After ending recycling in April 2019, the Santa Rosa County plans to get it restarted again with ECUA at its Perdido Key Landfill. Waste hauler WPR has informed County Environmental Manager Ron Hixson that it will buy equipment and renew the program at the end of January or beginning of February 2020.
However, ECUA can reject any recycling load it deems dirty and cancel its contract with Santa Rosa County at any time. If ECUA cancels the county contract before the first year is up, Santa Rosa would have to pay WRP a $5,000 per month penalty.
Santa Rosa also approached recycling businesses in Tallahassee and Montgomery but ECUA was the only company that offered a deal. Tallahassee and Montgomery would have restricted the recyclables they collected from Santa Rosa. “They would restrict what we can take them,” Hixson said. “It would cost more to collect, process and ship it.”