Lee County has been ranked second among Florida’s 67 counties for recycling rates by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). Only Palm Beach County, with nearly double the population of Lee, is ranked ahead.
In 2025, Lee County residents and businesses recycled enough material to fill 1,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Lee County received credit for recycling more than 2.2 million tons of the 3 million tons of total waste generated last year according to FDEP. This brings the county’s adjusted rate to 87 percent, which is a nine-point increase from its 78 percent rate in 2024 and 12 points clear of the state’s recycling goal of 75 percent.
“Even if it was just a couple of points, that would’ve been great … to place second for recycling rate is great,” Kenny Howell, communications specialist for Lee County Solid Waste, said. “We look for each year to keep increasing that.”
Lee County earns FDEP recycling credits for items such as curbside recycling by residents as well as businesses recycling materials such as cardboard, yard waste, scrap metal and construction and demolition debris.
“We have become a really recycling centric household,” Brian Esco of Lehigh Acres said. “We try to be conscientious about having the least amount of impact on the environment around us that we can.”
Howell says Lee County’s focus on recycling education is responsible for the nine-point recycling rate increase.
“A lot of people don’t know what is recyclable and what is not,” Howell said. “The thing with Lee County too is we have so many new residents coming in, so where they lived before they might be able to recycle something whereas here they can’t.”
The Recycle Coach app allows residents to learn how to properly dispose of different waste materials. Users can find out if an item is recyclable by using the app to take a picture.
Howell suggests residents place items in the trash if they have doubts whether an item can be recycled.
“We call that wishcycling,” Howell said.
Plastic bags, single-use batteries and shaving cream cans are some items that many people think are recyclable, but actually aren’t.
“You might have a shaving cream can and you’re not sure if it’s recyclable, but you’re just hoping that it is going to be recycled. So we’d rather you throw that in your trash,” Howell added.
“Someone in good conscience who was trying to recycle, now everything that they recycled is now no longer valuable.”
Non-recyclable items go to Lee County’s Waste-to-Energy plant in Buckingham. This is where the items are burned to produce electricity instead of ending up at a landfill, a process the County also receives recycling credit for.
“We do enough to power 30,000 homes, and it also powers our whole campus,” Howell said. “So if it doesn’t get recycled, it will end up at our Waste-to-Energy plant and turned into renewable energy.”
For more information about recycling, visit www.leegov.com/solidwaste.
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