Pensacola residents can once again participate in curbside recycling as Mayor D.C. Reeves announced the relaunch of the city’s recycling program this month. The program, which had been on hiatus, is now back with additional features and updated collection methods.
- The recycling program has seen steady uptake since its return. “The last update I got, I know we are well over 500 signups and, of course, growing every day,” Mayor Reeves reported during yesterday’s press conference. “Certainly appreciate y’all’s ability to get the word out for us.”
To make participation easier for residents, the city has streamlined the signup process. “Just to make it memorable and easy to recall, you don’t need to find the QR code, use cityofpensacolarecycles.com,” Reeves explained. “If you go there, it brings you right to the recycling page where you can sign up with your phone number and all of that.”
Expanded Garbage Collection Options
Along with the recycling program’s return, the city has also addressed long-standing issues with additional garbage collection.
- “A second garbage can on the same pickup day is also an additional $8,” Mayor Reeves clarified. “So if you want two the same volume of garbage that you already have now you can do that in the years generations previous to this administration, if you wanted a second black can on the same day, you paid a second account, you actually paid an entire bill twice, which never really made sense.”
This reform represents a cost savings for families who need additional waste capacity. “So now, for just $8, we’re already there picking up your can. Certainly, that makes no financial sense that we would be charging a citizen double the price for a second can.”
The city is also accommodating larger households with flexible options. “You can also set it up with sanitation to have all three if you want to. Recycling can and two black beverage cans, you’ve got a family of 10 or whatever you need for all that type of volume. We afford that option to everybody.”
AI-Powered Quality Control in Development
Pensacola is implementing artificial intelligence technology to monitor the quality of recycling. The system, funded through grant money, will use cameras and AI analysis on collection trucks to identify contamination issues.
When asked about the AI implementation timeline, Mayor Reeves acknowledged the ongoing development: “As far as I know, I haven’t had it come to my house yet or send me a note. But yeah, that’s the process. That’s the grant funding that we received. I know our team has been in conversation with the vendor, specifically the AI vendor, through that process. I know they’ve been testing things.”
The AI system will focus on education rather than punishment. “Right now, they would be notified. They’ll get something in the mail that says, ‘Hey, we noticed this. Here are the four things or five things that we recycle.’ Just that it is purely at this point in education, there’s no plan at this juncture to fine,” Reeves explained.
- However, the city will address persistent contamination issues. “Obviously, if somebody’s getting a note every single week for four months, then we probably should have a conversation whether that person should even have the option of a recycling can,” the mayor said. “I think once we’re stood up completely, I think it’s going to be either informational or if we have a serial problem with certain accounts, then we just say, Hey, we can’t afford to have this person contaminated an entire load of recyclables.”
The AI technology is undergoing beta testing, and the equipment is already installed on the collection trucks.
How to Sign Up
Residents interested in participating in the recycling program can easily sign up by visiting cityofpensacolarecycles.com or calling the city’s sanitation department. Mailers with additional information have been sent to residents, with more communications planned.