| The Sunshine State has long been known for its | | | | shoes to bath mats, and all with zero landfill |
| progressive social and ecological programs. From | | | | waste. These pellets can also be used to create |
| the Super Fund clean up initiative to their | | | | the next generation of tires, furthering the cycle |
| ambitious attempts to preserve the Everglades, | | | | of reducing use and reusing waste. Tires aren't |
| Florida has consistently been on the front lines of | | | | the only things being recycled on America's |
| the battle to preserve natural habitats. | | | | biggest peninsula, Florida's latest program has |
| Given their history, it should come as no surprise | | | | shocked a lot of people. |
| that Florida recently became one of the first | | | | While it may sound like a process not for the |
| states to promote a new monofilament recycling | | | | squeamish, recycling solid waste is actually a very |
| program, designed to prevent fishing lines and | | | | sanitary and necessary process in civic planning |
| lures from entering the estuaries and oceans. By | | | | and environmental protection. Currently, Florida |
| setting up disposal containers on beaches and | | | | recycles about 24% of its solid waste, with a |
| piers, the state of Florida has created a safe and | | | | majority of their recycling programs being single |
| secure disposal site for excess fishing line. The | | | | stream programs. Single stream recycling is |
| effects of fishing line can be deadly, from choking | | | | innovative in the fact that it allows users to mix |
| out fish populations to ensnaring Ospreys and | | | | plastic, glass and cardboard all in the same bin, |
| other members of the avian family. Since the | | | | without the need to separate it. Many |
| inception of Florida's aggressive recycling program | | | | communities are still using facilities which can not |
| other states, such as Maryland, have instituted | | | | handle single stream recycling processes, and still |
| their own monofilament recycling programs. Fishing | | | | require that the residents separate their trash into |
| line is just one of the many things being recycled | | | | the three categories themselves. |
| in Florida, a new Sunshine State program has | | | | Truly, Florida has long been one of the most |
| made it possible to recycle tires with 100% | | | | forward-thinking states in terms of the ecological |
| efficiency. | | | | and environmental programs that they institute in |
| A new Florida company, Florida Tire Recycling, Inc. | | | | order to protect the world we live in. We've |
| (FTR) has created a process by which they can | | | | already seen how much can happen when a single |
| reclaim, reuse and recycle 100% of America's | | | | state steps up and sets and example for the rest |
| used waste tires. In an interview with FTR, the | | | | of them. Perhaps it's all that coastal territory, but |
| said tires were called one of America's greatest | | | | one way or another, they are continually ahead of |
| sustainable resources. FTR uses the tires to | | | | the curve in terms of environmental policy and will |
| create rubberized pellets, which can be melted and | | | | hopefully continue to set a positive example for |
| molded into a multitude of uses, from tennis | | | | the other 49 US states. |