Waste and Recycling Cart Management Program

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2013

The Miami-Dade County Public Works and Waste Management Department (PWWM) maintains an inventory of waste and recycling carts for more than 320,000 households in unincorporated Miami-Dade County and eight municipalities within its waste collection service area. The PWWM also provides curbside recycling service to 28,000 households located in twelve municipalities outside its waste collection service area. Residents can choose from three different-sized carts, 96, 64 and 35 gallons, for both waste and recycling programs. Waste is collected curbside twice a week from the waste collection carts, and recycling is collected curbside every other week from the recycling carts. When residents contact the County’s 311 Information Center to report a damaged cart, staff will visit the home and will either make the repair on-site or, if the repair is beyond the capabilities of the cart crew, retrieve the cart and return it to the PWWM’s Cart Management Facility (CMF) for assessment and possible refurbishment.The PWWM spends approximately $800,000 per year replacing waste and recycling carts. Refurbishing damaged carts rather than disposing of them; disassembling carts and either reusing their parts or selling cart components for recycling; and aggressively pursuing warranty claims from the manufacturer, helped reduce overall program costs.