturday of each monthSouth County Collection Site13000 US Hwy 41Gibsonton, FL 33534one quarter mile north of Big Bend Road

3rd Saturday of each monthEast County Collection Site6209 County Road 579Seffner, FL 33584 one quarter mile north of I-4 exit 10

Batteries ● Batteries Plus takes old

batteries- 703 West Fletcher Ave,

Tampa, FL 33612● Target and Staples also take

batteries ● Hillsborough County does

recycle batteries through the hazardous waste collection centers

- 3 Saturdays a month

Make Money● Sell your used scrap metal

- Curbside recyclables and non curbside metals

- Appliances, household goods, scraps, cans

● Simply drop off any ferrous scrap (metal that sticks to a magnet like iron, steel or an automobile) or nonferrous scrap (like aluminum, copper, brass, and wire) and get paid

5509 East Henry Avenue

Tampa, FL

(813) 626-1368

Make Money

● Hillsborough county

EPC

● Money for Mercury

program

● Receive a $5 Publix

gift card for every

thermometer,

thermostat, or switch

you bring to a county

hazardous waste

recycling facility

Make Money

Helpful Resources ● Earth 911.com - Recycle Guide

● Earth 911.com - Recycling Center Search & Recycling Guides

Time for a Pop Quiz!!

Can you handle this?

Can you handle this?

Can you handle this?

Can you handle this?

Thank you!

Questions?

City of Tampa Recycling Contact

Lori Van Bemden(813) 348-6504