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By CARL ORTH | The Suncoast News
Published: May 5, 2010
NEW PORT RICHEY - Along with blooming flowers to herald the arrival of spring, several phone books will begin sprouting up in driveways of Pasco homes, local recyclers say.
Publishers have begun deliveries of the bulky phone directories in the region. AT&T Real Yellow Pages is the first out of the chute with deliveries through May 12.
Pasco's RESORCE Recycling Club and the Pasco County School District are reminding people to dispose of old phone books at school recycling bins. Otherwise the thick volumes might wind up in local landfills or the county incinerator plant.
The various editions of printed directories seem to duplicate each other in the eyes of Kim Hawkins, president of RESORCE.
Printed directories appear as a relic of a bygone era to some folks who prefer to let their fingers do the walking through phone listings online. Yet polls suggest many residents still rely heavily on local phone books.
"We'd like to see the phone book companies put a flyer in the phone book where to take their old phone book," Hawkins said. "We'd like them to be more proactive. We haven't gotten very far with that."
RESORCE tries to publicize the green recycling bins at many Pasco schools as the best place to toss those outdated directories.
"Phone books and other paper products can be recycled year-round at select school locations," Karen Bryant, recycling coordinator for the School District, added. "It is a great way to reduce your waste streams while helping our schools at the same time."
The School District uses US GreenFiber LLC to operate the Community Paper Recycling Program here.
School bins accept paper
The vivid green recycling containers are hard to miss. A mascot of a green frog adorns each bin as well.
GreenFiber is one of the few programs that accepts a wide variety of paper products, school officials say.
Participating schools will accept brown paper bags, cardboard, cereal boxes, construction paper, gift wrap, magazines, newspaper, paper and phone books, according to the school district website.
The schools will earn revenue from everything they recycle. Benefactors save money by purchasing fewer trash bags.
The paper products are recycled into insulation in Tampa and sold locally to stores such as Home Depot and Lowe's.
According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, each ton of paper recycled saves 17 trees and 7,000 gallons of water. Recycled paper also saves 60 percent energy in comparison to new paper and generates 95 percent less air pollution.
Most West Pasco area schools have the recycling bins.
For a full list of locations and hours, the Pasco School District's community recycling Web page.
Phone books can represent the last resort in finding telephone numbers when the Internet's down or the power's out.
Publishers of the phone books say the rumors of their demise are exaggerated.
Phone books still popular
Andy Shane, spokesman for SuperMedia, an offshoot of Verizon that prints and distributes Verizon's yellow-page directory, pointed to nationwide surveys.
Internet yellow pages use continued to grow to 4.9 billion uses in 2009. Yet printed copies of the yellow pages were used 12 billion times.
Shane conceded that many people can get four or five phone books from different companies delivered to their homes over the course of a year.
The SuperMedia Web site lets people "opt out" of getting their free copy, he said. Click on the "directory opt-out" index item at the bottom of the page.
A statement from AT&T's spokeswoman Kelly Starling said digital directory options combined with the printed directory receive nearly 5 billion consumer searches a year.
The AT&T printed yellow pages directory is made from recycled paper, Starling reports. Suppliers use inks that are soy-oil based and are eco-friendly, she said.
Information from the Tampa Tribune was used in this article.
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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI | The Tampa Tribune
Published: April 12, 2010
Pasco County recycling officials say they've found a solution to a problem that has plagued their recycling center for years: what to do with thousands of tons of unusable broken glass that pass through the center every year?
Until last month, nearly 40 percent of the recyclables Pasco took in went back out -- either to be burned at the county incinerator or to be buried in an Osceola County landfill -- because the county had either had no market or the no way to process them.
The cast-offs included paper and most forms of plastic, but single-largest unrecyclable item was broken glass.
That changed last month when Waste Service Inc., which handles Pasco's recycling, struck a deal with Sarasota-based Strategic Materials Inc. to turn Pasco's broken glass back into bottles and into fiberglass insulation.
The deal costs the county nothing and cuts in half its cast-off rate, which runs many times higher than most recycling center in Florida, said county recycling coordinator Jennifer Seney.
On the flip side, the county also makes no money on the deal. The county now sells its unbroken glass for recycling. Until the deal with Strategic Materials, broken glass was useless once the green, brown and clear shards mixed together.
