9/23/21 @ 10:15 a.m. - On Saturday, September 11, 2021, Nassau County Solid Waste hosted the Waste Tire Amnesty Event which allowed Nassau County residents to dispose of up to 15 tires at no charge. We are pleased to report that nearly 600 tires were collected. A big thank you to the employees for all their hard work and to the residents for ensuring these tires were disposed of properly and are not a threat to the environment.

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer

9/9/21 @ 8:10 a.m. - Don't forget that the Waste Tire Amnesty Day will be held this Saturday, September 11th at the Convenience Recycle Center located at 46026 Landfill Rd., Callahan.

This event allows Nassau County residents to safely dispose of up to 15 car and light truck tires at NO COST (must show proof of residency). Tires must be off the rim and free of debris. No commercial loads will be accepted.

The event begins at 8:30 and will last until 12:00 p.m., or until the trucks are full (whichever comes first).

As a reminder, residents can dispose of up to four (4) per year at the Convenience Recycle Center. So if you're not able to attend the event this Saturday and have tires to dispose of, you still have options.

If you have any questions, please contact Nassau County Solid Waste at (904) 530-6700.

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer

 9/2/21 @ 1:00 p.m.

The bi-annual Household Hazardous Waste and Recycling Event will be held on Saturday, October 9, 2021 from 8:00 a.m. - noon (or until trucks reach capacity... whichever comes first).

Examples of items that will be accepted include:
- Aerosol cans
- Household cleaners
- Cooking oil (used)
- Oil, lubricants, oil filters
- Insecticides and pesticides
- Computers
- Radios
- Printers
- Power tools
- Televisions, VCRs, DVD players
- Medication
- Batteries
- Propane Tanks
- Paints and paint thinners
- And much, much more!



What: Household Hazardous Waste Recycling Event
When: Saturday, October 9, 2021 from 8am-12pm (or until truck reaches capacity)
Where: Nassau County Road Department, 86200 Gene Lassere Blvd., Yulee, FL 32097

Please enter the facility utilizing Courtney Isles Way from Chester Rd.(see map below for details)

This event is FREE to Nassau County residents with proof of residency. Small businesses may also be approved to dispose of items for a small fee, however you must call Keep Nassau Beautiful in advance to register at (904) 261-0165.

Participants are asked to bring a non-perishable food item to be donated to the Barnabas Food Pantry.

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer

8/31/21 @ 2:30 p.m. - Keep Nassau Beautiful is hosting a beach clean-up event on Tuesday, September 7, 2021 from 9:00 -11:00 a.m. Volunteers are needed to help remove litter from beach accesses, parking lots and shoreline following the Labor Day weekend.

Volunteers will be provided with gloves, trash grabbers and buckets, however volunteers are encouraged to sign up in advance so KNB can ensure they have the proper amount of supplies. Volunteers should wear comfortable shoes and bring their own water bottle, sunscreen and/or bug spray, if desired.

Following the cleanup event, volunteers will be asked to stay for an Appreciation Cookout hosted by Nassau County Fire Rescue's Local 3101 at Peters Point Beachfront Park. If you have any questions, please contact Keep Nassau Beautiful at (904) 261-0165 or via email at knb@keepnassaubeautiful.org.

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer

8/27/21 @ 11:35 a.m. - The annual Waste Tire Amnesty Day is being held on Saturday, September 11th at the Convenience Recycle Center located at 46026 Landfill Rd., Callahan.

The event begins at 8:30 a.m. and will last until 12:00 p.m., or until the trucks fill (whichever comes first). This event allows Nassau County residents to safely dispose of car and light truck tires at NO COST (must show proof of residency). Tires must be off the rim and free of debris. No commercial loads will be accepted.

If you have any questions, please contact Nassau County Solid Waste at (904) 530-6700.

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer

8/18/21 @ 4:15 p.m.- At the August 9, 2021 meeting, the Board of County Commissioners approved Ordinance No. 2021-12, amending the Land Development Code to repeal the current unincorporated Amelia Island Tree Protection Ordinance and creating a new tree protection ordinance. The new ordinance will provide a more comprehensive and flexible approach.

The unincorporated Amelia Island tree protection program was originally implemented in 2008 and requires preserving 45% of protected trees for new development including commercial, multi-family, and residential subdivisions (protected trees are native trees with a trunk diameter at breast height/dbh of five inches and greater). The new ordinance will require preserving 25% of protected trees in construction and disturbance zones on a development site, and preserving all protected trees outside those zones in the natural area of the site. Tree protection will also be extended to residential lots outside of subdivisions.

