Residential Recycling in Florida: A Case Study on Costs, Environmental Impacts, and Improvement Strategies

In a global context, recycling initiatives are undergoing significant transformations, with some programs facing the possibility of discontinuation. This shift is attributed to the recycling industry grappling with historically high processing fees and record-low commodity prices in recent years. Notably, certain local governments, such as those in Florida, have responded by implementing measures to either restrict the range of materials accepted in their recycling programs or completely terminate these initiatives. Addressing these challenges, this study focused on developing a model designed to estimate waste management costs and assess the associated lifecycle environmental impacts for residential households in Florida. The model utilized region-specific data, including landfill and Waste-to-Energy (WTE) fees, costs and frequency of waste and recyclables collection, Material Recovery Facility (MRF) processing fees, composition of recyclables and waste, contamination rates in recyclables, and revenue generated from recyclables sale. This data were used to explore various alternative changes to recycling programs, such as the complete removal of the program, increased recycling rates, exclusion of glass from recycling, and targeting specific high-value commodity materials. Discontinuing recycling programs can save households $28-$78 per year, but in cases with strong markets and high MRF revenue sharing, economic benefits may be lost. Dependent on the environmental indicator, this decision can also result in increased environmental impacts, with 0.34–2.4 times higher greenhouse gas emissions. Our analysis found that a targeted recyclables program, focusing on high-value materials, reduced both environmental impacts and system costs.