Glass doesn't burn, so it's of no use to the county's waste-to-energy incinerator. And, while it doesn't harm the environment, it does take up valuable landfill space when it's buried.
"It really had no value any which way you looked," Seney said.
In January, Waste Services Inc. trucked more than 400 tons of unrecyclable glass, plastic, paper and other materials to its Osceola County landfill. Last month, that figure had dropped to 180 tons.
Pasco recycling cast-off rate – 16.5 percent in March – is still much higher than the cast-off rates of many other recycling programs. The county still can't recycle yogurt cups, other plastics or paper.
Seney hopes a new recycling center, which the county plans to build in the next few years, will solve those lingering problems.
The change means residents of Pasco who recycle can be assured all the glass they throw is now finding a home, Seney said. The same goes for Waste Services' customers in eastern Hillsborough and Sarasota counties, who provide about two-thirds of the recyclables Waste Services brings to its Pasco facility.
The material that goes to Strategic Materials will be sorted by color using high-tech scanners and sold for recycling, said Tom Burns, Strategic's southeast regional manager.
Pasco's glass is a fraction of the thousands of tons Strategic takes in every day, Burns said. The company supplies glass to insulation maker Owens-Corning.
Burns said the deal lets Pasco live up to its state mandate to recycle as much as possible.
"We want to give them another option versus taking it to a landfill," Burns said.
Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 731-8168.
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In Print: Thursday, March 18, 2010
County is wrong on recycling deal
Now the county is looking into franchising trash service again. Why do they spend taxpayers' money to look into things that are best left alone? Recycling coordinator Jennifer Seney claims that this will help by reducing costs and boost recycling. I think not; by reducing competition you will only raise costs plus the county already mandates what can be charged.
Recycling will only get better as people become more aware of the benefits; they can't be forced to recycle. By franchising the county you will run local businesses out of the county and leave it to large national companies that do not care about the residents. Maybe the commission does not remember when one of the largest waste haulers in the world dropped thousands of local customers. Who came in and picked up the slack? The local family-owned, Pasco-based haulers, that is who.
These are the people that live in this county and support local businesses, charities and functions. Now they want to run them out of business. What is next? Are they going to choose what bank you can use, what store you can shop at, what cars you drive?
Jeffrey Stewart, New Port Richey
Tough recycling ordinance needed
Jennifer Seney, Pasco County recycling coordinator, thinks eliminating competition in trash hauling is a way to have fewer trash trucks in a neighborhood, reduce rates and improve recycling. All worthwhile objectives, but no rational person can expect elimination of competition to achieve them.
People use different vendors to remove their trash for different reasons. For some, it is cost; for others, it's once a week recycling; for yet others, it may be a preference for the pickup days offered by the company, the courtesy of their employees or other attributes of the company.
The trash pickup rates in Pasco County are more reasonable than any of the seven communities where I have lived, thanks in large part to competition.
Ms. Seney claims that by franchising haulers, we can force them to provide recycling bins. How can any reasonable person think the trash haulers are going to purchase and distribute bins and not recover the cost in the fees they charge?
The decision to recycle is driven by whether or not you want to help the environment by removing reusable material from the waste stream. Lacking a concern for the environment, individuals will only recycle if there is a significant penalty for not doing so.
On any given recycling day in my neighborhood, less than 5 percent of the homes have blue bags out for pickup. And it's not because the haulers don't offer recycling — they do!
We don't need incentives for haulers to offer recycling. We need incentives for the residents of Pasco to use the service that is available.
When I lived in New Jersey, everyone recycled. Why? Because it was the law. If you mixed recyclables with your trash, you were subject to fines and suspension of your trash removal service — which was privately operated.
I suggest Ms. Seney focus her time getting the commissioners to adopt a tough recycling ordinance with financial penalties for not complying. Only then will we see a substantial increase in participation in recycling.
William F. Humphrey, Trinity |
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In Print: Wednesday, March 17, 2010
A renewed push to improve Pasco County's trash-collection service shouldn't be waylaid by commission ambivalence. That was the case two years ago when equivocation killed plans to franchise private-sector trash collection. A repeat would be a step backward from the commission's strong environmental initiatives that range from acquiring sensitive land to protecting groundwater supplies and encouraging green-building techniques. Franchising trash service will accompany plans to bolster residential recycling. That is imperative. It makes no sense to allow a historically underperforming curbside recycling program to be the linchpin of Pasco's sustainability efforts.
