Jan. 2023
Pam Ryan Anderson, Real Estate Broker 727-442-2822 pam@ryanrealty.org
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THE CITY OF CLEARWATER RESIDENT RECYCLING PROGRAM, DISPOSING OF ELECTRONIC ITEMS, AND OUR CITY MANAGER
A Note from Pam Ryan Anderson, Real Estate Broker, Ryan Realty
2). The City has also changed the way we should dispose of electronic devices, see the second article below.
3). Our new City Manager was FIRED by the City Council. We finally had someone interested in making the downtown area a beautiful, booming City, and the City Council fired him. I just thought this might be of interest since the only way I found out is that I have a friend that is a bit interested in politics. I sure didn’t see a notice from the City about this action either!
Clearwater Municipal Recycling Program Update
Dear neighbors. As you may have heard on the local news, we have not been good stewards of your recyclables or your trust. We recently found out that we have not been properly processing our recyclables. For this, we apologize.
This is unacceptable, and we are working to fix this and make it right for you. As of this week, we are taking recyclables to Waste Management for processing daily, and changes have been made in departmental administration. We are also working on a better and more economical long-term solution.
City’s Release to News Media, Jan. 12, 2023
Clearwater, Fla. — In October 2022, the city was made aware of community discussions happening on the social platform Nextdoor about the city’s recycling processing. The city manager’s office inquired about the complaints, and the response from the city’s Solid Waste department at that time was an assurance that recyclables were properly being processed.
Subsequently, in November 2022 the city received a letter from our recycling processor, Waste Management, stating that they would no longer be accepting our recyclables, but would be open to having future discussions about renegotiating processing prices.
Through continuing investigation, the administration discovered that as of June 2022, none of our recyclables were taken to Waste Management for processing. They were taken to the Pinellas County Solid Waste Disposal Complex. The reasons provided by the department for this June process change, vary from staffing issues to equipment failure. At no time was city administration briefed on the situation or brought in to troubleshoot possible solutions nor was the public made aware of this change. This is unacceptable and changes have been made in departmental administration.
“The City of Clearwater has professed to be stewards of the environment. We have adopted Greenprint 2.0 and have hired an energy consultant to help us reduce our energy usage in city buildings,” said Interim City Manager Jennifer Poirrier. “Our actions as stewards of the public’s money spent on our recycling program have not matched what we said we stand for and that is not acceptable. We have also not been open and transparent with our residents.”
As of this week, we are taking recyclables to Waste Management for processing daily as a short-term solution. We are also in the process of working on a more affordable and sustainable long-term solution. The current issues and challenges facing our country’s municipal recycling programs are well documented. Countless articles and studies have been done on the topic.
“Due to the current challenges facing the domestic, municipal recycling programs, residents can make the most impact by reducing their waste and decreasing contamination in the recycling stream,” said Poirrier. “The mantra reduce, reuse, and recycle’ has to recycle’ listed last for a reason. The most impact we can have is by reducing our waste.”
Earlier this week, the Florida Recycling Partnership Foundation and the University of Florida announced the results of a study examining the environmental and business impacts of discontinued municipal recycling systems in Florida. They also hosted a webinar today where the results of the study were presented. More information can be found at www.flrecycling.org.
Electronic Waste Recycling Processes Change Countywide
Effective October 2022, Pinellas County and the city of Clearwater no longer send their collected electronics to a private electronics recycler. Instead, they will be sent to Pinellas County’s Waste-to-Energy plant. Household electronics without rechargeable batteries should be placed in your black barrel trash and not on the ground. They will be processed with regular garbage at the Pinellas County Waste-to-Energy plant, where metals will be recovered and recycled and plastic casings will be burned to create energy.