- Florida Department of Environmental Protection data shows the weight of recycled items in Leon County dropped from 60 percent in 2020 to 36 percent in 2023.
- County leaders say those numbers include weight from items like concrete, construction materials.
- Watch the video to learn how COVID impacted the volume of recycling.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Data from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection shows the weight of recycling dropped from 60% in 2020 to 36% last year in Leon County.
That doesn't necessarily mean less items are going in the recycling bin.
I'm finding out what goes into that calculation and how much our neighborhoods are recycling.
Laura LaChappelle is vice president of non-profit Sustainable Tallahassee.
"I feel that sustainability is the bridge to worlds divided," LaChappelle said.
One of the components of sustainability: recycling.
Data from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection shows the weight of recycling went down from 2020 to 2023 by 24 percentage points in Leon County,
"That goes to show why it's so important to put pressure on our commissioners to make sure they are having incentives and the accessibility for the recycling needed in our community," LaChappelle said.
I took that concern to Leon County's Director of Resource Stewardship Maggie Theriot.
"When the state and the DEP report looks at recycling, their definition is a bit broader, so it actually includes things like concrete, gypsum board from a construction project," Theriot said.
The calculation is based on the weight of recycled items and the percentage that takes up off the total waste.
Theriot said those heavy items can skew that number up or down.
But, she said they did see a slight decline in household recycling in those three years.
"We look back in 2020 and 2021 and see a bump and why would that be? COVID had so many people at home," Theriot said.
As we track the numbers, Sustainable Tallahassee is trying to help through initiatives like Rags to Bags....
"Hand sewing bags out of rags donated by the community," LaChappelle said. "They'll hand out these bags for free so people can avoid plastic bags."
She said she wishes the county would speak with their recycling vendor about...
"Lowering their fees, making them more accessible to both small businesses, like breweries and for events," LaChappelle said.
Theriot says they are working on engaging more businesses to participate in recycling.
"We're actually moving towards enhancing the number of commercial businesses that recycle by 30 percent," Theriot said.
LaChappelle said she hopes the county continues that push...
"Because we can set that stage for the entire state of Florida," LaChappelle said.
Click here to see Leon County's full list of recyclable items. If you don't have curbside recycling, you can go to this website to see the locations of Rural Waste Sites where you can drop those items off.
