Orlando Recycling

In the summer of 2012, the City began introducingย a single cart recycling program. They did away with the two separate bins and limited collection to every other week.

“In March 2014 the [Single Cart] program completed a full year of operation and the results are still very encouraging,” Solid Waste Division Manager Mike Carroll told Bungalower.

Since that summer more than 7,000 residents have requested participation in the program which represents a 35% increase in homes participating.

“Most of these new participants are existing homes that have chosen to join the program and not newly built homes,”ย Carroll said. “We average about 70 new participants each week and that level of interest has held steady over the last few months.”

But it’s not just the number of homes participating, it’s the amount being recycled. There has been a 44% increase in the amount of recycling being collected.

Carroll tells Bungalower that prior to introducing the single cart program they were averaging 400 tons of recycling per month. They are now averaging 576 tons per month.

And because they are limiting pickup to every other week they are able to save aboutย 750 gallons of fuel each month which equates to nearlyย $3,000 in monthly savings. Overallย theyย have seen annual savings over $100,000 per year in total collection costs over bin recycling.

Some of the cart requests come from homes that already have one cart because they are recycling more than what you can fit in one large cart every two weeks.

If you need to request a recycling cart you can do so online here.

What do you think of the single cart recycling program?

Join the Conversation

35 Comments

Have something to say? Type it below. Holding back can give you pimples.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. One big bin has been awesome! Love not having things overflowing from a tiny plastic box and not being able to carry it to the curb. This way is so much easier.

  2. We only get about a dozen bins for our entire high-rise to share. They are usually full.

  3. A life-cycle analysis is in store. We’d love to work with APGD to rally our community and get their support in piloting this.
    Maybe we can organize a public forum around recycling in Audubon and hear from those interested in participating.

  4. That’s exciting news, Chris! I wonder how much money and pollution could be saved if we had that schedule in Orlando.

  5. We’re working on this model to be piloted in Audubon Park… We just need more community support!

  6. I love the bigger bins–wish they would pick up every week rather than every other, but the bigger, combined style suits me great. I came here from East Orlando, where we had recycling, but in the small bins that had to be separated and couldn’t include cardboard, and they filled up so fast that often, we had to throw things away that should have been recycled!

  7. I love it, and probably recycle triple the amount I used to. It’s become a game, where I try to see how much of the bin I can fill each two weeks (apparently I have a dull life).

  8. You know you can download a PDF of the color-coded pickup chart from the website, right? No more being the burgundy guy on teal week.

  9. As others have said, I wish recycling and garbage were each once a week. We have never put garbage out twice in one week but frequently wish that we could put recycling out in a week when it is not offered.

  10. We love it. We recycle SO MUCH STUFF. Our bin is full to the rim for almost every pickup. Taking things to the recycling bin is a great chore for our 5 year old, who has become very Earth conscious this year. We only have to put our trash bin out once a week now. Also, I love the color of the recycle bin. ๐Ÿ™‚

  11. My recycling cart is always filled to the top by pickup day, leaving the other bin virtually empty for one of the two days of regular trash pickup. If I don’t get the recycling cart out on the correct week, there’s no room in it for 2 more weeks of recycling. ๐Ÿ™

  12. It needs to be weekly, unfortunately. There is more recycling on my street than trash BY FAR. Every 2 weeks is really pushing it, but I love the big bin and the recycling initiative enhancements. Go green orlando!

  13. I love that college park has them! I now know why on some Thursdays that my bin doesn’t get picked up. I didn’t realize that it was every other week for pickup. I love that I can dump all my recyclables in one bin, not a separate bin for cans/plastic, and another for newspaper.

  14. I’d almost rather get the first and third or second and fourth week of each month vs every other week. I know that makes it not consistent but much easier to remember. ๐Ÿ™‚

  15. I compost and recycle so I really don’t need garbage pick up twice a week and recycling once every two weeks. I would like one garbage pick up a week and one recycling pick up a week. That actually fits my household’s lifestyle.

  16. Love it! Ever since the program started we recycle AT LEAST 60% of all our trash ๐Ÿ™‚

  17. I love it, especially since we asked for and got a smaller cart that will fit into our small garage. But I do wish they’d give us a calendar to keep track of recycling days.

  18. I’d wager that the savings isn’t coming from the single cart, but from the fact that pickup is now every other week rather than weekly. Furthermore, if you forget one recycle day, you are boned for a month.

  19. Love it, but wish we had smaller carts and weekly pickups instead of bi-weekly. That thing can get HEAVY for smaller folks, older folks, etc to wheel out to the curb when full.

  20. I love it, but wish more of my neighbors did… Always see TONS of recyclables in their trash pick ups. Is it lack of awareness or just laziness? Would love to see some local campaigning to increase adoption!

  21. The only thing I don’t like is that I can never remember if it’s recycling pickup week…luckily my neighbors remember for me! Nothing worse than being the only person to put out your bin :/