Two weeks ago, Pasco recycling coordinator Jennifer Seney briefed commissioners on plans to again seek permission to franchise trash collection. There will be a need to devise workable maps for franchise areas and to seek private-sector bids to provide the service, but the system is expected to change when the current contract to process recycling materials expires in September 2011. Besides that contractual deadline, Seney said the timing is better now than in 2008 because franchise areas can go hand in hand with the commission's desire to divide the county into marketing and urban service areas to guide growth toward urban settings.
Currently, the county sets maximum prices and minimum service level for haulers, but the nine private companies are free to serve any neighborhood they wish unless a homeowners association or community development district contracts with a single provider.
The result of the limited regulation is multiple trucks driving the same days down the same streets to serve only a portion of the residents. It's wasteful and causes unnecessary wear on residential streets, the repaving costs of which are borne by property owners.
The inherent inefficiencies of that hodgepodge is costly to the customer. Most surrounding counties have franchise agreements that feature lower prices to residents even with more pickup days. That alone should trigger substantive discussions of franchising trash collection.
Likewise, franchising trash service will boost recycling because it should bring a switch to a bin system over the current curbside blue bags. Improved residential recycling should result as attested to by the response in Dade City where the amount of materials recycled is up substantially since the city switched to bins last July.
Commissioners flummoxed franchising trash and recycling collections two years ago amid arguments from haulers that small companies would be pushed from the market and that the private sector, not government, should divide up the county. Such thinking rewards the existing inefficiencies.
Amid the extended drop of real estate values and government revenue, the commission is looking long and hard at how it delivers services to the public. Commissioners would be remiss not to give private trash businesses that same level of scrutiny.
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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI
kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com
Published: March 12, 2010
Pasco County's system for curbside trash collection could change in the coming years.
The county's recycling coordinator, Jennifer Seney, recently pitched county commissioners a plan that would carve the county into a checkerboard of exclusive franchise zones. Trash haulers would bid on the zones and receive monopolies.
The aim is to lower trash rates by giving haulers compact service areas, reduce truck traffic on residential streets and increase recycling, Seney said. Haulers could be required to provide their customers with recycling bins - something commissioners have repeatedly shied away from spending public money on.
A county study several years ago show that bins encourage more recycling than the county's current blue bag recycling system. Pasco is the last county in Florida to use blue bags.
The proposal would rewrite the county's current trash collection system that lets individual customers choose their own haulers. That system can create a lot of truck traffic when several haulers work in the same subdivision.
Seney described the new system as "one truck, one street."
"Customers have been asking for more uniform trash service in urbanized areas," Seney told commissioners last week.
It's unclear when the proposed franchise system might go into place. Seney's proposal was part of a string of potential changes that could go into effect in the coming years. Some could go into effect this fall; others will take a year or two.
Seney said the new trash-hauling system could go into effect after the county builds a new recycling center. If the new program works as expected, it could boost the county's recycling rate, making a new recycling center necessary.
A new recycling center could be built under a contract with a waste hauler in 2011 or 2012, Seney said.
The current recycling center off Hays Road lies in the path of the county's new Shady Hills regional sewer plant and will close when that facility opens.
Waste Services Inc. now runs the county's recycling center, where it processes trash from Pasco and Hillsborough counties. About 40 percent of the trash brought in for recycling goes in the dump because the county's antiquated recycling center has no way to recycle broken glass, a recent county study showed.
A new recycling center could give the county the ability to handle paper and more plastic, Seney said.
Seney expects resistance from trash haulers.
"I imagine initially they will come down on the same side of the issue as they have before," she said. "The key will be to design the areas and write the (bid packages) to encourage competition among them."
Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 731-8168.
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By Jodie Tillman, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, March 7, 2010
Pasco officials are working on a new plan for this old idea: Carving the county into garbage franchise areas that would each be served by one hauler.
Haulers have fought past proposals to change Pasco's long-established open market set-up, which lets the nine permitted companies compete for customers anywhere in the county. But Jennifer Seney, county recycling coordinator, told Pasco commissioners last week that franchising collection services will be one of her top initiatives next fiscal year. Her pitch: Fewer trucks on neighborhood streets, lower residential rates, more recycling. As she later noted, with a chuckle, none of the commissioners objected to her moving forward with the plan: "They didn't stop me, did they?"
