Notice of Residential Recycling Improvements
Effective February 2021, garbage and recycling collection services are changing.
What is happening?
All waste collected at the curb will now be transported to a Waste-to-Energy Plant (WTE) that provides an economic renewable source of energy by safely incinerating waste to generate electricity. Residents no longer are required to wash and separate recycling products from the garbage. However, you are encouraged to continue to use both garbage and recycling carts.
Why the Change?
Over the last few years, uncontrollable circumstances have resulted in the costs of providing processing, transportation and marketing services for recyclable materials have drastically increased. Specifically, China was the largest buyer of U.S. recyclable materials. China established a new quality specification of 0.3% contamination by weight for any imported wastepaper. The prior standard had been 10% contamination. Other countries followed suit with similar specifications for cleanliness of materials, driving processing costs skyward.
Simply put the increase in traditional recycling processing costs with a low value resale value have made traditional recycling very costly. This change to your services avoids a major cost increase for our customers.
Does that mean the community is no longer recycling?
No, the City is moving to a new wave recycling opportunity. All the materials you set out at the curb in the future will be transported to the Covanta Waste-to-Energy Plant. This plant incinerates and converts your garbage into electricity, producing 14 megawatts of electricity continuously, enough to power over 8,100 homes for a year. A 50% recycling credit is provided for the materials being converted to energy at the Waste-To-Energy Plant under new State of Florida guidelines. This recycling rate is significantly higher than the average Florida traditional recycling programs.
Do I need to do anything different on trash day?
Not at all! Your collection days will not change. We recommend you utilize both carts for all your materials. It does not matter if you mix materials in the carts. Putting everything in the two carts is easier and safer for residents and our drivers.
Can I still do traditional recycling?
Yes, residents can use the Downtown Mount Dora recycling compactors, or any of the Lake County Drop-off recycling sites, to recycle the same items they currently place in their recycle cart. Recycling compactor locations are available on the City website.
I have other questions…Who can I contact?
You can contact the City of Mount Dora at 352-735-7151.
Please see our updated Garbage/Recycling Page for more information.