Walton County Considering Recycling Program

[Teresa]

nwfdailynews.com

Walton may try to boost recycling efforts
LAUREN SAGE REINLIE / Daily News
2012-05-18 16:01:49
Walton County once again is reviewing how to boost its meager recycling program. At a County Commission workshop Thursday, residents will have a chance to weigh in on what kind of recycling programs they’d like to see and how, if they’re willing, to pay for it. “We get a lot of requests, especially on the south end of the county, asking what we can do from an environmental standpoint to recycle more,” County Administrator Greg Kisela said Friday.

Walton County now recycles less than 2 or 3 percent of the waste produced, Kisela said.
“Percentage-wise we recycle a very limited part of our waste stream,” he said. “We could do much better.”

Janice Floyd, an engineer technician with the county, said recycling rates have been going down. “We like to promote recycling every chance we get because we’re getting kind of lax,” she said.

Under the county’s current program, people can bring recyclables to trailers located across the county. However, there is no curbside pickup. The county also uses a process known as “Dirty MRF,” named for the materials recovery facility where garbage is dropped off. There, garbage moves up a conveyor belt while prison laborers pick off recyclable materials that can be salvaged. “Unfortunately a lot gets contaminated,” Floyd said. The programs are paid for through a 1-cent local option sales tax that commissioners approved in the mid-1990s.

The sales tax option brings in about $12.8 million a year, Kisela said. Two-thirds of the money pays for the county’s solid waste needs: collection, disposal, landfill fees and recycling. The other third is used for debt service and capital projects such road resurfacing. Kisela said the key to implementing a better recycling program will be balancing the costs of collection with how much can be recouped from selling recyclables and avoiding landfill disposal fees. “We’re trying to figure out what level of service is going to give us the most bang for the buck,” he said.

The county has tried pilot programs in the past, including a “blue bag” initiative in which customers put their recyclables in a separate blue bag and placed them in their garbage cans. Unfortunately, many tourists weren’t aware of the program and ended up putting trash into the bags and contaminating the recyclables, Kisela said.

[TreeFrog]

Hope they can arrange for curbside pickup. Lots of communities have it, so you'd think it must be economically viable when done right.

Meanwhile, between the blue trailers and the green bins at Publix, it's not that hard to recycle a lot of stuff.

[Jdarg]

And until they figure it out, which will probably take forever, John Mark Turner and Blu-Binz. He is awesome. Walton County should hire him and have him head up the program.

http://www.sowal.com/bb/showthread.p...highlight=binz

[TreeFrog]

And until they figure it out, which will probably take forever, John Mark Turner and Blu-Binz. He is awesome. Walton County should hire him and have him head up the program.

http://www.sowal.com/bb/showthread.p...highlight=binz

How much does he charge?

[Jdarg]

$15/month I think. And we have nice Blu Bin! http://www.blu-binz.com/

[Teresa]

And until they figure it out, which will probably take forever, John Mark Turner and Blu-Binz. He is awesome. Walton County should hire him and have him head up the program.

http://www.sowal.com/bb/showthread.p...highlight=binz

I was thinking the same thing - hire Blu Binz to run the whole program. Counties don't do such a good job running businesses. .

[Luv2rvbig]

http://www.ecologycenter.org/iptf/recycling/plasticseduction.html

[Akarin]

In South Florida recycling and green living is a huge thing. Even in our downtown condo, just organic waste went in the trash chutes but we had bins on every floor of our parking garage to place everything from cardboard to light bulbs. I felt weird when I moved here and had to start throwing glass containers away in the same trash can.

Thanks for the heads up on the recycling locations. I hope the county can eventually get a curbside program implemented.

[Zebraspots]

It is embarrassing that we don't have a curbside recycling program. Most of our visitors are from places that have had recycling programs for years or decades.

Why is it so difficult and why does it require so much analysis and study? There have to be dozens of resort communities with programs we could copy.

[iheart30a]

It is embarrassing that we don't have a curbside recycling program. Most of our visitors are from places that have had recycling programs for years or decades.

Why is it so difficult and why does it require so much analysis and study? There have to be dozens of resort communities with programs we could copy.

It is frustrating moving here from a place that you can be fined for not recycling... I inquired with the county about recycling my cardboard and glass since the recycling trailers don't Accept either material and was told to drive to Defuniak with
my cardboard, and that we dot recycle glass, so I should just put that in my trash can. Is there a private recycling center anywhere that might accept these materials?

**frustrated**

[j p nettles]

I try to recycle when possible. It's a shame for people not to do so but it takes cooperation from all residents for it to work. I separate everything but when I take my stuff to the recycle bin, people have dumped non-recyclable garbage in and mixed it all up. I used to sell my aluminum cans but I quit because it's hard to find somebody to buy scrap aluminum, so I just take it to the recycle dumpster.

