The City of Miami Beach Office of Communications reports that the average resident produces nearly four and a half pounds of waste each day which adds up to three quarters of a ton per year! The City of Miami Beach, in coordination with the Miami Beach Pubic Works Department has created a new Sustainability Committee to encourage Miami Beach residents to recycle and to purchase more recycled products.
To kick off the city wide GREEN initiative on America Recycles Day, representatives from the recycling industry, non-profit environmental organizations and the City of Miami Beach held an informational expo at the heart of Lincoln Road Mall on Euclid Circle on November 15th and we were there to get you all the details. Here’s what we found…
Our first stop was the Waste Management Inc. booth where we learned about the brand new single-stream recycling program which will begin early next year. Residents of Miami Beach who currently utilize the color coded blue and green bins to sort paper and plastic materials for pick up on designated weekdays will be happy to learn that in 2009 we will be able to simply deposit all recyclables into a single container. The GREEN committee believes that making the recycling process more streamlined will encourage more residents to participate. If you do not currently sort your paper and plastic trash for recycling, it’s time to go GREEN!
We were dazzled by the wealth of information available at the expo including SIR International Corporation’s detailed analysis of the environmental benefits of recycling electronic materials, the Surfrider Foundations efforts to protect our beaches and waterways and the non-profit organization ECOMB’s (Environmental Coalition of Miami Beach) extraordinary efforts to promote the health of our local environment with organized volunteer clean up days. We’ll have more on ECOMB later!
If you live in an apartment like we do, you might not know that Miami-Dade County Recycling Ordinance No. 91-123 requires all rental property owners and condominium associations provide recycling programs to their residents. Not only is recycling the right thing to do for our planet, recycling is mandatory for everyone. If you live in a building of more than 8 units, your have the right to be provided with regular pick up of household trash, recycling and bulk materials by law. Get out there and help your neighbors to go GREEN!
The countywide recycling program which picks up all around town on Wednesdays already services single-family homes on Miami Beach. America Recycles Day is an ongoing annual event to get out the word on the city’s efforts to protect public health by improving our environment.
For more information about the City of Miami Beach’s participation in America Recycles Day, call Lisa Botero at 305-673-7080