Seney said in an interview that the initiative to try again for franchising garbage pick-up coincides with the county's new planning efforts to focus on concentrating new development in urban areas. "Franchising goes hand in hand with that," she said, because it is an efficient way to collect trash in densely populated areas.
The idea, too, is that haulers would charge residences less because their costs aren't as high: Shorter routes, reduced fuel costs and higher participation. Recycling advocates have pushed for franchising as a way to increase participation. County officials could write franchise agreements so that the haulers bidding on them would be required to offer curbside recycling pick-up. Seney said the agreements could require haulers to invest in recycling bins for the service as opposed to the blue bags.
Officials tie increased recycling to another initiative for next year: Figuring out how to address the county's crowded facility that processes recyclables. That facility is at capacity and can't be expanded because it is surrounded by the Shady Hills wastewater treatment plant.
Seney told commissioners last week she'll also look into building a new facility elsewhere on the Shady Hill property or look for a long-term service contractor to process and market the recyclables.
Seney said she plans to spend next year, likely with the help of a consultant, studying franchise agreements in other counties and coming up with a proposal for Pasco.
Previous proposals for franchising included letting the nine haulers bid on four areas, something that didn't sit well with smaller firms that could not compete with the large national corporations.
Seney said she's seen other franchise agreements that have some protections for the smaller companies. Palm Beach County, for instance, limits the number of customers any one hauler can serve.
Commissioner Michael Cox said the details of the franchise agreement will be what sell him on it. He said his support may hinge on how many franchise areas county officials recommend setting up. "The concern I have is for the small guys," he said. "I don't want to put them out of business."
Joe Assalti, division manager for Seaside Sanitation in Hudson, said he has no doubt that Pasco will eventually move to a franchise system, especially for the areas that are built out. Seaside is part of Arizona-based Republic Services. "I think over time it's going to have to happen," he said. The pros, he said, are lower rates, better efficiencies for haulers, "and the county roads would be maintained for a longer period of time."
But he said the cons are that smaller haulers may not qualify to handle franchise areas based on the geographic area. "And customers would lose their freedom of choice." He, too, said the viability of a new system would depend on how officials set up the franchise areas, and how they set up the qualifications for each hauler. "I think it's a complicated process and the county would have to think about how to do it," he said. "It may have to happen in Pasco County. We're not that rural little county any more."
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BY CARL ORTH
SUNCOAST NEWS ASSISTANT EDITOR
Published: November 4, 2009
NEW PORT RICHEY - Even as county officials try to chart a new course for Pasco, recycling remains on the back burner of strategic plan discussions.
Recycling had been seen as one means to delay adding a costly, fourth boiler at the county's Resource Recovery Facility incinerator plant where garbage is burned, Commission Chairman Jack Mariano recalled.
The recession, however, took care of that problem as the amount of trash collections significantly declined.
"We have to make sure we keep that burner running," Mariano said.
The resource recovery plant in rural northwestern Pasco burns solid waste to generate electricity that is sold to private utilities.
In fact, the county is scrambling a bit to meet its obligation to export a certain amount of excess trash to Osceola County, Mariano noted. Adjustments to that contract are being discussed.
Mandatory recycling for heavily populated areas had been one of the goals discussed at a county workshop in February 2008.
It might still happen eventually, but it hasn't materialized yet some 21 months later. Nor has a sorting facility for recyclables at the Resource Recovery Facility.
And nary a word is heard these days about assigning exclusive franchise territories for the nine haulers who serve Pasco. Right now, garbage trucks from several firms might be seen lumbering down the same streets under the county's current licensing system with overlapping territories.
As a strategic plan takes shape, Pasco might want to explore joint, regional programs for recycling, Mariano said.
More metals are being removed from the garbage before it reaches the incinerators, thanks to more efficient magnets, Mariano observed.
If Pasco decides to create its own sorting facility, the project could still take a few years to build, Mariano noted.
"There's no immediate plans" for changes, Jennifer Seney, Pasco recycling coordinator, said last week.
The strategic plan under development could open the door for more recycling options at some point, Seney said.
Carl Orth can be reached at 727-815-1068 or corth@suncoastnews.com. |
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October 28, 2009 at 12:45 pm by Katie M.
