JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — John Williams of Jacksonville is serious about recycling.
"I do it for the earth because I grew up green," Williams explained.
He has a can crusher in his backyard. He crushes his and his friends cans, and he doesn’t even put them on the curb. To make sure they are recycled correctly, he said he takes the cans to the recycler himself.
However, he, like the rest of the residents in Jacksonville, still pay the city a $12 a month for a solid waste disposal fee that is supposed to cover curbside recycling pickup. That fee has continued even though there is a pause on recycling pickup.
"We don’t have a choice do we? So yes, I am still paying it," Williams said.
So where is that money going if it’s not going toward recycling pick-up?
First Coast News checked and according to the city council auditor’s office, the $12 fee is still going into something called the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund. It’s an account that helps pay only some of the cost to pick up garbage, yard debris, and recycling.
According to the city council auditor’s office, the fund is getting bigger because while you continue to pay for recycling pick-up, it’s not being spent to cover that cost right now.
According to the mayor’s office, the city collects about $3.5 million a month for residential solid waste collection. Howver, that’s not enough to cover the entire multi-million dollar solid waste price tag. A loan from the city’s general fund pays for the rest of the trash and recycling bill.
The mayor’s office wants the city council to remember that cost when, or if, it considers lifting the recycling portion from your $12 monthly fee.
Meanwhile, Williams will continue to take his recyclables to a private recycler and hopes there is a recycling lesson here for Jacksonville.
"Hopefully we find out the right thing and the best way to recycle and recycle properly," Williams said.