Recycling
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Recycling for Single Family Homes
Miami-Dade County provides recycling service for single-family homes in Sunny Isles Beach. Residential recycling takes place once every other week on Mondays. For most customers, the cost of the service is included in the waste fee as a non-ad valorem assessment on your annual tax bill.
How to Request a Recycling Cart
When you move into an existing home, a recycling cart should already be there. If you don’t find one, call 311 to place an order.
You may also call 311 to confirm the account has been updated under your name. If it has not, you will be required to provide proof of ownership such as a copy of your warranty deed or your closing statement.
If you’re the owner of a newly-constructed home, call the department’s Residential Billing Unit at 305.594.1630. An account will be created and your recycling cart ordered. Carts will not be delivered until the home is occupied, so please order your cart once you’ve moved in.
Request an Additional Recycling Cart
Miami-Dade County Department of Solid Waste Management customers may request one (1) additional blue recycling cart for their property for no additional charge.
To request an additional recycling cart, please complete and submit the Additional Recycling Cart Request Form
Guidelines
Place your blue recycling cart at the curb by 7 a.m. on your scheduled recycling day (Monday).
Place the cart within 3 feet of the street and at least 5 feet from mailboxes, parked cars, garbage cart or other obstacles. The wheels must face your home.
Do not overfill your cart. If items in the cart are not loose, they can get stuck inside the cart and prevent whatever is underneath from being emptied. Do not stack items on top of or alongside your recycling cart. They can’t and won’t be collected.
Do not place your recyclables inside plastic bags. Plastic bags damage the equipment at the recycling facility.
What to recycle – the Simple 5
Miami-Dade County’s curbside recycling program has made it easier for residents to Recycle Right with The Simple 5:
- Paper: clean and dry newspapers, magazines, catalogs, telephone books, printer paper, copier paper, mail and all other office paper without wax liners
- Cardboard: packing boxes, cereal boxes, gift boxes and corrugated cardboard; Flatten all boxes before placing them in your cart
- Cans: steel and aluminum food & beverage cans; Aluminum bottles are also accepted
- Cartons: aseptic poly-coated drink boxes, juice cartons and milk cartons
- Bottles: (plastic & glass) – plastic bottles* milk, water, detergent, soda and shampoo (flatten and replace cap); glass bottles
*Numbers on plastics are no longer useful indicators of recyclability. Miami-Dade County recycles plastic bottle containers regardless of the number listed.
More Tips
- Find out how to dispose of certain items, including batteries, light bulbs, assorted liquids and more.
- Play the Ready, Set, Recycle! game to know what belongs in a recycling bin and what doesn’t.
What not to recycle
- Plastic bags: do not place recyclables in plastic bags or place loose plastic bags in the recycling cart
- Pizza boxes
- Paper or cardboard soiled with liquid or food waste
- Batteries: dry cell batteries, lead acid batteries. See what to do with batteries
- Certain plastics: plastic bags, cups, utensils and plates, clamshell containers, polystyrene (foam) products, egg cartons and trays, margarine and butter tubs, yogurt cups, plastic hangers
- Certain glass products: window or auto glass, light bulbs, mirrors, glass cookware or bakeware, ceramics
- Other non-recyclables: wire coat hangers, small appliances, microwave trays
- Home chemicals: paints, pesticides, pool chemicals, fertilizers and other household hazardous waste
- Garbage/food waste or other nonrecyclable waste: gas cylinders, tanks, rocks, dirt, building debris, garden hoses, flammables
- Medical waste and pharmaceutical
- Electronic waste and accessories: PCs, monitors, televisions, printer cartridges, keyboards, cell phones, CDs and DVDs
- Textiles: clothes, shoes, bedding, pillows, etc.
Complete list from A to Z – recycle, trash or other
Still not sure whether to disposal of or recycle a certain item? View the complete list of Recycling A to Z items to know which items belong in A) recycle cart; B) trash bin or C) taken somewhere for disposal.
If you do not see your item on the list, email the Department of Solid Waste Management at dswm@miamidade.gov.
Service Complaint
If your recyclables are not picked up on your collection day, call 311 or submit a service request online to report the missed pickup. If you call later than 3 business days after your scheduled pickup day, you will have to wait for the next regular pickup day.
Special Assistance
If you are disabled or need assistance moving your recycling cart to the curb, you can apply for special assistance service by calling 311 or 305.468.5900.
Fees
This service is provided through your $464 fee which is a non-ad valorem assessment your annual tax bill.
