By Kyle LoJacono
Pasco residents still cannot recycle paper from their driveway, but the county’s recycling department is working to make it easier to save trees.
Pasco Recycling and the Pasco District School Board’s Conservation Department are joining up to put 25 new large paper bins at various locations throughout the county. The effort is called Bring It from Home, which emphasizes the initiative needed by citizens to save natural resources.
“A person can reduce their curbside garbage by as much as 50 percent by recycling all paper products in their home,” said Jennifer Seney, Pasco Recycling coordinator. “This includes corrugated cardboard, thin cardboard like cereal boxes, newspaper, magazines, phone books, junk mail, office paper, paper bags and paper packaging.”
There are now 100 bins throughout the county, plus facilities to recycle at all of Pasco’s public schools.
“With close to 90 school campuses and Pasco County adding another 25 sites, we’ve achieved an amazing depth of coverage for paper recycling drop off,” said Karen Bryant, the Pasco School District’s recycling coordinator. “It is exciting that any citizen should be able to find a recycling drop-off site within a few miles of their home.”
Seney said the goal is to collect two to four tons a month from each container. The community paper recycling program earns money for fire stations, libraries, parks and schools.
“This program is a great way for someone to show their support for these community services,” Bryant said. “It’s a real win for everyone.”
The new bins were provided at no charge by U.S. GreenFiber, a paper recycler and re-manufacturer. GreenFiber will service the bins and turns cardboard, newspaper and other paper products into insulation at its plant in Ybor City. The insulation is marketed at local retailers such as Home Depot and Lowe’s.
Seney cautioned users to follow the rules for recycling paper so unusable items do not contaminate the entire bin.
“You can recycle anything that’s paper fiber that’s not contaminated by human or food waste, which means no paper towels, napkins, paper plates, pizza boxes,” Seney said. “And no plasticized paper like menus.”
The paper recycling bins’ bright-green color and frog logos make them easy to find, according to Seney. The flattened cardboard boxes should go through the top of the containers and there are openings on the side to deposit the other paper products.
Seney said the new bins are in part due to increased demand from residents wanting ways to recycle paper easier. In Pasco’s 2010 resident survey, nearly 75 percent of responders said they wanted easier ways to recycle. Specifically, the more than 1,800 people who participated indicated they wanted the county to have small plastic bins for curbside pick as Hillsborough County and Dade City do.
Currently, Pasco residents must buy blue bags from area grocery stores if they want to recycle materials such as plastics, glass and metals. However, the county program does not include paper or cardboard pick-up.
Seney said there are no immediate plans to add paper to curbside pickup, or small bins to replace the blue bag system.
New area bins
–Fire station No. 16, 34335 Chancey Road in Zephyrhills
–Fire station No. 23, 21300 SR 54 in Lutz
–Fire station No. 26, 28229 Aronwood Blvd. in Wesley Chapel
–Fire station No. 37, 18015 SR 54 in Lutz
–Land O’ Lakes Library, 2818 Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes
–New River Library, 34043 SR 54 in Zephyrhills
–Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex, 3032 Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes
–Land O’ Lakes Community Center, 5401 US 41 in Land O’ Lakes
–Odessa Community Center, 1627 Chesapeake Drive in Odessa
–Wesley Chapel District Park, 7727 Boyette Road in Wesley Chapel
–John S. Burk Memorial Park, 13220 Gene Nelson Blvd. in Dade City
–Samuel Pasco Park, 39835 Chancey Road in Zephyrhills
–Dade City Courthouse, 38053 Live Oak Ave. in Dade City
Recyclable paper products
–Corrugated cardboard
–Junk mail
–Magazines
–Newspaper
–Office paper
–Paper bags
–Paper packaging
–Phone books
–Thin cardboard like cereal boxes
Items not accepted in Pasco’s bins include anything contaminated by human or food waste, such as paper towels, napkins, paper plates and pizza boxes.
