Garbage  Trash  Recycling  Sweeping

The City of Miami curbside recycling program collects newspaper, aluminum, glass, tin cans and plastic bottles on a weekly basis.  All City of Miami residents in single family residences and up to three residential units have curbside recycling service available to them.  Participation varies according to neighborhood, with an average of 42% citywide.  City residents recycle 400 tons of newspaper and 225 tons of aluminum cans, glass bottles, jars and plastic bottles monthly. Recycling collection is provided on a weekly basis on one of the regular garbage days.

If you are not sure of your collection day, call 311 for assistance. Customers are provided one blue bin but may request a second one at no additional charge.

Find out what you can recycle and how.

All City of Miami residents with curbside garbage service now also have weekly curbside recycling service. All residents received a 14 gallon blue bin with a brochure. With curbside recycling you can now recycle paper, glass, aluminum/tin cans and plastic bottles in your blue bin with just a short trip to the curb. A paper grocery bag can be used for extra newspapers. Recycling is collected once a week on your assigned recycling day (the day is printed in the brochure that came with your box). A separate truck will come by to collect the recyclables. The recycling truck collects recyclables between 6:30am and 5:00pm.  We recycle type 1 (PETE) and type 2 (HDPE) plastic containers at your curbside (any color).

Why Recycle?

It's good for the environment; recycling conserves energy
It saves the earth and resources for future generations
It is the right thing to do!
It’s easy to participate

What can be recycled curbside in the blue recycling bin?

Brown, green and clear glass bottles and jars
Newspaper
Aluminum/tin cans
Milk & juice cartons made from paper
Plastics bottles (such as soft drinks, water, ketchup, shampoo, etc.)
 

What can't be recycled at this time?

Here are a few tips of what to leave out of your curbside recycling bin:

Used motor oil and motor oil containers (please place the containers in the garbage); and Paint cans (open up to let paint dry or use newspaper to soak up any remaining paint; take to the Home Chemical Collection Center that is located at 8831 NW 58th Street and its open every Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Batteries (AA, C and D batteries can go in the garbage. Button and nickel cadmium batteries from cell phones etc should be taken to a participating store such as Radio Shack, Target, Home Depot etc.) Plastic bags (these should go back to the grocery store for recycling), Paperboard boxes (cereal and cracker boxes and beer and soda holders), Corrugated cardboard (not collected in the blue bin). If you have a large quantity, call a local paper recycler.

Frequently Asked Recycling Questions

Q: Do I have to remove wrappers from aluminum cans and glass bottles and jars?

A: No, but please empty all remaining food and liquid from them. This will help keep your bin clean while aiding in the recycling process.

Q: What should I do with fluorescent light bulbs?

A: Residents are not required to recycle fluorescent bulbs, however, are encouraged to take them to one of the household chemical collection sites in Dade County. Contact the Miami Dade County Solid Waste Department at 305-594-1500 for further information.

Q: Can clean paper food boxes and egg crates be recycled with the newspapers?

A: Corrugated cardboard is recyclable, however it is not collected for recycling in the City of Miami’s recycling program. If you have a large quantity of cardboard, you can take it to a local paper recycler. Check the phone listings for one nearby. Paper food containers are usually a gray board material and should go in the garbage. Egg crates can be either paper or Styrofoam. Many supermarkets will accept the Styrofoam ones for recycling. They can also be reused for painting projects or other craft projects. The paper egg crates go with the garbage.

Q: Can I recycle yogurt and cottage cheese containers?

A: No. Please recycle narrow neck plastic bottles only such as soda and water bottles, cleaning products such as window cleaner, bathroom products such as shampoo and other food items such as ketchup etc.

Q. Can I recycle aerosol and other steel cans?

A: Aerosol cans are made from steel and are automatically recycled at the City's waste to energy facility. They are collected there by a large magnet and then sold to a metals recycler.

Q: Where do the recyclables collected at the curb go?

A: We are fortunate in the south to have reasonably good markets for recyclables. All materials go through an intermediate processor who prepares the materials for markets and ships them to the various paper mills and plastic or glass or aluminum plants. The City does receive some revenue for most of the materials, which is put towards the overall program cost. Revenues generate less than 10% of the overall program cost.

Q: What if I live in an apartment complex? Will the City provide recycling at our condo/apartment complex?

A: Yes, we provide containers for residents to recycle if they have a single family residence or an apartment complex of 3 or less units if they choose to have service with the City. More than three units need private service. Call the Solid Waste Customer Service line at 311 for further assistance.

Q: How is the success of the recycling program measured?

A: One determinate of success is participation. Placing your blue bin out once a month for collection is considered participating.

Q: What about yard waste? Where can it be recycled?

A: Solid Waste Department crews provide yard waste recycling to several areas in the city that has a high volume of yard waste. Once a week service is provided for only yard waste that is bundled and / or containerized. No container is provided by the city for this service.

Q: Who can I call with questions?

A: For general questions about recycling, please call 311.  

Recycling Tips....

• Rinse and step on plastic containers to provide more space in recycling bins and throw tops in with your garbage.
• Missed recycling, please call 311
• Blue bins must be within three (3) ft. of roadway
• Blue bins stay with property, please leave them if you move
• Stacking of blue bin on top of newspaper will keep paper dry during light rains.
• Heavy rain forecast, please hold for next blue sly recycling day
• Old telephone books can be recycled from November – February

Interesting Recycling Facts:
• Hotels will create 1.5 pounds of solid waste per day per room
• 1 ton of solid waste is equal to 3.5 cubic yards of solid waste
• Each person produces 3.5 pounds of solid waste per day
• One three foot stack of newspapers is equal to one tree, approximately 30 feet tall
• One three foot stack of newspaper weighs 100 pounds
• To make one ton of virgin paper uses 17 trees (3 2/3 acres of forest)
• 62,860 trees must be cut to provide pulp for a single edition of the Sunday New York Times.
• Recycling one aluminum can saves the energy equivalent to one cup of gasoline.
• A steel mill can reduce its water pollution 76% and mining wastes 97% using scrap metal, such as steel cans, instead of iron ore.
• In the summer, nearly one third of all summer waste handled by garbage haulers consists of grass clippings.
• In the fall, leaves comprise as much as half of all waste generated by residents.
• One dollar out of every $11 spent on groceries goes to pay for packaging
• 32% of all municipal waste is from packaging.
• Americans are the world’s trashiest people. US citizens consume more goods per capita than any other nation in the world.

Each Year We Throw Away:
• Enough aluminum to rebuild the entire American Airlines air fleet 71 times.
• Enough steel to reconstruct Manhattan
• Enough wood and paper to heat 5 million homes for 200 years.
• One third of all of the food we buy