Memorial Day Holiday observance

Lee County Solid Waste Division offices and disposal facilities are closed on Monday, May 28 in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.

Please note that in uncinorporated Lee County, the Town of Fort Myers Beach, and City of Bonita Springs all garbage, recycling, and yard waste collections are delayed for one day the entire week. Regular collection schedules resume on Monday June 4th. Thank you.

Please remember to recycle your old phone books when the new phone books and Yellow Pages are received! Recycled phone books are made into new phone books,or made into cellulose insulation, and used to make packaging such as boxes and containers.

RecycleBincommingled Single Stream Recycling in Lee County began October 1, 2010 click on this text to open the link to important recycling information. Please remember to set out your materials by 6:30 AM the day of the collection and place your containers away from mail boxes and light poles. Set containers at least 3 feet away from each other to allow for automated collection. Thank you.

Gardeners & Growers: Florida's growing season is just around the corner; now is the time to prepare the soil for your flower beds, shrubs and trees. Lee County has just the right product for that job, OrganicLee® compost.

NEW: OrganicLee®compost in bags has been sold to residents and businesses at our 6441 Topaz Court Facility for more than a year. The demand from our local gardeners and landscapers for this product has prompted the Solid Waste Division to offer OrganicLee® Compost also for purchase at the Lee County Waste To Energy Facility Complex at 10500 Buckingham Road in East Fort Myers. The price for one bag of OrganicLee® Compost is $2.45 (plus tax).

When purchasing OrganicLee® Compost at the 10500 Buckingham Road location please drive up to the scale house at the entrance of the facility and tell County staff how many bags you are purchasing. You will be asked to pay for the product at that time and receive directions to the compost loading area.

Payment can be made in cash, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover

Bulk purchases of OrganicLee® can be made at 10500 Buckingham Road, Fort Myers (at the Resource Recovery Facility) for $10.00/cubic yard plus sales tax. Trucks are loaded by Lee County staff. Pay at scales, get a ticket and then come to the compost loading area; its that easy. This compost benefits every Southwest Florida lawn and garden. Improved soils create healthier plants, lawns, shrubs & trees. OrganicLee is processed by Lee County at the Lee/Hendry Landfill at 5500 Church Road in Felda, FL.

For large purchases of OrganicLee® Compost, exceeding 1,000 cubic yards, please call our customer service representative for information. Such purchases are subject to availability and scheduling. Discount pricing may be applicable.

To talk to a customer service representative of the Lee County Solid Waste Division, please call: 533-8000

During the past 16 years the County has developed it's solid waste system to be one of the Country's most succesful and sustainable recycling and solid waste management systems. Lee County has consistently reported from 35% to 42% of documented recycling activities for more than 12 years and is listed as the State's top County for recycling success in 2008 (latest DEP reporting year). We applaud our residents and businesses for their support of the recycling program. Including energy recovered from our Waste To Energy facility, Lee County has already excceded the proposed Florida 75% recycling goal. The Solid Waste Division plans to continue to implement programs that make recycling, resource recovery, and responsible waste management easier and pledges to continue to strive for even more effective and sustainable solutions for the future.

Our motto is: "There is no such thing as trash, everything is of value."

We ask our residents to pledge their coninued support for a cleaner and more sustainable world through their ongoing recycling efforts.

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To see footage of the Waste To Energy Facility click on the link below: mms://videosearch.leegov.com/MGWMS/Admin/Meetings/WTE 3rd Burner Completed/stream1.wmv

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Shortcut to Mandatory Business Recycling Information

Shortcut to Mandatory Construction & Demolition Information & Guidelines

Projects that are still active after June 1, 2008 must comply with the newly adopted ordinance. This Ordinance requires contractors to divert debris materials from landfilling in the form of salvaging, re-using, and recycling . FAX your scale tickets and documentation of waste diverted to the Division at (239) 338-3337. The Solid Waste Division will be available to guide you in this endeavour.

TurkeyFryer Used cooking oil may be taken to 6441 Topaz Court Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm.

Welcome to Lee County's Solid Waste Division

Picture 1: Refuse vehicles deliver the trash from residents and businesses in unincorporated Lee County and its municipalities.

Picture 2: The grapple lifts about 10,000 lbs. of trash and feeds it into the furnace Picture 3: A look at the Control Room where everything is monitored

The Lee County Solid Waste Division is responsible for the proper collection and disposal of solid waste generated in unincorporated Lee County.

