To get things moving, the city in October will roll out a free citywide, “single stream” recycling program to allow residents to grow accustomed to the idea and see for themselves how the additional bin reduces their trash can volume. Twice-weekly trash pickup would continue for a year before it’s reduced to once a week.

The goal of the 1:1:1 system is to reduce costs for things like fuel, worker compensation and truck maintenance, as well as to help Pinellas County preserve its landfill, which is anticipated to reach capacity in approximately 2080.

Recycling, officials say, will help residents free up enough trash bin space to allow once-weekly trash collection.

Dunedin and St. Petersburg are the only two of Pinellas County’s 24 municipalities not yet offering a citywide curbside recycling program.

“It’s something our residents have been asking for for many years,” said Dunedin sustainability coordinator Valerie Brown, after presenting the plan to commissioners at a Tuesday morning workshop. “We’re finally able to give it to them.”

For the past seven years, recycling in Dunedin has been voluntary and subscription-based. Residents pay $2.79 a month plus a $5 one-time fee for the 18-gallon recycling bin, deterring many residents who feel the fees “punish them for doing the right thing,” Brown said. The 2,000 participating households are responsible for separating items themselves.

Under the new program, the city’s 13,000 residential trash customers will each receive a 65-gallon recycling bin with wheels to accompany their 90-gallon trash barrel. The cost will be rolled into the $17.10 flat fee residents pay each month for trash and bulk pickup, meaning rates will go down for existing recycling customers and new customers get the additional service for free.

An expanded list of accepted recyclables includes all colors of glass, cardboard, milk and juice cartons, and almost all types of plastic containers. The “single stream” option means all recyclable items can be dropped into one bin and don’t have to be sorted by the resident.

As people start recycling more at home, Dunedin will eventually phase out the Highlander Park drop-off center. The county’s Curlew Road recycling center and Dunedin’s Lake Haven Road location would remain.

The city will spend the first year developing a residential pickup schedule and evaluating whether the cost savings are enough to absorb the $1.68 monthly per-customer recycling fee. Brown is “conservatively” estimating that 50 percent of customers will take advantage of the new bins, though the city hopes everyone will jump aboard to help keep recycling costs free.

“If everyone participates, we’re saving more money because it decreases disposal costs, which decreases our bottom line,” Brown said.

Staff will use the next few months to finalize logistics.

Negotiations continue on a five-year recycling contract with Republic Services of Tampa, which was chosen last month from among three contenders. In addition to residential pickup, the company, which also services Oldsmar, would collect recyclables from city drop-off centers and after city events.

City workers will continue to pick up trash and bulk items.

Dunedin initially had hoped to negotiate a revenue-sharing option that allowed the city to split proceeds, estimated as high as $50 a ton, from the sale of recyclable materials. But Brown said the city decided not to pursue the matter in an effort to keep recycling rates low.

Meanwhile, Dunedin’s solid waste division will eliminate a vacant position and sell two obsolete recycling trucks for about $30,000.

The department will pull about $635,000 from its reserves to purchase the recycling barrels for customers. Computer chips in the barrels’ handles will allow officials to track participation levels, stolen cans and dormant accounts. It will also increase accountability by tracking actual pickups, rather than relying on manual data entry or on current GPS methods, which log truck location only.

Brown told commissioners that Oct. 1 is a good start date because it’s the start of the new fiscal year and also aligns with kids starting school and assisting in outreach by taking literature home to parents.

One by one, city leaders on Tuesday said they were “excited” to finally get the citywide recycling program off the ground. About 2.5 million Floridians across at least 12 counties and three cities are on 1:1:1 programs, Brown said.

“It’s an award-winning green city so we need to come on board” with recycling, said Vice Mayor Ron Barnette, adding that he’s been experimenting in recent months and noticed a decrease in his trash bin use. “This is an occasion to really shift gears on this and take pride in it.”

Keyonna Summers can be reached at ksummers@tampabay.com or (727) 445-4153. To write a letter to the editor, go to tampabay.com/letters.

A survey posted on the county’s website for five days offers an opportunity for residents to share their views about Pinellas County, the values that they want reflected in their community and their vision for the future.

The brief survey can be taken from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday (April 27). It can be found at www.pinellascounty.org by clicking on the Your Voice Our Future button.

Available trees include:

Flowering —

• Crape Myrtle
• Bottlebrush
• Little Gem Magnolia
• Yaupon holly (a showy red berry tree)

Shade —

• Live Oak
• Red Maple
• Slash Pine
• Bald Cypress (which can live up to 2000 years)

Residents may select up to two trees at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium starting at 8:30 a.m. on April 21. The trees come in three-gallon containers and stand about three and a half feet.

To qualify, bring a proof of Dunedin residency (driver’s license or utility bill).

