Is there recycling in The Villages?

"Is there recycling in The Villages?" Short answer is, no, you do not separate your trash into recycled bins for pickup. The long answer is, kind of. All the trash that is picked up at your curbside is transported to the Covanta energy from waste plant in Okahumpka, Florida and turned into electricity from combustion. So even though there is no recycling, your trash does not end up in a landfill. This type of recycling is designed to reduce the release of methane gas from landfills. The combustion provides enough electricity to run 8100 households for a year. Once the trash is combusted, the ash is sifted for metals that are then recycled. Check out Covanta.com for information and in-person tours of the local plant. In The Villages, there is twice weekly garbage pick-up. Trash cans are not allowed and Villagers are to put their household waste into tied plastic trash bags at the end of their driveway. Trash can be placed no earlier than 5:00 PM the evening before and no later than 6:00AM the day of pickup. Lawn waste can also be placed out with household waste. Branches are to be shorter than four feet in length. Hazardous waste, such as paint, oil, chemicals, and needles, can be taken to locations nearby for Amnesty Day collections. Large item pickup is also available by appointment. Call 352-787-4416 or if you live south of 44 call 352-750-000 to schedule your appointment for pickup. People who move here often worry that dogs or raccoons will get into the trash bags out for pickup. I was worried, too! But we have never had a problem.

For the hard-core recyclers, there are always drop-off spots for glass, corrugated cardboard, plastic bags, and even plastic. There are also electronics recycling companies near-by. There is one who even comes to your house to pick up used computers, CDs, DVD, cords, phones, etc!

Trash pick-up without a trash can was a bit of getting used to. I kept waiting to wake up to a huge trash mess to clean-up if I put the trash out the night before. It's never happened, though. Another aspect to having trashcan-less pick-up is; where do you store your trash bag with trash until pick-up day? I have seen folks who have a trash can with a lid in the garage to put full trash sacs, so the trash odor doesn't linger in the garage until trash day. The reality is, many Villagers eat out or cook only a little, resulting in only one trash bag for pick-up day. Most times, we just lift out our trash bag the night before and take it straight to the curb!