Recycling in Fort Lauderdale

You know recycling is the right thing to do.  We know that it has to be convenient and easy too. Whether you are at home, at work or out enjoying our City, you will find a recycling container nearby. For over a decade, we have been working to lay the foundation for a recycling program that allows us to meet the State of Florida goal to recycle 75% of waste by the year 2020.

We've instituted curbside collection in neighborhoods and public spaces, strengthened our ordinances and compliance, and begun a massive education campaign to help our neighbors recycle as much as they can and recycle cleanly. Surveys indicate that we're making progress. Our most recent neighbor survey shows that 79% feel that recycling has reduced their household garbage. We'll keep doing our part, and we thank you for doing yours.

What's in our recycling?

We recently did a waste composition audit, and here's what we found.  As you can see, most of what we collect is paper in one form or another.  That's good news!  Paper is a highly recyclable and highly valuable commodity.  The bad news?  A large portion of what we find in our recycling containers is contamination, that is food, plastic baggies and films, wire hangers, rubber hoses and other non-recyclables.  Where do we go from here?  Let's work together to increase the amount of total recyclables, decrease the contaminants, and replace them with clean recyclables.

This section of our website contains information on what and how to recycle, each of our recycling programs, and has useful information for businesses and schools.  To find out what happens to recyclables after they leave your curb, and see pictures of our processor in action, visit our page on Materials Recovery.

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