Our nation celebrated America Recycles Day November 15! And when Palm Beach County residents Recycle Right, their city celebrates all year long.
Every year, the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County shares recycling revenues with the cities it serves. In Fiscal Year 2019 (Oct. 1, 2018 to Sept. 30, 2019), more than $100,000 was shared with municipalities from Tequesta to Boca Raton. Since the SWA started the Municipal Revenue Share Program in 2010, local municipalities have shared almost $9.7 million.
The Municipal Revenue Share Program rewards the SWA’s municipal partners for the role they play in making Palm Beach County’s dual stream recycling program successful. Each city’s recyclables are transported to the SWA, and once the SWA has sorted, baled and sold those commodities, the revenue is shared back with the cities, after processing costs.
In the last fiscal year, county residents placed more than 90,000 tons of recyclables in their blue and yellow recycle bins. That’s more than 180 million pounds of recyclable waste that would have otherwise been trashed.
Ultimately, more than 73,500 tons of recyclables were sold to mills and factories that could use them in making materials for new products. The top recycled items were:
- Mixed paper – more than 22,300 tons
- Glass – more than 19,200 tons
- Cardboard – more than 16,700 tons
- Newspaper – more than 6,700 tons
- Plastic – more than 6,200 tons
- Steel – more than 1,300 tons
- Aluminum – more than 800 tons
- Cartons – more than 51 tons
The revenue received from marketing these recyclables varies due to market conditions and international policy. Since 2018, China’s National Sword policy has had the biggest impact on the reduction in recycling revenues.
The FY 2019 Municipal Revenue Share breakdown by municipality is as follows:
Atlantis
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $347.47
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 1,794.61
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $36,218.21
Belle Glade
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $295.95
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 1,467.74
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $29,676.33
Boca Raton
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $13,244.83
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 70,258.29
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $1,429,558.50
Boynton Beach
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $6,944.12
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 34,325.97
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $683,828.59
Briny Breezes
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $144.81
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 731.58
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $14,628.23
Cloud Lake
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $14.46
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 73.15
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $1,462.71
Delray Beach
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $8,889.39
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 44,746.45
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $894,205.53
Glen Ridge
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $28.96
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 – 146.32
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $2,925.76
Greenacres
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $4,241.99
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 21,726.16
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $436,512.79
Gulf Stream
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $173.73
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 874.98
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $17,020.23
Haverhill
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $202.69
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 – 1,024.18
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $20,478.82
Highland Beach
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $941.07
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 4,898.93
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $98,718.19
Hypoluxo
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $477.75
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 2,460.11
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $49,479.34
Juno Beach
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $767.31
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 3,777.49
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $74,207.17
Jupiter
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $7,731.15
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 37,879.23
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $750,013.96
Jupiter Inlet Colony
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $72.36
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 365.81
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $7,315.04
Lake Clarke Shores
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $419.86
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 – 2,152.93
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $43,402.97
Lake Park
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $695.31
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 3,728.46
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $71,674.34
Lake Worth Beach
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $3,887.05
Total Tons Recycled since joining the program in 2019 – 1,869.01
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2019 - $3,887.05
Lantana
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $1,331.98
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 7,150.38
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $149,899.40
Loxahatchee Groves
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $376.44
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 1,895.26
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $37,998.90
Manalapan
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $108.95
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 474.86
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $9,122.15
Mangonia Park
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $188.23
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 – 951.06
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $19,017.31
North Palm Beach
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $2,698.58
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 13,451.87
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $264,211.31
Ocean Ridge
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $390.90
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 – 2,014.07
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $40,606.24
Pahokee
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $492.21
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 2,648.55
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $54,170.71
Palm Beach
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $2,884.78
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 15,217.00
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $302,398.81
Palm Beach Gardens
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $7,571.91
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 37,684.93
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $751,309.06
Palm Beach Shores
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $318.52
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 1,609.34
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $32,181.48
Palm Springs
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $2,475.70
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 11,630.82
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $226,276.25
Riviera Beach
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $4,430.20
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 23,441.71
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $475,556.16
Royal Palm Beach
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $4,262.46
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 19,195.14
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $376,259.53
South Bay
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $275.08
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 1,393.11
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $28,341.81
South Palm Beach
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $419.86
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 2,167.47
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $43,627.76
Tequesta
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $839.72
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 4,341.59
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $87,368.19
Village of Golf
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $43.42
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 243.14
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $5,225.54
Wellington
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $7,968.43
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 34,375.34
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $669,377.30
Westlake
FY 2020 Total Revenue -
Total Tons Recycled since starting their own collection in 2020 -
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since starting their own collection service in 2020 -
West Palm Beach
FY 2019 Total Revenue - $13,826.31
Total Tons Recycled since 2010 - 70,087.91
Total Municipal Revenue Share received since 2010 - $1,407,677.66
Each municipality spends their portion of the Municipal Revenue Share as they see fit.
The net Municipal Revenue Share for each municipality consists of the total recovered residential materials revenue received by the SWA for each quarter less the processing cost for that quarter. That amount is divided by the total tons received to determine an average price per ton and multiplied by the adopted annual Municipal Revenue Share percentage (50% in FY 19) to set the program price for the quarter. The revenue received from recovered materials varies depending on market prices and availability.
Self-haul municipalities receive their Municipal Revenue Share based on the actual weight of acceptable loads delivered to an approved SWA facility. The other municipalities, who share a common hauler, share the balance of those revenues in proportion with their total equivalent residential unit (ERU), which is calculated with single family and mobile homes as 1 ERU each and multifamily homes as 0.75 ERU per unit.
In addition, more than 4M pounds of home chemicals were collected to be safely disposed of or recycled. The most dropped off home chemicals were:
- Latex paint – more than 2,156,000 pounds
- Electronics – more than 864,000 pounds
- Used motor oil – more than 451,000 pounds
- Cylinders/propane tanks – more than 179,000 pounds
- Corrosives – more than 68,000 pounds
- Batteries (lead acid) – more than 63,000 pounds
- Pesticides and poisons – more than 45,000 pounds
Though this effort is not a part of the traditional Municipal Revenue Share program, it does demonstrate that our county’s residents do take an active role to dispose of items the right way.
Learn what goes in the blue and yellow recycling bins at SWA.org/RecycleRight.
Learn what home chemicals require special disposal at SWA.org/HCRC.
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