St. Johns County Achieves Record-High 46% Recycling Rate

• 23 October 2025
• Category: SJC News Solid Waste
• Tags: 2025

County highlights residential curbside participation and encourages commercial reporting from businesses to help further reduce landfill waste

St. Johns County achieved its highest-ever recycling rate in 2024, with 46% of total waste recycled, ranking 10th among Florida’s 67 counties. This milestone marks the most successful year on record for the County’s recycling efforts.

According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), St. Johns County reported a total of 800,631 tons of waste in 2024, of which 371,651 tons were recycled. The County’s success reflects strong residential curbside participation, collaboration with trusted local recycling partners, and ongoing public education on waste reduction.

“This accomplishment represents the hard work of our residents, businesses, and trusted recycling partners,” said Greg Caldwell, Director for St. Johns County Public Works Department. “Every ton recycled helps conserve resources, protect our environment, and move us closer to a more sustainable future for St. Johns County.”

Each year, the County submits detailed recycling data to the FDEP to document residential and commercial recycling tonnage and composition. Much of this data comes from curbside recycling collection, along with partnerships with local businesses, scrap collectors, and recyclers.

Residents also play a vital role in helping St. Johns County reach its recycling goals. By recycling correctly and keeping non-recyclable items out of the blue cart, residents help ensure that more materials are properly processed and counted toward the County’s recycling rate. To make recycling easier, St. Johns County offers the Recycle Coach app, a free tool that provides personalized collection schedules, reminders, and guidance on what items can and cannot be recycled. Learn more or download the app from the Recycle Coach web page.

To continue building on this success, St. Johns County encourages all commercial recycling participants to report their recycling tonnage. Businesses that recycle materials such as cardboard, metal, or paper but do not report their totals may not be fully represented in FDEP data. The County also emphasizes that recycling goes beyond residential curbside collection. Materials such as construction and demolition debris (like concrete and asphalt), donations of clothing and furniture, organics such as compost, and automotive items like tires and used oil all contribute significantly to the County’s recycling totals.

“In addition to curbside recycling participation, we rely on accurate reporting from our business community to demonstrate the true impact of recycling across St. Johns County,” said Chris Benjamin, Outreach Coordinator for St. Johns County Solid Waste Division. “By submitting recycling data, businesses help the County increase its recycling rate and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills.”

St. Johns County also offers convenient waste drop-off services to help residents safely dispose of items not accepted in curbside bins, such as hazardous waste, electronics, tires, and construction materials. Much of this material is free to drop off, helping make proper disposal accessible for everyone. Using these facilities prevents contamination, protects our environment, and ensures recyclable materials are properly recovered. For a full list of accepted items, hours, and locations, visit the Garbage Collection and Drop-Off Locations web page.

Businesses with recycling programs can report their data or request assistance by emailing solidwaste@sjcfl.us or calling 904-827-6980.