Latest Efforts
Mission: Waste Stewardship - collaborate and educate to minimize solid waste disposal through prevention and reduction while increasing reuse and recycling.
The recyling committee has been very busy lately, working on a number of fronts. Current goals and objectives include:
1. ReInvigorate iRecycle - Leon Schools Recycling Program
2. Establish a Reusable Resource Center for Leon Schools
3. Develop CFL Collection Procedures
4. Explore Increased Glass Recycling/Reuse
5. Promote the state's 75% recycling goal
6. Monitor efforts of Yard Debris Committee (Green Yarders) whose goal is to keep more yard debris in yards
For more information on these topics, and to see what projects have been completed, view the minutes from the latest meeting.
Recycle Tallahassee!
Sustainable Waste Stewardship
“In Tallahassee, every time you finish a bottle of beer or wine at a restaurant or bar, those bottles go straight into the landfill. There is no commercial recycling of glass.”
At least once a month, citizens, city and county waste professionals, as well as local waste management businesses, meet in the conference room at Sustainable Tallahassee to discuss how we can encourage better waste stewardship in our community through prevention and reduction of waste, reuse of resources, and recycling.
We are currently exploring the feasibility of creating a regional recycled glass facility, and the development of local “green” industries, to use this recycled glass as food for their production process, and create local manufacturing jobs. In addition, we are trying to draft a model bottle and can deposit return law for our state. As the diagram below shows, you get the most sustainability bang for your buck if you prevent and reduce waste before it becomes a problem for our landfill.
Our Own Waste Enemy
Did you know? Americans toss:
- 106,000 aluminum cans every 30 seconds
- 2 million plastic bottles every 5 minutes
- 60,000 plastic bags every 5 seconds
- 15,000,000 sheets of office paper every 5 minutes