The Division's mission is to find and implement cost-effective methods of solid waste disposal that minimize the degradation of our environment. To that end Lee County has created a four part Resource Recovery System:

	Lee County's four-part Resource Recovery System promotes recycling of materials that are collectable and marketable.
	Garbage is burned which reduces the volume of the garbage while producing electricity. The garbage when burned is reduced to an inert ash residue, which is transported to the landfill. All metal is removed prior to disposal at the landfill.
	The ash takes up 90% less room by volume in the landfill than the unburned garbage would, which greatly extends the life of the landfill.
	Residents are also encouraged to minimize waste, to reuse items and look for products that aren't over packaged.

These solutions work together to ensure that our residents have environmentally and economically sound solid waste services which meet present and future needs.

Division Accomplishments FY2007/2008:

Completed the Waste To Energy Expansion Project and on August 18, 2007 successfully burned garbage for the first time. BOCC dedication of the third combustion unit with an open house for residents was held on October 27, 2007.
The Board approved the Mandatory Business Recycling Ordinance on September 11, 2007 with an effective date of January 1, 2008. This Ordinance affects about 7,500 businesses in unincorporated Lee County. Commercial recycling participation has already increased to 70% of all these businesses.
The Division produced informational materials related to the implementation of the business recycling ordinance, spoke at industry events and chamber meetings, and held well attended workshop's all to benefit local businesses and the construction industry in becoming knowledgeable about this Ordinance. One-on-one sessions between business managers and the Division's Recycling personnel were extremely helpful.
Purchased a lot with three existing buildings for the permanent Household Chemical Waste Drop-Off Facility.
Remodeled and retrofitted two buildings to house the County's Household Chemical Waste and Electronics Recycling programs and the Division's Customer Service staff. The facility opened in early April of 2008 and averages about 75 customers per day.
235,859 lbs of household chemical waste was collected and recycled since the opening of the permanent drop off facility in April. 26,476 lbs. of household chemical waste was collected and safely disposed. The majority of items by weight collected are 128,289 lbs. of paint, 40,760 lbs. used motor oil, and 27,748 lbs. lead acid batteries. The remainder of the material consists of propane gas, fluorescent light bulbs, compact fluorescent light bulbs, inkjet cartridges, flares and ammunition, antifreeze, flammable and toxic liquids and solids.
Procured contract extension with FCR for the operation, maintenance of the recycling facility and marketing of recycled materials.
Completed a 6 mile extension of Church Road in Hendry County now connecting the Lee/Hendry Landfill and Red Cattle Road to SR29.
Upgraded Clewiston and Labelle Transfer Station sites to improve throughput.
Began construction of the Lee/Hendry landfill expansion project.
Secured a $200,000 FDEP grant to construct a bio-diesel facility that would have converted waste vegetable oil to bio-diesel fuel.
Due to the ever increasing amounts of Polyethylene Terephthalate (more commonly known as PETE) such as # 1 drinking water bottles, soda bottles, etc. Lee County Solid Waste is experiencing in its recycling collection stream a new high capacity 4-6 tons per hour MSS Aladdin optical sorter is underway to be installed in the Materials Recycling Facility by the end of 2008. Using full spectrum and infrared sensors the new equipment detects the PETE bottles and ejects them upward with a pulse of compressed air efficiently separating the PETE from the remaining recycling stream. This latest technology enables LCSW to recover the maximum amount of this recyclable material.
Collection and disposal of outdated electronics in Lee County remained stable. As of 9/24/08 1,867,209 lbs. of electronic materials were collected. The collection of televisions increased by approximately 10% to a record high of 1,170,000 lbs.

Division Accomplishments FY2006/2007

	Will complete the Waste To Energy Expansion Project. Substantial completion of this $120 million project was completed in 18 months.
	FDEP's review committee ranked the Division's Innovative Recycling Grant Application at the top of its list.
	Collected and recycled 1,000,000 pounds of discarded electronic products.
	Started construction of Church Road in Hendry County and will complete during 2007.
	Made improvements to the Materials Recycling Facility by adding a paper recovery system to the comingled recycling line which recovers 150 pounds of paper per hour.
	Submitted a permit application to FDEP for the addition of a 20 acre ash monofill cell and a 20 acre Construction and Demolition cell at the Lee/Hendry Landfill.
	Received competitive bids and awarded a yard waste (horticultural) processing and recycling contract.

We have several programs in place to accomplish our goals, including: recycling to meet the county goal of 50%, household hazardous waste disposal, right-of-way cleanup and environmental enforcement of state laws and ordinances.

We strongly encourage waste reduction and recycling as steps we all should be taking to reduce the amount of solid waste each of us produces.

This website is designed to inform and educate Lee County residents about the proper disposal of solid waste in Lee County. We hope that you will find the information for which you are looking - and perhaps learn something new in the process.

Thank You for visiting our website!

Last Updated 4/18/12