“The new recycling carts make it easier for every resident in our community to recycle, which in turn helps the environment.  Miami-Dade County government is leading the way in protecting our environment from hybrid vehicle fleets and Home Chemical Collection Centers to the Artificial Reef Program and the New Park and Open Space System Master Plan. Recycling is one of the easiest ways of preserving and protecting our natural resources,”   said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez.

The new carts are blue in color and feature the Miami-Dade County logo in white and have wheels and a lid.  The lid will keep the papers from blowing around or getting wet. The wheels will make it easier for resident to take the recyclables to the curb. 

The distribution of the new recycling carts will begin in the northern part of Miami-Dade County   and continue to the southern part of the County until all residential garbage collection customers receive their recycling carts.  The distribution of carts is expected to take approximately four months.

Residents will receive a mailer detailing the new recycling service before the carts arrive. Additional instructions on the new recycling program will be delivered with the carts including a sticker listing which materials are acceptable and which materials are not acceptable in the new recycling program and a calendar that lets customers know when to take their carts to the curb.  

The delivery of the new carts will mark the beginning of the new “single stream” recycling program for Miami-Dade County residential customers. In a “single stream” recycling program all recyclable materials can be placed in one container rather than separating paper products from other recyclable materials as it is done in the current “Dual Stream” program. The new recycling program will also accept more types of plastics and papers. The recycling materials will be collected every other week. “With more than 340,000 households, the new recycling program will be one of the largest single-stream recycling programs in the nation,” said Miami-Dade County Department of Solid Waste Management Director Kathleen Woods-Richardson.

Residents should continue to recycle with their two recycling bins until they have received their new recycling cart with their recycling schedule.  Once residents receive their new recycling carts, they are encouraged to take their empty old recycling bins to one of the County’s trash and recycling centers where the bins will be collected and recycled.

The trash and recycling center locations are:

North Dade, 21500 NW 47 Avenue

Norwood, 19901 NW 7 Avenue

Palm Springs North, 7870 NW 178 Street

Golden Glades, 140 NW 160 Street

West Little River, 1830 NW 79 Street

Sunset Kendall, 8000 SW 107 Avenue

Snapper Creek, 2200 SW 117 Avenue

Chapman Field, 13600 SW 60 Avenue

Richmond Heights, 14050 Boggs Drive

Eureka Drive, 9401 SW 184 Street

West Perrine, 16651 SW 107 Avenue

South Miami Heights, 20800 SW 117 Court

Moody Drive, 12970 SW 268 Street

For more information on the Department of Solid Waste Management services, visit their web site at www.miamidade.gov/dswm or dial 3-1-1, the County’s Answer Center.