Neighborhood by neighborhood, large blue bins are finally showing up on residential curbs in St. Petersburg this month. They mark the start of the city’s first citywide curbside recycling program.
The fact that such a program took so long to institute in St. Pete is not a little ironic, given that the city was the first in the state to be designated a “green city” (which might say something about Florida as a whole in terms of how it defines “green”). It’s unclear why there was such a delay. Cities up north — and in the rest of Florida, for that matter — have long dropped their cans and bottles into city-provided curbside bins.
In St. Pete, those who wanted to reduce the ecological impact of their consumerism have only had two options: haul their recyclables to the nearest drop-off or take advantage of a pricey private option. But the lack of inexpensive curbside recycling has meant that well-intentioned but lazy/thrifty people wound up dropping their plastics, glass and aluminum in the trash, sending these items to the landfill.
The crusade to correct this situation goes back years in St. Pete, but really took off in 2013 with the election of Darden Rice to City Council. A longtime environmental champion, she was a vocal advocate of universal curbside recycling.
The city expects the program to be in full swing by July, when the blue 95-gallon bins will have been dropped off at addresses in eight separate collection zones. Check the city’s Web site to find out when your bin will be delivered and when your collection day is scheduled (the latter info will also be included with your recycling bin when you receive it). Pickup will be once every two weeks. The city is also keeping five of its drop-off sites open.
The rollout of the program has already generated complaints. Some residents are angry that, despite the fact that they’ve gotten their bins, pickup is still weeks from starting. That means bins throughout their neighborhoods are already starting to fill up, and the contents will be cooking in the Florida heat for weeks until the pickup starts. (If you plan on recycling way ahead of your pickup date, make sure you clean out those cat food cans.)
There’s an upside to the delay. Residents won’t start seeing the $2.95-a-month charge on their utility bills until August, which means that service for some will be free for weeks or even months. Items that can be tossed into the bins include the following: glass containers of all colors; aluminum and steel cans; steel jar lids; milk and juice cartons; drink boxes; plastics numbered one through seven; newspapers; magazines; mail; shopping circulars; windowed envelopes; mixed paper; and cardboard. And here’s some good news: There’s no need to sort bottles from cans anymore. For more info, go to stpete.org or call 727-893-7838.
This article appears in May 21-27, 2015.