Recycling

Recycling is the easiest way to decrease waste while reusing the old product to make something new. Used aluminum can make new cans and used glass turned into new bottles, while used tires can become vehicle floor mats and plastic soda bottles new park benches.

For Miami-Dade customers, recycling is easy: All recyclables can be placed in one single blue recycling cart. The Department of Solid Waste Management offers recycling services to unincorporated Miami-Dade County residents, as well as 20 municipalities, totaling more than 340,000 homes.

• What’s recyclable in the cart:
  • Paper products (newspaper, office paper, junk mail, phone books, catalogs, magazines, shoe boxes, paperboard boxes that have held cereal, cookies, crackers, pasta, etc.)
  • Cardboard
  • Narrow-Neck Plastic Containers (without caps or lids)
  • Aseptic Containers (juice boxes, coated paperboard milk and juice cartons)
  • Glass bottles and jars that are clear, brown or green
  • Metals
• What’s not recyclable in the cart:
  • Plastic bags
  • Polystyrene products
  • Home chemicals
  • Electronics
  • Garbage, debris, dirt or yard trash
  • Other glass products: window or auto glass, light bulbs, fluorescent bulbs, mirrors, cookware, ceramics

Other household items and electronic equipment can be recycled at various locations in Miami-Dade (note: these facilities are only for residential waste; only Miami-Dade County waste collection customers can use Trash and Recycling Centers, while all residents can take items to Home Chemical Collection Centers.)

• Electronics recycling – Computers, televisions, audio and video equipment, cellular phones and more can be taken to Trash and Recycling Centers (only Miami-Dade County waste customers can use these facilities) or Home Chemical Collection Centers (all residents can use them)
• Household appliances – Refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, water heaters, washers and dryers can be dropped off at Trash and Recycling Centers (only Miami-Dade County waste customers can use these facilities)
• Home chemical collection -- compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL’s), non-rechargeable alkaline household batteries and certain rechargeable batteries, oil-based paints, pesticides, solvents can be taken to a Home Chemical Collection Center (all residents can use them). Read more about the program.
• Sharps disposal – medical waste such as syringes, needles can be disposed at Miami-Dade County Health Department-approved locations

Read more about recycling at home, in apartments and condos, or at businesses.