Nestlé Waters North America announced it has teamed up with Keep America Beautiful to provide $10,000 “Recycle On The Go” grants to 12 Keep America Beautiful affiliates, including Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful. These efforts are being done in hopes of encouraging and empowering local communities, like Hillsborough County, to make away-from-home recycling more convenient.
Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful was selected from over 55 other KAB affiliates for its “innovative proposal to tackle public space recycling at four major Hillsborough County park facilities. Between tournaments, sports leagues, and every day use, these locations each see approximately 75,000 residents and visitors per year. The sites chosen to start this campaign are Northdale Park, Shimberg Park, Ed Raddice Sports Complex and Lake Park. The bins, provided by Conex Recycling, collect plastics 1-7, aluminum and tin.”
“Recycling in the parks has been challenging in the past, and we look forward to implementing solutions this summer,” said KHCB Executive Director Commerce. “With the ‘Recycle On The Go’ grant, we are taking steps toward improving our community’s recycling rates and our environment.”
“As a country, we have got to do better when it comes to recycling. With dynamic community engagement and education programs, Keep America Beautiful is a great partner to help push forward more comprehensive and successful recycling programs,” said Kim Jeffery, president and CEO of Nestlé Waters North America, which has committed to working with others to more than double current plastic beverage bottle recycling rates to 60 percent by 2018.
“One community at a time, one container at a time, we will work with great organizations like Keep America Beautiful and its Hillsborough County affiliate to make recycling easier for people,” Jeffery added.
In many communities, for those who do not have curbside recycling, the task of taking items, like plastic bottles, all the way to a recycling center is inconvenient for many people. According to the National Association for PET Container Resources, less than 24% of plastic beverage bottles were recycled in 2007. With the “Recycle On The Go” grant, Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful will help to improve local recycling options for community residents, and may prevent valuable, recyclable materials – like plastic – from ending up in landfills.
More information on all of the “Recycle On The Go” grant recipients is available at http://kab.org/recycleonthego. If you know of a park in Hillsborough County that you would like to see recycling implemented, please contact Daisy Packer at (813) 960-5121 or khcb2@yahoo.com.
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BY KLINT LOWRY
THE SUNCOAST NEWS
Published: October 17, 2009
LAND O' LAKES - The traditional Three Rs of education are "Reading, 'Riting and 'Rithmetic."
At the Pasco School District's Creation Station, the Three R's are "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle."
Creation Station, at 7227 Land O' Lakes Blvd., along Gator Lane behind Building 4 at the School District's headquarters, is one of only 20 reuse centers in the state dedicated to collecting and finding new life for materials that might otherwise wind up incinerated or in a landfill.
On the first Thursday of each month, except January and April, Creation Station opens its doors to district teachers and nonprofit organizations so they can grab up what they need for children to use in classroom and recreational arts and crafts projects.
According to Karen Bryant, the district's recycling coordinator, more than 3,500 pounds of reusable materials have gone out to such projects in the past three months.
The only problem with that is it has left the center short on materials with a peak "I-made-it-myself" season rapidly approaching.
Creation Station gets all of its materials from local businesses and individuals.
Once or twice a year, the call goes out for contributions to those who may be unaware of the facility.
So many materials that may seem of useless are treasured as valuable resources at Creation Station. Simple things can be used again in new ways in classroom projects.
Some of the categories of materials Creation Station collects include art and craft supplies, binders, newer books, ceramics, compact discs and computer games. Corkboards, decorations, desktop accessories, egg cartons, fabric, file folders, silk or dried flowers and glass jars and vases are among other items welcomed.
Over the years, Creation Station has garnered a number of contributors who donate materials on a regular basis.
They include businesses that have a steady flow of raw materials, as well as individuals interested in helping the environment and schools at the same time.
Once people discover the Creation Station, they tend to donate over and over, Bryant said.
This time of year, arts and crafts supplies are in demand, Bryant said. Also, small toys, like the kind that come with fast food meals; children's books and board games in good condition are particularly valued this time of year.
Donations are accepted every day at the station. If no one is on duty, donations can be left on the front porch. In rare circumstances, when there is a large volume of material, pickup might be arranged, Bryant said.
For more information about Creation Station, call Bryant at 727-774-2752 or 813-794-2752 or e-mail her at kbryant@pasco.k12.fl.us.
