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Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry: Curbside recycling returning April 4

David Bauerlein
Florida Times-Union

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry announced Tuesday that curbside recycling will return on April 4, giving residents some light at the end of the tunnel after the service was suspended in early October during a rash of complaints about missed collections.

Curry said the city's trash haulers have caught up and are ready to add back curbside recycling to the ongoing collection of household garbage and yard debris.

The biggest change will be for residents who have been hauling recyclable items to drop-off sites set up around Jacksonville, mainly in city parks, so they could keep such items out of the landfill.

"I'm grateful to our citizens for their patience during these challenging and unprecedented times as we've faced issues happening in cities throughout the nation," Curry wrote in a tweet.

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When the suspension started on Oct. 4, city officials had used a figure of six months for how long the pause might last, putting resumption sometime in April. Curry's announcement puts the return of recycling in that time frame.

City Council member Matt Carlucci, who has had townhall meetings on bringing back recycling, said residents will be glad to see a date they can circle on their calendars.

"There will be feelings of relief, there will be feelings of hope, and there will always be feelings of 'Why did it take so long?'" Carlucci said. "But at the end of the day, I think the majority of our citizens will be happy we're getting it back and we've got a date solid."

The city of Jacksonville will return curbside recycling pickup on April 4, which will let people put recyclable items in front of their homes rather than hauling them to sites set up in parks around the city. Mayor Lenny Curry made the announcement Tuesday.

Waste haulers have faced difficulty filling positions, particularly for drivers with commercial licenses, in a tight labor market that has seen driver shortages nationwide in many lines of work. The staffing gaps prevented waste haulers from fully operating all the routes for collecting garbage, recycling and yard debris.

"The reason for the temporary suspension was to allow our contractors and city crews to respond to labor challenges and reduce the number of missed collections," Curry said in a tweet. "We've seen notable progress and therefore, we are prepared to resume services."

While complaints have dropped sharply, the resumption of curbside recycling on April 4 will test the city because springtime brings more yard debris as people trim trees and hedges.

City Council member Ron Salem, who will convene the first meeting Thursday of a special committee examining all aspects of solid waste collection, said he's pleased recycling is coming back.

He said in the weeks to come, the city needs to do a large-scale public education campaign about any changes in the schedule for recycling and what items people should put in their recycling bins.

A review of the city's recycling program in 2020 showed almost 20 percent of what goes into curbside recycling bins ends up getting tossed after the material is picked up and sorted.

"There's just a lot of work to be done if we're going to effectively implement it on April 4," Salem said.

The special committee's mission will start with examining curbside recycling but it also will examine what the city pays to haulers, what the city charges to residents for the garbage fee, and how the overall collection system is set up.

"Those who, like me, have been transporting the recycling material to various parks and other sites won't have to do that any more, but I think they want a program that is as efficient and cost-effective as we can make it," Salem said.

Carlucci said the suspension showed people want the recycling service so they can reduce how much garage ends up in the landfill.

"I give high marks to the mayor for making this announcement," he said. "Jacksonville wants to recycle. I think that's a sign of a city that cares about itself."