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Recycling & Upcycling News — What's Changing in South Florida and Beyond

This page tracks recycling and upcycling news that changes what South Florida homeowners and businesses can throw away, drop off, or reuse — county program changes, Florida battery and e-waste rules, national policy, and the upcycling economy. Junk Removal Service USA adds a short editor's take to each story weekly, alongside live industry headlines.

Editor's picks updated 2026-09-23 · headlines refresh every few hours

Editor's Picks

September 2026

U.S. House passes three bipartisan bills to recover critical minerals from lithium-ion batteries ↗

The National Law Review · Sep 17, 2026

On September 15 the House passed the BRACE Act (H.R. 9615) and two companion bills by voice vote. BRACE would let lithium-ion battery recyclers store batteries on site under simpler RCRA rules and orders the EPA to rewrite the universal-waste requirements within 18 months. If the Senate follows, expect more collection points and cheaper recycling — which matters in Florida, where the same batteries keep setting garbage trucks on fire.

Colorado's packaging producer-responsibility program moves from planning to practice ↗

Resource Recycling · Sep 17, 2026

Colorado is the latest state to switch its extended-producer-responsibility law from paperwork to operations: brands now pay fees that fund curbside recycling instead of taxpayers. Florida has no EPR law and no plan for one, so South Florida's recycling economics still ride on county budgets and commodity prices — which is exactly why Broward's rate slid from over 60% to 38%.

A 10-year-old's 90%-upcycled collection makes Paris Fashion Week history ↗

The Cool Down · Sep 2, 2026

Max Alexander, the youngest designer ever invited to show at Paris Fashion Week, built 90% of his collection from deadstock and reclaimed material — saris, a French military parachute, luxury dust bags. It's a reminder that upcycling isn't a hobby trend: the things we haul out of South Florida closets and garages every day are raw material for someone. Donate wearable textiles before they hit the truck.

August 2026

Broward's solid-waste master plan formally passes — new disposal system targeted for end of 2027 ↗

WLRN · Aug 27, 2026

Cities representing 80% of Broward's population ratified the Solid Waste Authority's master plan, letting 28 municipalities negotiate recycling, composting and disposal contracts together. The county recycles just 38% of its five million annual tons, down from over 60% fifteen years ago and far below Florida's 75% goal. Expect changes to what your city collects curbside as the new system takes shape through 2027.

Coconut Creek launches Florida's first fully electric residential recycling and waste fleet ↗

Republic Services · Aug 21, 2026

Six McNeilus Volterra electric trucks now run every residential recycling and garbage route in Coconut Creek, replacing diesel — the first all-electric residential fleet in Florida. For Broward residents the visible difference is noise and fumes; the bigger story is that a hauler was willing to put the capital in, which usually follows a long-term contract like the ones the new county authority will negotiate.

July 2026

Miami-Dade aims to lift diversion from 32% to 77% by 2039 while its incinerator stays in limbo ↗

WLRN · Jul 31, 2026

With no site for a replacement waste-to-energy plant, Miami-Dade is spending roughly $65 million a year railing garbage to Okeechobee and now pins its hopes on a Zero Waste plan: composting partnerships, food donation, and a possible 'save as you throw' fee tied to how much you toss. The county generates over five million tons a year, twice the national average per person. Sorting matters more here than almost anywhere.

The Battery Network (formerly Call2Recycle) collected 4,650 tons of batteries in 2025 ↗

Recycling Today · Jul 22, 2026

The rebranded Call2Recycle program collected 9.3 million pounds of consumer batteries last year, added about 3,000 drop-off sites, and says 80% of Americans now live within 15 miles of one. In South Florida that means the orange bin at Home Depot, Lowe's, Best Buy or Batteries Plus — the fastest legal way to get a dead power-tool or laptop battery out of your house without a trip to the county center.

Palm Beach County's SWA hosts free lithium-battery collection and shredding events ↗

Boca Raton Tribune · Jul 21, 2026

The Solid Waste Authority keeps running Saturday lithium-battery drop-offs at its Education Center on North Jog Road, taking rechargeable and single-use lithium cells plus car and boat batteries — but not EV packs, which go back to the dealer. The SWA's instructions are the ones worth memorizing: tape the terminals with clear tape and bag lithium batteries separately. Any HCRC takes them the rest of the year.

May 2026

Rechargeable batteries torch dozens of Tampa Bay garbage trucks ↗

Tampa Bay Times · May 22, 2026

Hillsborough County logged about 30 battery-triggered truck fires in three years, 15 of them in 2025, as lithium-ion cells from vapes, toys and tools get crushed in compactors. The fix is not complicated — no rechargeable battery in any cart — but the message hasn't landed. South Florida's counties all take them free; our drop-off directory lists every site.

April 2026

Electronic waste is piling up — how Florida is managing the surge ↗

WUSF · Apr 12, 2026

E-waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world and Florida has no statewide e-waste law, so each county decides what it collects and how data is destroyed. Alachua County's model — certified recyclers, documented data destruction — is what to ask your own county about before handing over a laptop. UCF researchers are even building an AI tool to flag recycling contamination before pickup.

March 2026

Florida's Safe Battery Collection and Recovery Act (SB 912) dies in committee ↗

The Florida Senate · Mar 13, 2026

SB 912 would have made battery producers fund a statewide collection program through a stewardship organization, with no point-of-sale fee to consumers, starting July 2026. It died in the Senate's agriculture and environment appropriations committee on March 13. For now Florida stays a patchwork: county hazardous-waste centers and voluntary retail bins are the only free options, which is why we built a directory of them.

February 2026

From waste to wardrobe: how fashion brands are embracing upcycling ↗

NC State Wilson College of Textiles · Feb 26, 2026

NC State's textile researchers map three ways brands upcycle — companies built entirely on reclaimed material like Freitag, mainstream labels with upcycled lines, and luxury one-offs — and warn that upcycling should deliver real sustainability gains rather than marketing. The practical takeaway for a cleanout: sort textiles out of the junk pile. Wearable clothing and clean fabric have a second life; landfill is the last resort.

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