State of Recycling in Florida: Understanding the Costs, Environmental Impacts, and Ways to Improve
Principal Investigator: Dr. Malak Anshassi, Assistant Professor
Department of Environmental Engineering, Florida Polytechnic University
Project Scope
Across the world, recycling programs are changing, and even in some cases ceasing to exist. In the last few years, the recycling industry has seen record low commodity prices and only in the last few months has recycling begun to bounce back. However, many local governments, including those in Florida have already taken measures to either limit the materials accepted in their program or have completely ended their recycling program. The 2021 Hinkley Center research agenda emphasizes the need for effective recycling quality improvements and economic development for recyclables. In response to these agenda items, Florida Polytechnic University (the University) proposes to undertake efforts to piece together the current waste management costs and related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for all 67 Florida counties. Then, different changes to the recycling program will be evaluated to understand the impact to costs and GHG emissions mitigation. The final outcome of this research will be a comprehensive white paper that can be used by Florida solid waste decision makers in retooling their recycling programs to be more cost effective and maximize the potential offsets of GHG emissions that recycling produces.
Project Scope
November 2022
Project Final Report
December 2023
Notice: The full report is available upon direct request via email (manshassi@floridapoly.edu) and will be made publicly available once the associated manuscript is published.
Progress Report 1
Jan 2023
Progress Report 2
April 2023
Progress Report 3
July 2023
Progress Report 4
November 2023
TAG Meeting Recordings
Meeting 1: 1st TAG State of Recycling in Florida Hinkley Center Funded Project-20230131_131110-Meeting Recording.mp4
Meeting 2: 2nd TAG State of Recycling in Florida Hinkley Center Funded Project-20230616_125701-Meeting Recording.mp4
Meeting 3: Final TAG HC Recycling Project - Dr. Anshassi-20231117_131311-Meeting Recording.mp4
TAG Meeting 1
January 31, 2023
TAG Meeting 2
June 16, 2023
TAG Meeting 3
November 17, 2023
Useful Websites
Florida Faculty Site: https://floridapoly.edu/directory/faculty/malak-anshassi.php
Google Scholar Site: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BOXj0XgAAAAJ&hl=en