New multilingual recycling labels, community outreach and ongoing waste audits aim to help residents and businesses recycle right
SURFSIDE, FL — The Town of Surfside, Florida Beverage Association (FBA) and Waste Management, Inc. (WM) are partnering on a communitywide initiative designed to make recycling easier, reduce contamination, and help residents and businesses better understand what belongs in their recycling bins.
Over the coming weeks, new “Recycle Right, Surfside!” labels will be placed on recycling receptacles throughout the Town, including at single-family homes, multifamily residential properties, and commercial locations.
The easy-to-read labels provide clear visual guidance showing which materials should be recycled and which items should be kept out of recycling bins. To help reach Surfside’s diverse community, the recycling guidance will be available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole.
“This initiative is about making recycling easier, more accessible, and more effective for everyone in our community,” said Sandra N. McCready, Acting Town Manager & Town Clerk. “By partnering with the Florida Beverage Association and Waste Management, we are giving residents and businesses clear, practical guidance while reinforcing our shared responsibility to keep Surfside clean, sustainable, and beautiful for generations to come.”
The labels encourage residents to recycle commonly accepted materials including plastic bottles, tubs, jars and jugs; aluminum, tin and steel beverage containers and food cans; glass bottles and jars; paper; and cardboard and paperboard. They also reinforce an important recycling practice: recyclables should be placed loose in the bin, not inside plastic bags.
The label rollout is part of a broader public education campaign being developed collaboratively by the Town, FBA and WM. The campaign will use community outreach and educational materials to reinforce proper recycling habits, explain common sources of contamination and encourage residents and businesses to “recycle right.”
“Recycling works best when people know exactly what belongs in the bin,” said Liz DeWitt, President and CEO of the Florida Beverage Association. “This partnership puts clear information directly on recycling receptacles and pairs it with community education to help more materials get recycled properly. We’re proud to work with the Town of Surfside and WM on a practical program that can make a measurable difference.”
To measure the program’s impact, WM is conducting a pre-program audit of Surfside’s recycling stream to establish a baseline before the full rollout. Additional assessments throughout the initiative will allow the partners to track changes, identify opportunities for continued education and evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
“Successful recycling starts with making it easy for people to know what belongs in the bin and what doesn’t,” said Jason Neal, Waste Management’s Government Affairs Director. “By establishing a baseline before the program begins and tracking the recycling stream over time, we’ll be able to measure progress and identify where additional education can help.
The initiative brings together the Town’s connection with residents and businesses, WM’s recycling expertise and FBA’s ongoing efforts to improve recycling and increase the collection of valuable recyclable materials.
Residents can learn more about what can and cannot be recycled in Surfside at TownofSurfsideFL.gov/what-to-recycle.