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Polk County says goodbye to curbside recycling, introduces two new 'green' initiatives

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Published  September 10, 2024 5:24pm EDT
Polk County
FOX 13 News

Polk County solid waste ‘green’ initiatives

Polk County is discontinuing its curbside recycling program in unincorporated areas – but it’s implementing "green" initiatives aimed at protecting the environment.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Polk County is discontinuing its curbside recycling program in its unincorporated areas next month, but they are implementing a pair of "green" initiatives they say will protect the environment.

Dale Henderson, the Director of the Solid Waste Division, said the primary reasons why the program was paused was because of market volatility and an increased cost for recyclable material.

Residents will see a slight increase in their bills over time.

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"Residents of unincorporated areas haven't seen an increase in solid waste collection in seven years," said Henderson. "As long as conditions stay as we expect you should see no more than a five percent increase year over year as our contract progresses."

But he says this will save the county $5.5 million annually on transportation and operating costs of processing their materials.

Even though curbside recycling is on pause, county officials say they're investing in cutting edge technology including The Renewable Natural Gas Plant operated by OPAL Fuels. It'll convert landfill gas into renewable energy by Oct. 1, generating $500,000 in revenue for the county annually.

"The compressed natural gas is used as the diesel replacement fuel, so you get cleaner emission and truck fleets in the area as well as localized emission reductions right here," said Allan Hunt, OPAL Fuels' Senior VP of Construction.

The second is the Leachate Treatment Facility developed alongside the University of Florida. It mimics natural wetlands by removing and reducing constituents in the liquid that may be harmful. This will save the county an estimated two million dollars a year and will begin operations on Oct. 11.

"There's no need to have a third party to treat it and there's no need for transport," said Dreyton Lott, PhD Student at UF. "That's less reliance on third parties controlling the price and controlling the leachate that's produced every day on the scale of tens-of-thousands of gallons per day. Now they can do that on site by themselves."

Henderson says this pause may be temporary, so curbside recycling could return at some point in the future.

"Markets can change. I'm a firm believer in technology," he said. "There's a lot of technology that might help improve the world recycling markets."

Residents who want to keep recycling can drop off their recyclables at collection sites that will be located near the waste facility's administration building at 10 Environmental Loop S. in Winter Haven.

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