Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has officially proclaimed November 11 – 15 as “Florida Recycles Week” and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Florida Recycling Partnership are coordinating activities to encourage all Floridians to recycle. Each day has a theme:
- November 11 – “You Can Recycle Right” – educating residents to place the right items in curbside recycle containers: plastic bottles & jugs; aluminum and steel cans, paper and cardboard.
- November 12 – “Recyclable but not curbside” – items such as plastic bags and packaging film are recyclable but not curbside.Certain stores have collection bins for these items. Also clothing and shoes can be donated to Goodwill.
- November 13 – “Recycle on the Go” – if you can’t find a recycling bin while traveling, make sure to have a bag in your car so you can take your plastic bottles and aluminum cans home and recycle them.
- November 14 – “Buy Recycled” – Look for items made with recycled content when you make your purchases.
- November 15 – “Take the Pledge” it’s America Recycles Day! Make sure to go online FloridaRecycles.org and take the pledge to:
- Learn: I will find out what materials are collected for recycling in my community.
- Act: Within the next month, I will reduce the amount of waste I produce, I will recycle more, and I will buy products made with recycled content; and
- Share: In the next month, I will encourage one family member or one friend to take the #BeRecycled pledge.
On Thursday, November 14, FDEP Secretary Noah Valenstein and Florida Recycling Partnership Executive Director Keyna Cory will host a press conference at 12:30 on the Capitol’s fourth floor to present Recycling Recognition Awards.
FDEP will present Recycling Recognition Awards to Tervis, North Florida Pharmacy at Madison and Northrup Grumman for their recycling efforts. Secretary Valenstein will also recognize four counties – Alachua, Charlotte, Lee and Pinellas counties for reaching the state’s 70% recycling goal.
For the first time, Florida Recycling Partnership is presenting its own Recycling Champion Awards to Broward County Parks & Recreation, Special Population Section; Maclay School; and the Sarasota County Operations Center (BOB Building). “The Florida Recycling Partnership is pleased to partner with FDEP and other key stakeholders to promote recycling during Florida Recycles Week,” said Dawn McCormick, Board Chair of the Florida Recycling Partnership. “Improving recycling throughout the state, and educating residents to recycle only the right materials curbside, takes the cooperation of many of us.”
The press conference will also include the results of the Capitol Complex Recycling Project. The project was launched in 2018 to encourage legislators, staff, and Capitol visitors to recycle bottles and cans while in the State Capitol. This program is a collaboration between the Florida Beverage Association, Florida Recycling Partnership, Keep Florida Beautiful, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). The new bottle-shaped recycling containers were provided by the Florida Beverage Association through a grant from the American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America.
“The Florida Beverage Association is proud to support recycling in the Sunshine State and is committed to improving the communities where we live, work, and play,” said Liz DeWitt, President of FBA, the trade association for Florida’s non- alcoholic beverage industry. “We believe education helps foster behavioral change towards community preservation and environmental sustainability. We are excited to work with partners in Tallahassee and throughout the State to inspire personal responsibility in environmental conservation. “
New containers have been strategically placed throughout the Capitol. The goal of the project is to increase the recycling rate in the Capitol. The project is a success! An additional 1,180 pounds of recyclables were collected in 2018 compared to 2017. The Capitol Maintenance Services reported that there was significantly less liquid contamination and a sharp reduction of recyclables being placed in trash cans.
The containers are wrapped with the new FDEP logo “Rethink. Reset. Recycle.” promoting their new www.FloridaRecycles.orgcampaign to encourage everyone to recycle the right items such as bottles and cans. “Since 2013, the Florida Recycling Partnership has coordinated Florida Recycles Day at the Capitol as our signature event,” said Keyna Cory, Executive Director for the Florida Recycling Partnership. “With an expanded Florida Recycles Week and social media, we can spread the word about recycling to more Floridians. We are encouraging legislators, business leaders and the public to use social media to educate others about what to recycle and where.”