City of Miami could eliminate recycling, scale back bulky waste pickup. Here’s why
The city of Miami is considering eliminating recycling and scaling back its bulky waste pickup, citing “high contamination rates” for recycling and an aging fleet that needs to be replaced.
On Thursday, the Miami City Commission is scheduled to take a preliminary vote to allow the Solid Waste director to “have the power to establish the type, frequency and amount, if at all, of City-serviced recycle pickup in all areas” — a change that could give the city the authority to stop recycling services altogether.
The legislation would also eliminate the requirement that bulky waste — which includes furniture, appliances and large tree trimmings — be picked up on a weekly basis, as it currently is. While the proposal states that “every other week is more than sufficient” for bulky waste pickup, it also allows for the service to be scheduled “in the manner determined by the Department.”
In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, the city said that because the annual trash fee has stayed flat at $380 since 2010, the city is now left with an “aging fleet and outdated machinery,” which has led to “frequent truck breakdowns, impacting our ability to meet weekly service commitments.”
In explaining its reasoning for eliminating recycling, the city cited “high contamination rates, which are causing significant additional costs as contaminated recyclables are not accepted.”
“These changes will save residents money by optimizing our resources and avoiding unnecessary expenditures,” the city said in its statement.
The city did not directly respond to a question about the percentage of recycling the city collects that’s contaminated versus actually recyclable. The city also did not directly answer questions about whether Miami will provide residents with drop-off sites for recycled materials or how the change would impact trash rates.
The new proposal states that bulky waste pickup in the city “has become a source of abuse by outside entities” like contractors and landscapers who should take their waste to dumps, putting an “inordinate burden on City residents and City finances.”
In addition to those changes, the proposal seeks to restrict the size of large residential trash the city is willing to pick up to items up to 5 feet long, 5 feet tall and 4 feet deep. Large residential trash includes yard and garden trash and other nonhazardous materials that are too large to fit in a container or bin.
If approved on Thursday, the proposed changes would need to go back to the City Commission for a final vote at a subsequent meeting, possibly in January.
In June, the city sought to address a $20 million shortfall in the Solid Waste Department. At the time, in an effort to lower that deficit, the City Commission voted to increase the cap on the annual fee per household from $380 to $440. Increasing the cap didn’t change the actual fee, but it gives the city permission to raise it at a future date. The city’s annual trash fee has stayed the same since 2010.
This story was originally published December 11, 2024 at 4:46 PM.
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