​Waste and Recycling

​County Employees Reduce, Recycle and Reuse!

Broward County employees are fans of recycling, too – at home and at work. Most employees recycle everyday items such as paper, aluminum, glass, plastic bottles, cans and printer cartridges by placing them in conveniently-located containers throughout government facilities. There are also collection points for recyclable cell phones and batteries. Common office practices include:

• two-sided forms
• duplex copying – at Water and Wastewater Services Division, for example, every printer capable of printing in duplex has been configured to force duplex printing, reducing paper use by 40 percent over traditional printing methods.
• electronic report distribution – Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), for example, reduced its number of agenda packages from 120 to 55. This committee meets 10 times per year, and the number of pages in an agenda package is 95.
• electronic entry of data and reports by employees that work “in the field,” such as Animal Care and Permitting, Licensing and Consumer Protection staff
• document management systems that provide for electronic handling and archiving of important documents, dramatically reducing paper consumption
• online applications, such as the Human Resources Division’s employment application system 
  public records request fulfillment by electronic means – for example, 99 percent of public records requests to Broward County Transit’s Paratransit Services are handled electronically 
  

​ Waste-to-Energy Plants Save Millions of Barrels of Oil 

Broward County's two waste-to-energy plants are capable of processing 4,500 tons of waste per day. Primary functions of the plants include: to provide an environmentally safe and cost-effective solid waste disposal solution; to recover energy and recyclable ferrous metals; and to reduce the quantity of waste subject to landfilling. Annually, the plants generate enough electricity to service about 75,000 households in our community at an energy savings of about 2.8 million barrels of oil.

Convention Center Recycles on a Large Scale

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Center supports recycling in a very big way. This three-story, 600,000 square-foot facility is the site for conventions, trade shows, consumer shows and various special events. Their program includes:

• Cardboard, bulk cardboard and office paper products
• Commingled aluminum, glass, & plastic

Supplies purchased included:

• Products for housekeeping and food service made from recycled or compostable materials; where possible, chemical supplies are being changed to environmentally-friendly products
• Paper napkins, deli paper, food trays, coffee cups and sleeves are made from recycled paper
• Cups, to-go containers and cutlery are made from compostable materials such as potatoes and corn

In addition, leftover banquet food is donated to a local food bank.

Broward County Joins WasteWise

Broward County Government has joined the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) WasteWise program, a voluntary partnership program that seeks to reduce solid waste through innovative waste prevention and recycling techniques. The program asks that residents do what they can to prevent waste, use only the material needed to get the job done. More…