Keep Okaloosa Beautiful Advisory Committee

The vision of the Keep Okaloosa Beautiful Advisory Committee is to advise the Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners so that they can inspire and challenge Okaloosa County residents to achieve the highest waste reduction, litter prevention, recycling and beautification goals in the state of Florida through creative outreach, innovative beautification projects,  and efficient programs that improve economic vitality and environmental sustainability.

Mission Statement:  The mission of the Keep Okaloosa Beautiful Advisory Committee is to review, comment, and/or make recommendations to the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners on matters of recycling, waste reduction, community greening, and beautification in order to:

  • improve recycling effectiveness and efficiency;

  • increase public awareness;

  • provide an increase in green spaces; and

  • plan long-term enhancement projects for recycling, waste reduction, and litter prevention opportunities. 

Members:  Five (5) members, appointed by the Board of County Commissioners. Term - 2 years and can be appointed to successive terms

Desired configuration:

  • One (1) at-large citizen member
  • One (1) member representing the education community
  • One (1) member representing commercial businesses
  • One (1) member representing the environmental community
  • One (1) member representing the waste reduction community

Meetings: 3rd Tuesday of each month from 1 PM until 3 PM CST.  Location 3rd Floor Main Board Room located in the Okaloosa County Water & Sewer Building, 1804 Lewis Turner Boulevard, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547

Liaison Department: Public Information Department -  (850) 398-2383.

 

If interested in any Keep Okaloosa Beautiful advisory positions please complete the required forms located below and submit to:

citizencouncils@myokaloosa.com

or Mail to:

BCC Citizen Councils

1250 N. Eglin Parkway, Suite 100

Shalimar, FL  32579

 

Application Packet

Meeting Minutes By Date

Reference Documents

Innovative Recycling Technologies:

Recycling Technologies

  1. Drive the plastic highway? How a California company's innovative repaving process could lead to the 'holy grail' of road construction https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/08/08/recycling-plastic-pet-bottles-repave-california-roads/3315815001/ Technisoil (https://technisoilind.com/technisoil-g5.html) uses four large construction vehicles linked together in what’s called a “recycling train.’’ The old roadway is scooped up, ground up and combined with liquefied type 1 recycled plastic

  2. Sweden’s recycling is so revolutionary, the country has run out of rubbish https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/sweden-s-recycling-so-revolutionary-country-has-run-out-rubbish-a7462976.html Sweden has a cohesive national recycling policy so that even though private companies undertake most of the business of importing and burning waste, the energy goes into a national heating network to heat homes through the freezing Swedish winter…(using it) as a substitute for fossil fuel.”

  3. Upgrading Recycling for Today’s World — and Tomorrow’s https://www.plasticmakers.org/news/mrff/ Pilot programs to add flexible plastic packaging (FPP) to curbside recycling, such as resealable food bags, pouches for laundry detergent pods and pet food bags, results in the production of a new recycled material called rFlex that can be used to make durable goods and other products.

  4. Innovations in recycling https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/01/partner-content-innovations-in-recycling/ PureCycle’s technology recycles polypropylene into a “virgin-like” resin, which is the basis for plastic products. Polypropylene is the second-most used plastic in the world, yet only 1 percent is currently recycled. Supply, however, can’t keep up. Recyclers are screaming for more material, mainly because people just aren’t recycling enough.

  5. 4 Top Plastic Recycling Technology Startups https://www.startus-insights.com/innovators-guide/4-top-plastic-recycling-technology-startups-impacting-packaging/ Four ways to process plastics into usable product, or to create new uses for such products. One is PolyWaste Technology™, which can recycle a wide variety and combination of contaminated film, semi-rigid and rigid plastics from multiple commercial, industrial, agricultural and/or domestic waste streams into value-added plastic products. (https://newtecpoly.com/polywaste/)

  6. Can Chemical Recycling Solve The World's Plastic Problem? (13-minute Video with commercials) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPllpwMuV9Y "Plastics recycling is failing, and the plastics industry is betting big on a technology called chemical recycling to save it. This tech can supposedly convert any type of used plastic into plastic that's as good as new. But skepticism abounds."

  7. Recycling and composting technology (6-minute video) https://youtu.be/8WvtorSDcss Dealing with hard-to-recycle plastics, organic waste and textiles

Successful Recycling Technologies From Around The World

Recycling innovations from around the world

  1. From Austria to Wales: The five best recycling countries in the world https://www.nspackaging.com/analysis/best-recycling-countries/ Summary of these 5 countries’ recycling programs.

  2. 5 best recycling practices from around the world https://www.bbva.com/en/5-best-recycling-practices-from-around-the-world/ Three countries overlap the list above, and the article provides additional detail.

  3. Recycling Systems Around the World https://freelymagazine.com/2019/03/25/recycling-systems-around-the-world/ Some countries overlap the list above, and the article provides additional detail.

  4. 5 Recycling Lessons From Different Countries in the World https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/science/environment/5-recycling-lessons-from-different-countries-in-the-world/ Some countries overlap the list above, and the article provides additional detail. There is also a 5-minute video about a zero-waste town in Japan (https://youtu.be/eym10GGidQU

Other Interesting Information and Resources

Additional resources include:

  1. Waste Management website information on recycling Recycling: https://www.wm.com/us/en/inside-wm/sustainable-technology/recycling Organics Recycling: https://www.wm.com/us/en/inside-wm/sustainable-technology/recycling Website states that Waste Management is "investing heavily in innovative technologies to process materials,” and "turning leftover food and yard trimmings into materials that positively impact the environment and economy.”

  2. PlastiCycle - Nashville TN https://plasticycle.com/about-plasticycle-2/ "Ability to handle challenging plastic recycling situations helps us keep millions of pounds of scrap out of landfills.”

  3. WasteZero - Raleigh NC https://www.wastezero.com/partners WasteZero partners with hundreds of cities, towns, counties, and state agencies across the nation to reduce residential trash while also optimizing the financial health of the community.