A trashy subject

I'm sure you have all wondered what happens to the trash here (or maybe not.) In any event, you're about to find out. For starters, Key West Sanitation does NOT make house calls here. But, I bet you knew that.

For visitors, whether they come by ferry or private boat, there are no public trash cans. Everybody has to take their trash with them when they leave. Some of the campers try to get creative, specially when they've been here for a few days, but we're on to their tricks now.

For the staff here, there is a good process in place. First, we're big into recycling. Everybody has to sort their trash: paper (burnable), plastic (no. 1 or 2), cans, glass, and cardboard. Each of these goes into special cans or bins. There is a final can for everything else called "the dump". There are also compost barrels for some types of organic waste. I've been assembling some in my spare time, so every residence can have it's own.

The burnable stuff gets burned here, once every week or so, along with brush and other yard waste. (It's surprising how much vegetation there is here.) Everything else goes back to Key West abord the Fort Jefferson, which usually comes every 2 weeks. Every type of trash gets loaded into one or more big bins, which are they loaded onto the Fort Jefferson. And then we start over.

See, aren't you glad you asked?