Clearwater Recycles 8,000 Tons of Materials in 2023
Published on January 23, 2024
The city conducted a full overhaul of its recycling program and made several key changes throughout 2023.
As we start a new year, the city of Clearwater is providing an open and transparent update to the city's recycling program. Last year, Clearwater Solid Waste and Recycling collected and properly processed approximately 8,000 tons of recyclable materials from customers, and the city began the process of issuing credits to affected customers. The city would like to thank all of its residents who continued recycling with us in 2023.
In January 2023, the city conducted a massive overhaul of its recycling program. Here are our program successes in 2023:
Recycling Tonnage
From January 2023 to December 2023, Clearwater Solid Waste and Recycling collected and properly processed approximately 8,000 tons of recyclable materials from customers, homes and businesses.
New Leadership
New leadership was immediately put into place in January 2023. Kervin St. Aimie was appointed as Solid Waste and Recycling assistant director in January 2023 and then was promoted to director in July 2023. Prior to working in the solid waste department, St. Aimie was a long-time Clearwater Public Utilities manager with a track record of hard work and integrity. "Our team is committed to correcting the city's recycling problem and doing the right thing," he said in January.
In April 2023, the city launched a dashboard at MyClearwater.com/WeAreRecycling to show how many tons of recycling is being collected and processed each month. This information is updated monthly.
New Recycling Contract
The Clearwater City Council approved a long-term, single-stream recycling contract option on Aug. 17, 2023, with Waste Connections of St. Petersburg, Fla. The contract includes revenue sharing for our recyclables, based on the current market. It went into effect Oct. 1, 2023, and Clearwater is now paying $120 per ton of recycling, instead of much higher rates when we were without a contract in place.
Customer Credits
Effective Oct. 1, 2023, Clearwater recycling customers began receiving recycling credits in the form of free service (they are not being charged for recycling for six months). The recycling charge was $3.38 per month on a resident's utility bill up until Sept. 30, 2023, and current recycling rates are $3.51 per month, per the solid waste rate ordinance and a five-year rate schedule that was approved Sept. 5, 2019. Customers who have moved out of the city can request a credit by filling out this form.
Revenue Sharing
Clearwater Solid Waste and Recycling received its first share of revenue from Waste Connections, a rebate of $14,022 in December 2023.
Rental Trucks
In December 2023, Clearwater rented and received some new, white refuse trucks that are now picking up solid waste or recycling in city neighborhoods. The city is renting these trucks due to delays in receiving purchased trucks, to meet and keep up with demand. Residents will see new magnets affixed to the truck door or body, that say either "SOLID WASTE" or "RECYCLING," based on what the truck is collecting that day.
Flags for Brown Trucks Collecting Recycling
Sometimes, due to maintenance issues, Clearwater must collect recyclables with our brown solid waste vehicles. Starting in December 2023, solid waste crews now place new blue flags that say "RECYCLING" on the front of the trucks to indicate what we are collecting.
Looking Ahead to 2024
In 2024, our program will continue to recycle in full transparency. We also will work on these aspects of our program:
Contamination Rates
The Solid Waste and Recycling Department is working with Waste Connections to clarify how to define and calculate contamination rates. An updated composition study for our recycling/waste stream is scheduled to be conducted by Kessler Consulting in mid-January 2024. We will update our website once that is completed.
Analyze and Update Our Routes, If Necessary
The Solid Waste Department is currently working with a vendor to optimize our service routes. The goal of this effort is to improve efficiency.
Public Engagement
The city continues its public engagement efforts to ask our residents to partner with us to avoid recycling contamination and to recycle right.
Clearwater is Committed to Recycling Right
"Clearwater continues to recycle and do the right thing," said St. Aimie. "That's been vitally important to me since Day 1. We want our residents to know exactly what is being picked up from their homes at all times, and that we are being good environmental stewards of their recyclables by handling it properly and as they expect us to."
Clearwater's recycling program is called "Simplify to 5." Our program accepts five types of materials, including plastic bottles and containers #1-7, glass bottles and jars, tin/steel cans, cardboard and mixed paper.
Items that contaminate the city's recycling stream include plastic bags, bubble wrap, food, yard waste, electronics, among others. Non-recyclable items can damage machinery and create hazards for not only our workers, but also those at our recycling vendor, Waste Connections. When in doubt, throw it out.
MyClearwater.com/WeAreRecycling
What Can I Recycle in Clearwater?