The City of Apopka and Orange County hope to clarify guidelines for recycling at CentralFloridaRecycles.org
From the Orange County Newsroom and City of Apopka
The City of Apopka is teaming up with communities across Central Florida to help residents recycle right. This campaign, Central Florida Recycles, is aimed at uniting communities across the region to prevent valuable recyclables from going to waste in our landfills. Recycling is good for both the environment and the economy, but contamination can hinder the process and increase costs for everyone.
Recycling Do's and Don'ts
Recyclable Items Accepted
Plastic: Bottles and Containers labeled #1 through #5
Metal: Tin, aluminum, steel, and empty aerosol cans
Glass: Bottles and jars
Cardboard: Flattened and corrugated boxes
Paper: Newspaper and advertisements, paper bags, junk mail, magazines and catalogs, office/note paper, phone books, cereal/shoe/drink boxes, milk/juice cartons.
Items Not Accepted
Plastic Bags
Food waste or liquids
Pizza boxes or juice pouches
Clothing, textiles, or carpet
Hazardous materials or electronics
Batteries
Tires
Polystyrene/Styrofoam
Plants or yard waste such as bagged or loose grass, leaves, or small branches
Hoses
Shredded paper
Dishes, paper plates, pots, or pans
Toys or laundry baskets
Gift wrap, ribbon, or bows
Hangers (plastic or wire)
Please Note: Putting other material or trash in your recycling could cause the whole load to be rejected by the recycling processor.
Additional Resources
Consumers can look up where to recycle specific materials in their area by zip code by visiting Recycle Nation.
Locate a drop-off location for plastic bags and plastic wrap by visiting Plastic Film Recycling.
To request a current recycling schedule /calendar magnet, please call 407-703-1731.
New Recycling Website
Florida recycling partners, launched an innovative website this month to provide residents with hyper-local information and improve the region’s recycling quality. Developing the tool was a collaborative effort between Orange County, Seminole County, Apopka, Orlando, Winter Garden, and Winter Park. Acting as an instructional hub, the site features information about recycling practices shared across Orange and Seminole counties.
By developing a centralized location for guidance and information, the partnering organizations hope to help ease confusion about conflicting recycling requirements. While counties and cities often allocate resources toward educating citizens, the new campaign will help residents see relevant messaging while traveling through all areas of the region.
Leading the development of the tool with its partners is Orange County Utilities, which provides services to over 225,000 households in unincorporated Orange County. Staff and leadership within the organization are optimistic that the site will provide the clarification needed to help customers improve their recycling habits.
“We’re thankful to have such collaborative partners in our region. Their help in building this tool has allowed us to identify and provide access to consistent recycling messages for various local programs,” Orange County Utilities Solid Waste Manager David Gregory said. “We know people want to recycle and recycle correctly. Our goal with the website is to make it as easy as possible to do just that.”
Many people don’t know that tossing the wrong items into the recycling cart can spoil an entire truckload, which can cause all items collected that day to be rejected by the recycling facility. To help dispel any confusion, the new website features recycling commonalities and directs residents to municipality-specific information to make recycling easier.
As people learn more about what is recyclable in their program, the quality of the loads from the area will improve. Recycling more efficiently across the region benefits the planet, the community, and every family in Central Florida.