Recycling in Condos & Multifamily Buildings
Recycling in multifamily residences such as apartment buildings and condominiums is mandatory. Services can be provided by a permitted hauler, private recycling hauler or their appropriate governmental agency.
For additional information, visit www.miamidade.gov/recycling.
Establish a Program
All units must recycle the following:
- Glass, food and beverage containers, such as soda, juice and salad dressing containers
- Aluminum cans
- Newspapers, without their plastic delivery bags
- Household plastic containers, such as soda, milk, juice and water containers, as well as dishwashing and laundry detergent bottles
- Steel cans
Modified Recycling Programs
A condominium or apartment building can request to be approved for a “modified” recycling program. Call the Department first, and complete the Modified Recycling Program Form.
There are four modified program options:
- Collect your recyclables and take them directly to a recycler for sale and processing.
- Substitute recyclable materials not included on our list, as long as your suggested materials comprise a greater portion of your waste than any of the materials listed. Keep receipts to substantiate recycling activity.
- Recycle less than the three materials required, as long as the recyclable materials you don’t recycle comprise less than 5 percent of your waste.
- Hire a permitted private hauler to collect recyclable materials at your establishment and separate them at a permitted materials recovery facility.
At times, one of four modified recycling programs can be created.
Requirements
Apartment complexes or condominiums that don’t comply could be fined. Fines range from $300 to $950 based on the number of units on the property and can be assessed daily until compliance is met.
Recycling for Businesses
Business owners in Miami-Dade County must provide a recycling program for their employees and tenants, using the services of a permitted hauler or private recycling hauler. Your current waste hauler may also provide recycling services.
Miami-Dade County will provide technical assistance to help your business comply with the recycling law.
For additional information, visit www.miamidade.gov/recycling.
Establish a Program
Establish a recycling program that includes at least 3 items from this list:
- High-grade office paper
- Steel
- Mixed paper
- Glass
- Corrugated cardboard
- Textiles
- Wood
- Plastics
- Scrap production metals
- Aluminum
Select a permitted hauler or call a private recycling vendor to have your recyclable materials.
Design your Recycling Program
- Appoint a recycling coordinator.
- Select which materials to recycle.
- Identify the types of containers you need, how many and where to place them.
- Create a central location for collecting and hauling recyclables.
- Educate employees on the benefits of recycling.
Modified Recycling Programs
Because not all businesses are alike, you can request to be approved for a “modified” recycling program. Call the Department first, and complete the Modified Recycling Program Form.
There are four modified program options:
- Collect your recyclables and take them directly to a recycler for sale and processing.
- Substitute recyclable materials not included on our list, as long as your suggested materials comprise a greater portion of your waste than any of the materials listed. Keep receipts to substantiate recycling activity.
- Recycle less than the 3 materials required, as long as the recyclable materials you don’t recycle comprise less than 5 percent of your waste.
- Hire a permitted private hauler to collect recyclable materials at your establishment and separate them at a permitted materials recovery facility.
At times, one of four modified recycling programs can be created.
Requirements
Businesses that don’t comply with creating a recycling program could be fined. Fines range from $300 to $950 based on the square footage of the commercial establishment and can be assessed daily until compliance is met.
Sunny Isles Beach is ECOMMITTED
As part of our pledge to be “ECOMMITTED,” the City of Sunny Isles Beach is increasing recycling efforts in our parks and on our beach. Recycling bins can be found at Pelican Community Park, Samson Oceanfront Park, Town Center Park, Gateway Park and our beach access pathways. Temporary recycling bins are also located at all of our special events.
The recyclables with the greatest impact are bottles, cans and paper. When it comes to plastic bottles, caps are now recyclable, but you must place them back on the empty container before tossing them in the bin. Be mindful that placing non-recyclable garbage into recycling containers increases the cost of the recycling process and increases the cost of garbage and recycling collection service. The best practice is to put all the right recyclables in the recycling container and all non-recyclables in the trash can. In Sunny Isles Beach, we have single stream recycling, which means that all recycling bins collect cans, plastic bottles, paper, cardboard, and magazines. We do not, however, collect glass objects. Please be sure to place any glass in the trash can.
All inquiries about recycling programs for single-family homes, multifamily buildings and businesses in Sunny Isles Beach should be directed to the Miami-Dade County Department of Solid Waste Management at 305.514.6666 or dswm@miamidade.gov.
For additional information, visit www.miamidade.gov/recycling.