The Sunshine State has long been known for its progressive social and ecological programs. From the Super Fund cleanup initiative to its ambitious attempts to preserve the Everglades, Florida has consistently been on the front lines of the battle to preserve natural habitats.
Given its history, it should come as no surprise that Florida recently became one of the first states to promote a new monofilament recycling program, designed to prevent fishing lines and lures from entering estuaries and oceans. By installing disposal containers on beaches and docks, the State of Florida has created a safe disposal site for excess fishing line. The effects of fishing line can be deadly, from suffocating fish populations to trapping ospreys and other members of the bird family. Since Florida’s aggressive recycling program began, other states, such as Maryland, have instituted their own monofilament recycling programs. Fishing line is just one of many things recycled in Florida, a new Sunshine State program has made it possible to recycle tires with 100% efficiency.
A Florida startup, Florida Tire Recycling, Inc. (FTR) has created a process by which they can recover, reuse, and recycle 100% of America’s used waste tires. In an interview with FTR, these tires were rated as one of America’s greatest sustainable resources. FTR uses the tires to create rubber granules, which can be melted and molded in a multitude of uses, from tennis shoes to bathroom rugs, all without landfill waste. These granules can also be used to create the next generation of tires, fostering the cycle of waste reduction and reuse. Tires aren’t the only thing recycled on America’s largest peninsula – Florida’s latest program has surprised a lot of people.
While it may seem like a process that is not for the squeamish, solid waste recycling is actually a very sanitary process and necessary in civic planning and protecting the environment. Florida currently recycles about 24% of its solid waste, and most of its recycling programs are single-stream programs. Single-stream recycling is innovative in that it allows users to mix plastic, glass, and cardboard in the same container, without the need to separate it. Many communities still use facilities that cannot handle single stream recycling processes and still require residents to separate their trash into all three categories.
In truth, Florida has long been one of the most forward-thinking states in terms of the green and environmental programs they institute to protect the world we live in. We have already seen how much can happen when a single state steps forward and sets an example for the rest of them. It might be all of that coastal territory, but one way or another, they are continually ahead of the curve in terms of environmental policy and will hopefully continue to set a positive example for the other 49 US states.