WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – Amid rising costs, the city of Winter Garden may be trashing its recycling collection services.
During a meeting on Thursday, the city commission will hear a first reading of an ordinance that would end the requirement of the city to provide recycling for residents.
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According to the ordinance, a significant portion of materials collected by the city for recycling end up in the landfill because they’re not marketable for recycling. The city also said market conditions surrounding the collection of recycled materials have led to a significant cost increase.
Maryann Woloshin lives in Winter Garden and learned about the proposed ordinance on Wednesday.
“It’s disappointing because we’ve been doing it all along for so long,” Woloshin said. “If the city does move forward with this and put an end to the recycling program, I guess I’d just throw my recyclables away.”
Other municipalities have expressed similar concerns with recycling. In 2019, the city of Deltona voted to suspend its recycling program. The same year, Orange County said it had an 85% rejection rate because of contaminated materials.
Winter Garden commissioners will hear the first reading of the city’s proposed ordinance at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. A second reading will happen on Dec. 12.
If Winter Garden approves the ordinance, recycling collection will come to an end in January.
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