Also be cognizant of where you plant your new tree. As the root system expands in the years to come, it can cause structural issues if it is growing too close to utility lines, sidewalks and roadways or foundations of buildings. Once you find a suitable location, follow these helpful planting tips from City Arborist Art Finn:

1) Dig a hole five times the width of the tree’s rootball. This loosens the soil around the tree and allow the roots to grow better.

2) The hole should be no deeper than the tree’s rootball. About half of the top of the rootball should be exposed and out of the ground, or the tree should be planted slightly above the original grade.

Planting the tree too deep will stunt it or cause it to dry out because rain water has to much more soil to penetrate to get to the root system. Planting the tree a little higher allows the root system to grow at the surface where it can more easily absorb rain water.

3) When planting, check the root system of the tree. If roots are circling around the pot try to straighten them out or remove them. If the roots are growing down the pot, straighten them out so they plant sideways.

4) Fill around the tree using the same soil that came out of the ground. Do not add soil amendments because it restricts root growth.

5) Water your tree for about six months to help it become established. Install a ring (as big as possible) to hold water around the tree. This causes water to slowly perk down into the root system. Water your tree frequently to keep the roots moist.

For more information, call the Dunedin Parks Division at 727-298-3278.

Center officials are joining with a consumer advocate group at the National Hurricane Conference in Orlando, Fla. this week to encourage residents to skip taping their windows when a hurricane is heading their way. They believe it leads to a false sense of security and actually increases danger.Instead, residents should use proven methods such as hurricane shutters or impact-resistant windows, Bill Read, director of the National Hurricane Center, told hundreds of meteorologists and emergency management officials at the weeklong conference. Attendees are going to seminars on insurance policy and emergency communications as well as hawking hurricane-related wares such as canned food and building-hardening materials.

“Our goal is to break this myth,” Read said, referring to taping. “It does not protect your windows. At best, it’s an inconvenience. At worst, some people have the illusion that they’re safe … and people can get severely hurt.”

Taping windows can create larger and deadlier shards of glass when winds blow through a home, said Leslie Chapman-Henderson, president and CEO of Federal Alliance for Safe Homes.

“The shards can become bigger because they’re being held together,” Chapman-Henderson said. “You’re wasting your time. You’re wasting your money and you’re potentially increasing the danger to your home.”

Even some disaster management officials are guilty of advising residents to use tape on their windows. Read said when he started working in the 1970s, taping windows was still advised in hurricane brochures. That advice was eliminated from brochures in the 1980s, “but it still persists today,” he said.

Hurricane Irene’s devastation last year in Vermont and upstate New York was an impetus for the campaign, said Chapman-Henderson, because thousands of residents in the northeast taped their windows. Her group is enlisting local TV meteorologists to tell viewers “Go Tapeless” at the start of the coming Atlantic hurricane season, which starts in June.

Irene, which barreled up the Eastern seaboard last August and caused the most damage in upstate New York and New England, also reinforced the notion that hurricanes are not just about damage from winds and storm surges but also from rainfall and flooding and spinoff tornadoes, said Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Irene caused $1.5 billion in damage in New York and $515 million in damage in Vermont. Last season’s 19 tropical storms, seven hurricanes and four major hurricanes tied for the third busiest season since records have been kept, officials said.

“If nothing else, Irene reminds everyone that hurricanes are all hazards,” Fugate said. “Who would have thought that some of the heaviest damage would occur in Vermont and upstate New York?”

Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press, Mike Schneider. All rights reserved.

North Dunedin Baptist Church, 1595 Michigan Blvd, Dunedin, FL |Get Directions »
These classes are free and open to anyone who wants to come. They are designed to help the beginning computer user gain knowledge and computer skills. The instructor has taught at St. Petersburg Jr. College, Tampa Bay Computer Society and Homeless Emergency Project.

Classes will include how the computer works, operating system, word processor, files and folders, storage, basic internet and basic email as well as trouble shooting, computer back-up and CD burning.

What are the rules?

1. All golf carts must be registered by the City of Dunedin.
2. Driver must possess a valid Driver License.
3. Driver must obey all rules of the road.
4. Operator Manual to be distributed with registration of vehicle.
5. Owner must possess liability insurance for golf cart.

What equipment is required?

1. Efficient brakes
2. Reliable steering
3. Horn
4. Safe tires
5. Rearview mirror
6. Red reflectorized warning devices (front/rear)
7. If driven between the hours of sunset and sunrise, headlights, brake lights, turn signals, and a windshield are also required

All rules and regulations are enforceable by Pinellas County Sheriffs Office and City of Dunedin Code Enforcement Officers.
City of Dunedin Ordinance 2011-04; Article VI of Chapter 74, Sections 74-200 to 210