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Times Staff Writer
In Print: Wednesday, October 14, 2009
TRINITY — Those old CDs, Popsicle sticks, coffee cans and egg cartons may look like trash.
But they can become an artistic creation in the hands of young children.
To help keep those items out of the waste stream — and to help local day cares and preschools obtain free craft supplies — the RESORCE Recycling Club is hosting another Re-Use Factory event from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 24.
Clean, recycled craft supplies will be available at no cost to people who provide proof, via school letterhead, that they are with a day care or preschool.
The event will be held at the North Trinity Self Storage facility at 4124 Little Road (previously the Kmart building off State Road 54).
"At the first Re-Use Factory in July, there were approximately 14 day cares that visited the RESORCE booth looking for craft material," said club member Carol Basta. "We gave out over 42 pounds of craft materials and many of the attending teachers were surprised at the availability of items they needed for their crafts."
The Re-Use Factory is held quarterly to supply local day cares and preschools with various craft supplies that RESORCE members collect throughout the year.
Some tile pieces, which can be used for mosaics, will be available to any school group interested in providing a donation to RESORCE.
Club founder Monica Dear came up with the idea for the Re-Use Factory after learning that for-profit day cares and preschools were not able to obtain items donated to Creation Station, a craft supply closet for nonprofits and teachers in the Pasco County school system.
For information or to donate items for the event, contact Monica Dear via www.resorce.net, or call (727) 857-0039.
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By Lee Logan, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, September 18, 2009
Think of the famous bins in history: "Bin and Jerry's." "Bin Franklin." "Bin Hur."
The bin wordplays are part of a new Hillsborough County advertising campaign to persuade more residents to recycle.
Besides the ads, county officials have launched a new Web site, hillsboroughrecycles.org, where residents can find information about the program or request free bins.
"Education is every bit as important as trucks or conveyor belts to make recycling work," said Steve Thompson, director of Curbside Value Partnership, which funded the campaign.
Curbside Value Partnership has sponsored similar campaigns in 23 communities and three states. It typically spends $50,000 to $75,000 on an ad campaign.
The "famous bins" can be found on seven billboards around the county, as well as on the sides of buses and in movie theaters.
About 30 percent of the 250,000 single-family homes in unincorporated Hillsborough participate in curbside recycling.
Before the Web site was launched, residents had to call their trash hauler or the county recycling department to request a bin.
Now they can ask for them through a quick online form.
"This is just the first time that we've really made it easy for people to request those bins," said Katie Brown, the county's recycling coordinator.
People who request bins likely will receive them by the end of the month.
"It's just as easy to recycle as it is to throw something in the trash," said Barry Boldissar, director of the county's Solid Waste Department.
"What we're really asking is for residents to think twice before they throw anything away."
Lee Logan can be reached at (813) 226-3436 or llogan@sptimes.com.
How to recycle:
• Single-family homes in unincorporated Hillsborough can recycle using the bins.
• Recyclables are picked up weekly.
• Green bins are for plastic and metal containers. Blue bins are for paper.
• To order a free set of bins, visit hillsboroughrecycles.org or call (813) 272-5680.
• For information on recycling in Tampa, call (813) 348-6504.
In Print: Friday, September 18, 2009
Think of the famous bins in history: "Bin and Jerry's." "Bin Franklin." "Bin Hur."
The bin wordplays are part of a new Hillsborough County advertising campaign to persuade more residents to recycle.
Besides the ads, county officials have launched a new Web site, hillsboroughrecycles.org, where residents can find information about the program or request free bins.
"Education is every bit as important as trucks or conveyor belts to make recycling work," said Steve Thompson, director of Curbside Value Partnership, which funded the campaign.
Curbside Value Partnership has sponsored similar campaigns in 23 communities and three states. It typically spends $50,000 to $75,000 on an ad campaign.
The "famous bins" can be found on seven billboards around the county, as well as on the sides of buses and in movie theaters.
About 30 percent of the 250,000 single-family homes in unincorporated Hillsborough participate in curbside recycling.
Before the Web site was launched, residents had to call their trash hauler or the county recycling department to request a bin.
Now they can ask for them through a quick online form.
"This is just the first time that we've really made it easy for people to request those bins," said Katie Brown, the county's recycling coordinator.
People who request bins likely will receive them by the end of the month.
"It's just as easy to recycle as it is to throw something in the trash," said Barry Boldissar, director of the county's Solid Waste Department.
