Lee County takes Florida’s No. 2 recycling spot

Fort Myers, FL – Lee County residents and businesses recycled 76% of the waste generated countywide in 2020, earning second place in the state. Charlotte and Pinellas counties tied for the top spot with 78% recycling rates.

Lee County received credit for recycling 1.6 million of the total 2.2 million tons of waste generated locally in 2020, according to numbers recently released by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

The amount of material Lee County residents recycled in 2020 would be enough to fill 152 football fields with material 70 feet high – as high as the tallest point of the Sanibel Bridge.

“Lee County has been in the Top 10 recycling counties ever since Florida began tracking in 2000,” said Doug Whitehead, Solid Waste director, “And, we enjoy a healthy competition with Charlotte and Pinellas over who can recycle the most each year.”

Recycling credits include curbside recycling by residents as well as business recycling of materials such as cardboard, yard waste, scrap metal and construction and demolition debris, among other items. Lee County also receives recycling credit for energy produced from garbage processed at the waste-to-energy plant in Buckingham.

Overall waste generation in the county decreased 63,000 tons, or 2.76%, from 2019 to 2020.