The City of Jacksonville is automating it’s curbside recycling program. That means new recycling bins for residents.
"Soon, three-fourths of the city will have the new carts," said Jeff Foster, director of Solid Waste for the City of Jacksonville.
The new recycling bins have bright yellow lids and they will be picked up every-other week by a truck with a big mechanical arm. And they can hold much more than the old blue bins.
"All the plastics 1-7, metals, glass, paper, cardboard, styrofoam...even cellophane wrapping from packaging," said Foster.
The Westside is served by an independent contractor and will be the last area to get put on the new automated collection system.
The new bins are part of the City’s push to meet Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s goal of pulling 75 percent of recyclable materials out of the garbage stream by 2020.
The Jacksonville metro area generates around 700,000 tons of landfill garbage and collects about 25,000 tons of recyclable material every year. Officials hope to double recycled material collection by 2020.
