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Lee County ranked third among Florida counties for recycling rate

WGCU | By WGCU Staff
Published July 17, 2025 at 9:25 AM EDT
Community participation pushes Lee County’s recycling rate to 78%.
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Community participation pushes Lee County’s recycling rate to 78%.

Lee County Solid Waste has been ranked third among the state’s 67 counties by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

The amount of material Lee County residents and businesses recycled in 2024 would be enough to fill 310 football fields 10 feet high.

Lee County received credit for recycling more than 1.9 million tons of the 3 million total tons of waste generated locally in 2024, according to numbers that FDEP recently released. This brings the county’s recycling rate to an adjusted rate of 78%. Strong participation by both residents and businesses has enabled Lee County to meet and exceed the state’s 75% recycling goal.

Lee County earns FDEP recycling credits for items such as curbside recycling by residents as well as business recycling of materials such as cardboard, yard waste, scrap metal and construction and demolition debris. Lee County also receives recycling credit for energy produced from garbage processed at the Waste-to-Energy plant in Buckingham.

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