"What we're really asking is for residents to think twice before they throw anything away."
Lee Logan can be reached at (813) 226-3436 or llogan@sptimes.com.
How to recycle:
• Single-family homes in unincorporated Hillsborough can recycle using the bins.
• Recyclables are picked up weekly.
• Green bins are for plastic and metal containers. Blue bins are for paper.
• To order a free set of bins, visit hillsboroughrecycles.org or call (813) 272-5680.
• For information on recycling in Tampa, call (813) 348-6504. |
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By Helen Anne Travis, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Wednesday, September 9, 2009
DADE CITY — If you want to help the environment and several local agencies, bring your recyclables to City Hall.
Last week, a bright green recycling bin was set up in the parking lot behind City Hall at 38020 Meridian Ave. Here, residents can drop off paper, cardboard, phone books, magazines and cereal boxes for recycling.
U.S. GreenFiber LLC recycles the paper products into insulation to be sold locally to stores such as Home Depot and Lowe's. Dade City gets $15 for every ton collected.
The GreenFiber collection point is next to newspaper and aluminum can recycling bins, which benefit East Pasco Meals on Wheels and Habitat for Humanity, respectively.
"We're developing a one stop recycling center," said Mayor Scott Black.
GreenFiber bins have been established at many Pasco schools, which also benefit from the revenues.
"The schools are really motivated on recycling," said Tammy English, GreenFiber recycling coordinator. "Probably one of the best schools does 6 tons per month."
It's not clear how much money Dade City will collect on the venture. City Manager Billy Poe said any profits received will benefit the city's general fund.
Helen Anne Travis can be reached at htravis@sptimes.com or (813) 435-7312.
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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI
kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com
Published: August 30, 2009
DADE CITY - A pending change to Pasco County's long-range growth plan would make it harder for a controversial private landfill to set up shop between Dade City and Zephyrhills.
Last week, county commissioners approved a proposal that would limit landfills to land designated for public or semipublic uses. Currently, they're allowed in agricultural areas with special permission from commissioners.
The proposed change must be cleared by the state Department of Community Affairs to take effect.
The public/semi-public designation is a common approach taken by other communities, including counties in South Dakota and Wyoming, for siting landfills, sewer plants and other facilities designed for the public benefit.
Pasco already has a public/semi-public provision written into its long-range planning documents but hasn't used that provision to regulate private landfills.
The change could throw another obstacle in the path of a private landfill proposed for east Pasco by Pinellas County's Iafrates family, who currently run a construction debris landfill south of Dade City under the name Angelo's Aggregates.
Lawyer Jerry Figurski denounced the county's land-use change last week as a deliberate attempt to block his client from building its landfill.
But landfill opponent Carl Roth of Dade City welcomed the change.
"This puts greater public scrutiny on things so they just don't drop in out of the blue," Roth said Thursday.
The state Department of Environmental Protection denied Angelo's a landfill permit, and the company has appealed. If Angelo's wins the appeal, it could still face a lengthy process to get its agricultural site redesignated for public/semi-public use.
The family has spent several years seeking state approval for a household-garbage landfill on land adjoining their construction debris site. That proposal has met stiff resistance from neighbors as well as from communities in Hillsborough County.
Opponents worry the landfill could be susceptible to sinkholes, which could cause cracks in its liner. Those could allow pollution from the landfill to leach into groundwater, polluting the nearby Green Swamp and Withlachochee River.
The DEP cited those concerns when it denied Angelo's a permit for the landfill in March.
The two sides met last week to decide on a date for a hearing before Judge B.D.E. Canter of the state's Division of Administrative Hearings. No hearing date has been announced.
Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 731-8168.
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By HERNANDO TODAY STAFF
Published: August 29, 2009
Beginning Wednesday, Brooksville residents will have curbside service to pick up their recyclables for the first time. The voluntary program is made possible through a public/private partnership with Walmart, which is providing blue bags for participants to store their cans and newspapers.
City sanitation workers will pick up certain recyclables every Wednesday of the month. On the first Wednesday is plastic, aluminum and tin; the second, newspapers; the third, cardboard.
Before that starts, residents can request the blue bags by filling out a form and including it with their regular utilities payment. Bags will be dropped off at their home. They can also be found at City Hall or the department of public works.
For more information, call 352-540-3860.
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