MILTON — City residents may be wondering why they are being reminded of what they can and cannot put in recycle bins.
According to Joe Cook, the director of public works for the city, Milton has continued collecting recyclables even though Santa Rosa County had stopped when the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority terminated their contract with the county in April 2019.
“We have never stopped collecting,” Cook said. “We take it to the county dump and they tell us where to put it.” Cook said, adding the county is responsible for transferring the city’s recyclables to the recycling center at ECUA.
The reminder is because the county ramps up their recycling program again on Feb. 3, according to Brand Bates, county public information officer. County officials will begin inspecting the recycled material to assure users are placing only approved recyclable materials in the bins.
One of the reasons cited by ECUA when they terminated the previous contract was high contamination rates from Santa Rosa County, and declining profits from recycling worldwide.
The problem with approved recyclables is educating residents on what is and is not allowed especially when each organization has slightly different listings.
There are some discrepancies when comparing the the city’s and county’s lists of approved recyclable materials, which are identical, to ECUA’s list of approved materials.
Milton lists pet food cans and dry pet food bags, aluminum foil baking pans, balls of tin foil and foil pie tins as approved items. ECUA has those same items on its prohibited list.
Bates said the Santa Rosa County Commission approved and signed a new contract with ECUA in December to accept recycled materials from the county. The contract does not include transporting the materials from the county’s central landfill to ECUA.
Bates said the county is working with a third party provider to haul the material from the county to the ECUA.
What can and can not be recycled for city of Milton residents.
Please recycle these items:
Glass – any color
Newspapers and inserts
Magazines and catalogs
Junk mail and envelopes
Cardboard
Phone books
Office and school paper (colored paper)
Brown paper bags (grocery)
Boxboard (cereal, cake and cracker boxes, etc.)
Pizza boxes
Plastic produce clamshells
Plastic no. 1 through 7
Plastic milk jugs, bottles and containers
Aluminum foil baking pans
Balls of tin foil and foil pie tins
Tin and steel cans and lids
Metal pots, pans and cookie sheets
Egg cartons, cardboard only
Do not recycle these items:
No plastic grocery bags
No empty plastic bags
No ice cream cartons
No waxy/paper milk cartons
No aerosol cans
No juice boxes/bags
No food waste
No garbage or yard waste
No garden hoses
No window blinds
No bubble wrap
No tarps
No bedding or linens
No carpet or rugs
No construction material
No clothes
No diapers
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosas Press Gazette: Milton wants residents to put the correct items in recycle bins