That blue bag stuffed with household recyclables and plopped at the curbside is on its way out.
Beginning Oct. 1, residents must set sturdy containers at the curb if they expect haulers to pick up the cans, plastic bottles, yogurt cups, glass bottles and jars that qualify for recycling.
And more change could be coming down the road.
(File Photo)
The Pasco County Commission is expected to consider eliminating glass from the list of accepted recyclables.
Commissioners voted Aug. 4 to shift away from using blue bags to instead use plastic or aluminum containers. They put off a decision on glass while a solid waste master plan is pending. But, county officials say they are facing a new reality in the marketplace.
With the current contract set to expire Sept. 30, the county found no takers among recycling processors when it comes to the blue bags. Plastic bags can grind machinery to a halt.
There were three no-bids, and one bid that was deemed “non-responsive,” according to Jennifer Seney, Pasco’s recycling coordinator.
The county is looking at “piggy-backing” on a contract with another jurisdiction, which has not yet been identified.
“Nobody wants the bags,” Seney told commissioners. “That would be anybody processing the bags.”
And the news on glass is just as bad.
The cost of hauling away glass is a negative $17.50 a ton, Seney said.
“Glass has no value and might actually add a cost to recyclables,” she added. “Glass is going to have to come up in future discussions.”
Seney said she knows that will be a touchy subject with residents who want to recycle their glass.
“It’s a very popular item to recycle,” she said. “It’s not always dollars and cents that speak to the public.”
Recycling glass dates back decades. For some, returning empty soda bottles to a grocery store for nickels and dimes was a rite of childhood passage. Currently, 10 states have bottle laws that add refundable deposit fees to beverage containers. Florida lawmakers, on several occasions, have rejected bottle bills, which have not been popular with retailers.
But, the value of glass to processors is in decline. Industry experts place the blame on declining oil prices that can make it more expensive to recycle items, such as plastic, than to produce new product.
Glass presents its own unique problems.
Seney said the accepted practice is for single-stream collection of recyclables, rather than the old way of separating out glass from other items.
That method is considered more efficient and safer, she said.
Pasco County accepts clear, brown and green glass.
But, as part of a stream of waste, broken and crushed glass becomes a contaminant, embedding itself into everything it touches. It becomes what Seney describes as “broken three-mix glass” that is difficult and expensive to extract.
Glass also is much heavier to ship, increasing the costs of recycling.
Strategic Materials Inc., based in Texas, is the country’s largest glass recycling company.
Seney said the company only recycles about 50 percent of the glass it receives because of contamination. Some of what they recycle is used to produce Fiberglas, she said.
The blue bag program is more than two decades old. But, two years ago, the county began reducing use of the bags through its “choose and use” program.
Residents still could use blue or clear bags. But they were encouraged to buy a container or use an existing one, and identify it to haulers with a sticker.
That program began with an educational awareness campaign. And county officials plan to do the same for the blue bag’s demise.
County officials anticipate rolling out a social media blitz on Facebook and Twitter. Advertisements, media press releases, cable television and Pasco TV also will get the word out, Seney said.
“I think we’ll be able to transition to no bags pretty quickly,” Seney said.
Also, area grocers that are selling the blue bags have been notified so they can consider whether to keep selling them or not. “We have no control over them,” Seney said. “But, I think we’ll get their cooperation.”
Published August 12, 2015