[Joyce Owen]

We use the recycling bins at either Rosemary Beach or the Inlet Beach fire station. Both still take glass. I go to Publix at least once a week and just load up the car and make a stop. While I think a recycling program that was more convenient would be nice, I'm not sure how many would use it.

[iheart30a]

Thanks for the info on the Rosemary and Inlet Beach bins. I have a ton of glass that I'd love to recycle!

[Furthur]

Bottom line. How much would this cost "We the Taxpayer. "

[Jdarg]

It is frustrating moving here from a place that you can be fined for not recycling... I inquired with the county about recycling my cardboard and glass since the recycling trailers don't Accept either material and was told to drive to Defuniak with
my cardboard, and that we dot recycle glass, so I should just put that in my trash can. Is there a private recycling center anywhere that might accept these materials?

**frustrated**

Call John Mark http://www.blu-binz.com/

He has stepped up to the curbside recycling plate. And I agree, curbside recycling has become as commonplace as curbside trash pickup in many communities.

[Independent Thinker]

The City of Tallahassee has operated a very successful program for many years, Walton County should take a look at it.

[Furthur]

Please define success and tell how much it cost.

[TreeFrog]

We use the recycling bins at either Rosemary Beach or the Inlet Beach fire station. Both still take glass. I go to Publix at least once a week and just load up the car and make a stop. While I think a recycling program that was more convenient would be nice, I'm not sure how many would use it.

Where are the Rosemary bins?

[Zebraspots]

Blu binz rocks! Amazing that a motivated person can make it work, but the county can't - even with all the money we pay for garbage pickup!

[Bob Wells]

Blu binz rocks! Amazing that a motivated person can make it work, but the county can't - even with all the money we pay for garbage pickup!

How much do you pay for garbage pickup?

[j p nettles]

How much do you pay for garbage pickup?

Now that you mention it, I don't think my garbage pickup costs anything.

[Bob Wells]

It does cost, but it is paid through a 1 cent sales tax within Walton County.

[sunspotbaby]

It does cost, but it is paid through a 1 cent sales tax within Walton County.

I have to chuckle because apparently some of those that work answering the phone don't know this. I called to have some yard debris picked up and the lady told me she couldn't find an account for me. I said, 'well, I don't know that I have an account' and she told me i couldn't get a truck to come out unless i had an account.

"Lady, I'm calling from South Walton County, south of the bay, our taxes pay for trash pick up". She had no idea what i was talking about. I told the driver for regular trash pick up and he got on the radio to the yard waste truck and it was picked up the next morning.

[Zebraspots]

We all pay for trash pickup.

In fact we have all overpaid a great deal of money for trash pickup due to being billed for fraudulent addresses for years.

One would think just a fraction of that money would be able to cover start-up costs for curbside recycling.

[Bob Wells]

I have to chuckle because apparently some of those that work answering the phone don't know this. I called to have some yard debris picked up and the lady told me she couldn't find an account for me. I said, 'well, I don't know that I have an account' and she told me i couldn't get a truck to come out unless i had an account.

"Lady, I'm calling from South Walton County, south of the bay, our taxes pay for trash pick up". She had no idea what i was talking about. I told the driver for regular trash pick up and he got on the radio to the yard waste truck and it was picked up the next morning.

All o fWalton County receive the service, not just the south end.

[TreeFrog]

Back to recycling, where are the bins in Rosemary? I have glass to recycle.

[Teresa]

Has anyone heard anything from Walton County regarding boosting recycling efforts?

[j p nettles]

Frankly, I wouldn't have a problem paying a fee for trash pickup. Although I live outside the city limits, we're on city water and my water bill is only $13-$15. (We have a well for sprinklers), so a fee for trash pickup and recycling would hurt too much. And some of the whiners who complain about taxes sometimes annoy me. We can't pay our teachers a decent salary and the school district finds it necessary to hire entry level teachers to save money. Frankly, I'd like to go back to when my property taxes were double what they are now. My home was worth a lot more then too. As far a recycling, I'm not for being forced to recycle but it's good for us all to do so. Unfortuantely some people will never comply.

[Zebraspots]

I am not saying we pay too high of a rate for trash pickup, but that the $600,000 we were overcharged by by Dayco ought to be more than enough to start a recycling program. One of the few cases of found money.

[Bob Wells]

I am not saying we pay too high of a rate for trash pickup, but that the $600,000 we were overcharged by by Dayco ought to be more than enough to start a recycling program. One of the few cases of found money.

Was the County reimbursed for this?

[Zebraspots]

Not yet.