Tampa Bay Recycles

Recycling program guidelines can be slightly different depending on where you work, live, and play in Tampa Bay. It's important you know before you throw. Check with your local community to see what is accepted in your recycling program. Remember to keep accepted recyclables clean, dry, and not bagged before placing them in recycling carts or at drop-off centers.

Plastic Bags & Bagged Items

Plastic bags and bagged items don’t belong in curbside recycling or drop-off programs. Plastic bags get tangled in recycling sorting equipment and can shut down the recycling facility, which puts workers at risk to remove them.

Plastic bags and film can be recycled at participating stores. If you cannot reuse plastic bags or return them to stores, place them in the garbage.

Utilizing reusable bags is more eco-friendly than getting single-use plastic bags when shopping. Plastic bags can only be recycled at participating retailers. If you can't return bags to store locations, it's okay to throw them away in the garbage since all four governments use Waste-to-Energy facilities for trash disposal – turning garbage into renewable electricity.

What is Recycling Contamination?

Contamination happens when unaccepted items are placed in the recycling bin. Contamination is any item not accepted in your recycling program, such as plastic bags and bagged recycling, foam packaging products, and food waste. When too many wrong items are collected, equipment can be damaged or entire truckloads of recyclables can be disposed of, raising recycling costs for everyone. When in doubt, leave it out!

Batteries

Because rechargeable and lithium batteries can explode when compressed and start a fire, they should be properly disposed of at drop-off locations. Proper disposal of these batteries helps keep employees safe and benefits the environment.

Alkaline batteries including A, AA, AAA, C, D, and 9-volt batteries can be disposed of in curbside trash carts but should never be placed in recycling carts.

Check your local provider for battery disposal guidelines and locations:

Why Should I Recycle?

As Tampa Bay continues to grow, so does the amount of waste generated. Due to the limited landfill disposal capacity and stress on the waste-to-energy facilities, reducing waste and recycling is more important than ever. By recycling, you help Tampa Bay communities save resources and energy, support local economies, and protect the environment.

Recycling Saves Natural Resources

Recycling is the process of transforming materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash and turning them into new products, avoiding resource extraction from the environment. Glass bottles can be recycled into fiberglass and new containers; aluminum cans can be recycled into new beverage cans; and paper can be recycled into over 5,000 products, including writing paper, paper towels, coffee filters, hospital gowns, egg cartons, and more.
Aluminum cans are 100% recyclable and there is no limit to how many times they can be recycled. Around 75% of the aluminum made is still in circulation.
Recycled water bottles made from PET plastic can be used to make fiber for clothing and carpets, food and non-food bottles, take-out containers, and fill for furnishings.

Recycling Saves Energy

Recycling high-density polyethylene or HDPE bottles and jugs (examples of this plastic are milk, water, and laundry detergent bottles and jugs) reduces total energy consumption by 88% compared to making the items from virgin materials.
Recycling aluminum cans saves 95% of the energy that is needed to make aluminum from its virgin source.

Recycling is Supported by the State of Florida

In 2008, the Florida Legislature set a recycling goal of 75% by 2020 for Florida counties. The state did not meet this goal. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection will be developing a new state recycling goal and measurement framework. Florida counties are responsible for reporting their recycling rate annually, including the tons recycled by residents and businesses.

Recycling Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases (GHGs). The GHGs created from human activities have been the most significant driver of observed climate change since the mid-1900s, according to the EPA. Three notable GHGs include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O).
The best way to reduce GHGs is to reduce what you use, reducing the amount of waste generated. For example, opting for less-packaged goods, using durable and reusable products over single-use products, and shopping secondhand are great ways to reduce the GHGs emitted during the manufacturing, transportation, and disposal of new materials.
Imagine purchasing a plastic water bottle from the grocery store today. How was that water bottle created? How did it get to you? What will you do with it after it’s no longer of use to you? Each step of the process – from the extraction of oil to create the plastic, the transportation of those materials by gasoline-powered planes, ships, and vehicles, the energy that the manufacturing process entails, and its end-of-life fate – will determine how many GHGs are emitted into the atmosphere.

Reduce Your Use Tampa Bay

Not everything can be recycled, so do more with less! Switch to reusable items and reduce your use of single-use plastics. Reducing waste saves money and helps the environment. Be part of the solution to plastic pollution, learn about and support local businesses who are cutting waste, and join Reduce Your Use Tampa Bay!