Duo brings recycling back to Winter Garden

While Cortlea Oaks’ Cory Sims was driving the truck, Stoneybrook West’s Robert Montgomery was in the trailer until they stopped in front of a Stoneybrook West home. 

Montgomery quickly went to the two Plant Street Recycling bins on the house’s curb and within a minute, sorted through the various plastics, metals, paper and glass.

Then, they were on to the next house.

Sims and Montgomery, founders of the new Plant Street Recycling, went to about 40 houses in Stoneybrook West during the recycling company’s first pick-up run Wednesday, July 2. 

Starting with just the one neighborhood in Winter Garden, Sims and Montogomery plan to provide recycling services to anyone who wants it in the city within the next two-and-one-half years. 

RECYCLING IS BACK
The idea for Plant Street Recycling came after the city of Winter Garden discontinued all recycling, including cardboard. 

The city was losing $1 million annually in its curbside recycling program, which ended in January after the city established its recycling ordinance in September 1990. 

Contamination and recycling the wrong materials contributed to the low percentage of items residents put in the city’s blue bins actually being recycled. 

Montgomery said his family and the Sims family felt the need for a recycling program in Winter Garden. 

“We had an opportunity to, kind of like a super team put our powers together,” Montgomery said. “Cory is incredibly well connected in the community, has great opportunities and resources. I have been working in the recycling space for the last three years, so we were able to put our two brains together and figure out a way to solve a problem the city was asking for. … We’re both faith-based and mindful of where we live.”

Montgomery has worked in the recycling business, mostly with plastic products, and said it’s been an incredible experience. He has learned about the different types of plastic, how different plastics are recycled and what happens to the polymers in plastics. 

Montgomery said various studies will show different numbers of collected and actually recycled materials in the U.S., but generally, less than 20% is recycled and the rest of it goes to a landfill. 

Sims and Montgomery approached city staff in April to discuss what could be done to bring recycling back to the city. 

“We’ve been without recycling for six months now, so trying to quickly fill that hole and fill that gap is what’s been most important,” Montgomery said. “We don’t want it to go a year where all of a sudden, it’s normal to not recycle. There’s other areas in the U.S., there’s other areas in Florida where they just stopped recycling, and I think those areas will be a little tougher to get reengaged, but we’re a small community. We just had it paused. Everyone’s very aware of it, so I think there’s definitely some reaction and emotion in getting it started right back up again.”

Sims said having kids, he thinks about ensuring they have a “great life” and they do everything they can “to ensure they can continue to thrive.”

JUST THE BEGINNING
Plant Street Recycling is starting in Stoneybrook West, providing services to anyone who signs up on the company’s website. 

Residents will be charged $25 per month and receive two recycling bins for collections every Wednesday. Residents can receive additional bins at a cost. The service is voluntary. 

The average family of four produces about 20 gallons of volume in recyclable waste per week. With each of Plant Street Recycling bins being able to hold 14 gallons per bin, Montgomery said the bins should be more than enough for the average family of four. 

Sims added more bins are available upon request for a special occasion such as if a resident is hosting a party. 

Montgomery said Stoneybrook West’s HOA has been supportive of their efforts, and they will conduct pickups for a few more weeks to “work out the kinks” and refine their process before expanding to other neighborhoods. 

The next neighborhoods will depend on demand. Plant Street Recycling has a waitlist of about 70 homes in Winter Garden wanting recycling services. As they expand, they will choose the best day of the week to pick up in each neighborhood so as not to disrupt the city’s trash pickup. 

Sims and Montgomery are working to educate residents on how to properly recycle to ensure everything put in the bins actually is recycled. One piece of trash can contaminate everything in the bin. 

Montgomery and Sims hand sort the recyclables in front of each home to ensure 100% of the recyclables actually will be recycled. 

After they have 1,000 pounds of each material, they will work with their partners in glass, metal, paper and plastic so everything is purposely recycled to get back into the community. 

One partnership they’ve established is with Oakland Nature Preserve, which is participating in the NexTrex recycling program. The preserve’s goal is to collect 1,000 pounds of soft plastics so they can be recycled into a plastic bench for the preserve. 

On their first route, Sims said they collected at least two times more than they initially thought they would, which is exciting to them. Across 40 houses, they collected between 150 and 200 pounds of recyclables. 

“It’s one aluminum can at a time,” Montgomery said. 

They learned different ways they could be more efficient from the very first route, such as a different way to set the trailer up to provide for more storage so they can collect more than one trailer load. 

Driving through the neighborhood, they said they ran into people wanting to learn more about Plant Street Recycling and wanting to sign up. 

“It was very exciting to see the response,” Sims said. “We all kind of had the same sentiment when we first started. You start telling people and you feel very vulnerable to open up and tell them this project that we’re working on, this company that we’re starting. It was kind of a relief to see (a positive response). … I am extremely proud, and we’re just scratching the surface.”

Montgomery said the positive response is proving the concept as well. 

“It makes us feel like we’re not crazy and people actually really want to do this,” he said. 

Sims and Montgomery plan to open a brick-and-mortar facility for people to drop off recyclables and serve as storage space for Plant Street Recycling until there are enough materials to turn into their partners. 

Montgomery said a goal also is to be a resource for the city by helping underserved people who are unemployed find employment with Plant Street Recycling. 

Sims said it’s about having a lasting impact on the community. 

“You feel good when you give back, so I think for both of us, we share the same sentiment that we want to be able to give back and have a lasting impact and leave a legacy for our families that help people,” Sims said.