Clearwater Solid Waste works to regain residents’ trust through several changes to recycling program
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Clearwater city leaders said they’ve sorted through issues in the solid waste department, and are now focused on regaining residents’ trust.
The city scrapped and revamped its recycling program last year after learning that recycling was picked up from homes for several months in 2022, but was dumped with trash at the landfill and not brought to a processing center. Residents, however, still paid for recycling.
"We want to do what's right for residents, and we appreciate them working with us, being patient with us, as we get to where we are right now," Solid Waste Director Kervin St. Aimie said.
Clearwater City Manager Jennifer Poirrier hired St. Aimie last January, and filled several other positions. Those were just some of the changes for the department.
"The residents lost trust in solid waste, so we wanted to be very transparent in what we do every day," he said.
St. Aimie said they’re doing that through a page on its website where residents can track recycling activity. The city also approved a recycling contract with a new company, Waste Connections, that includes revenue sharing, and a fee that’s $30 less per ton for the city.
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Perhaps the most important update is that they’re giving residents six months of free recycling that started in October.
"In 2022, very little recycling was done the correct way. So, now we’re doing this in the correct way," St. Aimie said.
He said the city continues to work with residents to regain trust, and also remind them what can and can’t be recycled.
"This consists of bottles one through seven with tops, glass bottles, newspaper, news clippings, cardboards. Those are the things that're recyclable. Things are not recyclable are plastic bags, Styrofoam, yard waste, food waste, anything like that is not considered recycled. Those are what we consider contamination," he said.
Clearwater recycled 8,000 tons of materials in 2023. It’s a big accomplishment, St. Aimie said, helping both the environment and Pinellas County’s landfill that local leaders are predicting will be full in less than 80 years.