St. Johns County Solid Waste Division
The Curbside Times
October 2024 Newsletter
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The Solid Waste Division is dedicated to delivering sustainable services to meet the community's ever-changing solid waste management needs. With weekly curbside collections for over 100,000 residential units, we take pride in serving our community and providing the high-quality and timely services that every resident deserves. | |
Residents are Asked to Follow the Yard Waste Guidelines
Following Hurricane Helene
To ensure efficient curbside collection and avoid delays, residents are asked to follow these guidelines:
- Yard waste will be picked up on regular collection days.
- Stack branches (each under six feet in length and 50 pounds) neatly at the curb.
- Bag, bundle, or place leaves, grass clippings, and small debris in a container with a maximum capacity of 32 gallons and a weight limit of 50 pounds.
- Stack palm fronds in piles with the fan facing away from the curb.
- With large amounts, stack in neat piles. (If it has to be pulled apart, it will not be collected.)
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Recycling Stats
St. Johns County 2023
Every year, St. Johns County submits an Annual Solid Waste Management Report to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The goal is to capture and document commercial and residential recycling tonnages and composition.
Total Municipal Solid Waste Collected = 675,725 tons / Total Recycled = 262,456 tons
Recycling Rate = 39% (16th in the State!)
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Glass = 5,556 tons
Aluminum Cans = 334 tons
Plastic Bottles = 1,711 tons
Steel Cans = 343 tons
Corrugated Paper = 15,880 tons
Office Paper = 460 tons
Yard Trash = 68,756 tons
Tires = 613 tons
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Other Plastics = 565 tons
Ferrous Metals = 6,156 tons
White Goods = 1,137 tons
Non-Ferrous Metals = 84,720 tons
Other Paper = 5,941 tons
C&D = 61,745 tons
Food = 4,430 tons
Miscellaneous = 4,108 tons
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A lot of this data comes from working with local businesses, scrappers, and recyclers. If you own a business with a recycling program in St. Johns County, please reach out to us at
solidwaste@sjcfl.us. Reporting your recycling data helps us as a county as we try to increase our recycling rate and divert more waste from the landfill!
Click the button below to learn more:
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Tips for a Spooky & Sustainable Halloween | |
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Instead of buying costumes that will only get worn once:
- Get creative with clothes you already own
- Go to a thrift store for clothing or fabric
- Borrow items from family and friends
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After Halloween, instead of throwing your pumpkins away, donate them to local zoos or animal sanctuaries, fill them with bird seed, or compost them with your other organic waste | |
Find a storage bin and reuse your Halloween decorations every year. It may be tempting to get new, cheap decorations each year, but they can fall apart quickly. This can cost more in the long run and produce a lot of unnecessary waste. | |
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Sharps Disposal
St. Johns County Residents
Flagler Hospital (UF Health St. Johns) is no longer participating in the Sharps Disposal Program. St. Johns County residents may safely dispose of biohazardous medical waste, such as syringes with attached needles and disposable lancets, at the following site:
HCA Florida Julington Creek Emergency
42 Doctors Village Drive
St. Johns, FL 32259
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You can recycle anything with a plug, battery or cable! The goal of International E-Waste Day (October 14) is to raise awareness about how and why we should recycle old electronics.
Some examples are: electrotonic toys, e-cigarettes, power tools, smoke detectors, wearables, smart home gadgets, ebikes and e-scooters or simply cables.
Old electronics can always be brought to one of our Drop-Off Locations free-of-charge during operating hours Monday - Saturday.
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Join the West Augustine Improvement Association and help clean and restore two of the oldest African American cemeteries (Pinehurst & San Sebastian) in Florida!
When: Saturday, October 19
Time: 8 a.m. - Noon
Where: 711 Pearl Street, St. Augustine
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When: Saturday, October 26
Sustainability Day is celebrated on October 26 and was created to remind us of the importance of protecting the environment. Sustainability can be defined as a goal for people to coexist on Earth over a long period of time. It requires us to live within our means, find harmony with nature, and balance social, economic, and environmental demands. We should all want to live in a way that preserves our resources and way of life for the next generation.
The best way is to practice the Sustainable R's (Refuse, Reduce, Rot, Reuse, Repurpose, & Recycle).
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Roadway Cleanup 2024
Vikings Days of Service
Last month, the Solid Waste Division partnered with St. Johns River State College on their Vikings Days of Service to host the inaugural Roadway Cleanup 2024. Multiple litter hotspots throughout the county were targeted by students and faculty to collect a total of 250 lbs. of trash! Even Capt. Reducio and Viktor the Viking came out to help.
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This was another successful event under the umbrella of St. Johns County's Award-Winning GET HOOKED Anti-Litter Initiative. To learn more and see how you can get involved, click the button below.
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Waterway Cleanup
Hospital Creek
Last month, the Solid Waste Division partnered with Parks & Recreation and the Matanzas Riverkeeper for a successful cleanup of Hospital Creek. By way of boats and kayaks, volunteers were able to collect 940 lbs. of trash. Thanks to all the participants who worked hard to remove this trash from our local waterways!
Matanzas Riverkeeper is an official member of our Adopt-A-Road Program. Click the button to learn more and see how you can get involved.
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Outreach Presentation
Del Webb Nocatee Women's Club
Last month, Matthew Denny gave a presentation about recycling, sustainability, and litter prevention for the Del Webb Nocatee Women's Club.
They also held a "Purses with a Purpose" silent auction and raised $700 for the Betty Griffin Center.
A few days later, they joined forces with Keep St. Johns County Beautiful for International Coastal Cleanup and collected over 30 lbs. of trash off Vilano Beach!
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Download the St. Johns County Recycle Coach App
Become a Better Recycler
Download the app or go to www.RecycleStJohns.com to get your curbside collection schedule, sign up for alerts, and quickly learn how to properly dispose of different waste materials.
Download the Recycle Coach App and become a better recycler today!
Apple App Store | Google Play
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Annual Recycling Knowledge Survey
Recycle Coach
The Annual Recycling Knowledge Survey is live now on the Recycle Coach mobile and web app!
What you need to know:
- This year's survey runs until October 31
- Residents will be asked to complete a picture tap quiz on 27 different material groups, along with 5 survey questions
- This survey is exclusively sponsored by Recycle Coach
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Top Material Searches on Recycle Coach
from September 2024.
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Residential construction & demolition debris can be brought to one of our Drop-Off Locations. | |
Consider donating old clothes, shoes, and linens to a local charity or nonprofit organization. | |
Schedule a collection by calling (904)-827-6980 or bring to one of our Drop-Off Locations. | |
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Total Recycled
(January - September 2024)
14,513 tons
| Our goal at the Solid Waste Division is to divert as much waste as we can from the landfill. One of the best ways to do this is through our residential curbside recycling program. This Trash Tracker shows how well we're doing in St. Johns County. | |
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Total Flags
(Collected to date):
13,775 flags
| The American Flag Rescue Program provides residents with the opportunity to properly retire flags with honor and respect. American Flag Drop Boxes are available to the public in over 25 locations throughout St. Johns County. | |
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Total Litter
(Collected to date):
9,083 pounds
| The St. Johns County Adopt-A-Road program provides an opportunity for residents, businesses, nonprofits, and community groups to adopt sections of county road and help remove litter and debris in an effort to keep St. Johns County beautiful. | |
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