WEST PALM BEACH, FL-- You've probably seen the new commercials in which a spokeswoman says, "Here at the Solid Waste Authority we have some green news that will change the way you recycle."
But what has changed? Well for starters a brand new plant on 45th street in West Palm Beach.
"This is our new recovered materials processing facility, so this is where "away" is. When you put that stuff out at the curb and somebody takes it away, this is away," said Marc Bruner, Chief Administrative Officer for the Solid Waste Authority in Palm Beach County.
And a lot of stuff moves through the new facility.
"Close to one hundred thousand tons of material a year," said Susan Chapman, Recycling Program Development Coordinator for the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County.
Aside from the city of Lake Worth, which is working with a private contractor, the rest of Palm Beach County still has a two bin system.
"There's the blue bin for the containers, and there's the yellow bin for the paper," said Bruner.
The recyclable material is taken to the new plant and dumped, sorted, and put into bales to be shipped out to material processors all over the world.
And with new capabilities at the plant, you can add steel cans to your container bin, and lots more to your paper bin.
"Anything from your pastas, goldfish crackers, and tissue boxes, cereal boxes, that all can go in your yellow bin now," said Chapman.
And as we get into this giving time of year, the Solid Waste Authority is happy to take all of recyclable gifts, even if you’re not sure if it can be recycled.
"So if you have any question for paper or for a container, it's probably just simpler to put it in the bin," said Bruner.
With so much more able to be recycled, it could make things a lot less stressful this holiday season.