The Ordinance also creates the Nassau County-Amelia Island Tree Commission (NCAITC) to administer tree protection, one member of which will be filled by a soon-to-be-hired County Arborist. The NCAITC will review required tree protection plans for new construction and redevelopment projects, and will at a future date, develop a tree planting program to be considered by the Board of County. This program shall include strategies for planting trees on publicly-held lands in the unincorporated areas of Amelia Island, including rights-of-ways and lands owned or controlled by the Board of County Commissioners and Nassau County School Board, as well as strategies for working with private property owners to plant trees on unincorporated Amelia Island, with the possibility of partnerships using funds from a new Nassau County Tree Fund.

​The new Tree Fund will be a restricted fund which can only be used for purposes outlined in the Ordinance and at the recommendation of the NCAITC. Examples of authorized expenditures include: planting of new trees; performing studies relate to urban forestry, canopy protection an assessments of natural areas; education and outreach initiatives primarily focused on preserving the native canopy, impact of tree loss, value or natural, regenerating areas; and the development of grant applications.

The new Tree Ordinance will go into effect on February 13, 2022. Information on membership for the Tree Committee is forthcoming.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the Planning Department at (904) 530-6300 or via email at planninginfo@nassaucountyfl.com. 

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer
 








-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer

Contact:   Lynda Bell
Phone:     (904) 261-0165
Email:     knb@keepnassaubeautiful.com

Keep Nassau Beautiful is a Keep Florida Beautiful Award Recipient

Nassau County, Florida, June 22, 2021. – Keep Florida Beautiful (KFB) recently held its annual Awards Recognition Ceremony to honor the top Florida Affiliates of Keep America Beautiful and community partners for their environmental efforts. It was a virtual experience celebrating businesses and organizations for their efforts to keep Florida clean, green and beautiful! The award winners were instrumental in organizing cleanup events, increasing recycling efforts and hosting beautification projects.

During the virtual event KFB staff members presented awards in 12 categories. They recognized local Nassau County affiliate Keep Nassau Beautiful for its outstanding results in promoting the Florida Department of Transportation Adopt-A-Highway program. Jules Ruppel, Program Manager for KNB, championed the initiatives which led to KNB being recognized in the category. Jules set an annual goal to on-board new Adopt partners, encouraged Board of Directors members to participate in the Adopt program, led the creation of tools to support new and existing Adopt partners, and kept KNB and its Adopt partners focused on lending a hand to keep roadways, waterways and places in Nassau County litter free.

For information and to get involved: www.KeepNassauBeautiful.org or 261-0165.

About Keep Nassau Beautiful
Keep Nassau Beautiful, Inc. is working to inspire, educate, and equip individuals, groups, businesses, and governments to take action to make Nassau County a place where residents, visitors and wildlife can thrive and experience the beauty of Nassau County. www.keepnassaubeautiful.org

5/20/21 @ 10:00 a.m. - Keep Nassau Beautiful has received results from the Household Hazardous Waste Recycling Event held on April 17, 2021. While we previously reported that a total of 358 vehicles delivered items, we were waiting on the total weight of items recycle by type.

It has been reported that a total of 49,487 lbs. of materials were collected. This is an increase of 15,713 lbs. from the December 2020 event. The most common items collected were: Latex Paint; E-Scrap Materials (TVs, computers); and Alkyd Paint and Used Oil and Lubricants. As a reminder, latex paint and electronics are accepted year-round at the Convenience and Recycling Center located at 46026 Landfill Road, Callahan.

Attached is a PowerPoint presentation showing a complete breakdown of materials collected, vehicle counts by zip code, and a chart showing how this event has grown over time.

The event also included a food drive for the Barnabas food pantry. We are happy to report that over 600 lbs. of food was collected! A huge thank you to everyone who made a donation to help individuals in need.

A big thank you as well to residents who participated to ensure harmful materials were keep out of the landfill, as well as to the employees and volunteers who worked to bring us another successful recycling event.

If you have any questions, please contact Keep Nassau Beautiful at (904) 261-0165 or email knb@keepnassaubeautiful.org.

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer

5/11/21 @ 10:05 a.m. - A few weeks ago, we reported about individuals dumping materials at recycling bins around the County. That story included photos of a mattress, two larges couches and other items that were dumped by recycling bins on Goodbread Rd.

This Monday, Public Works employees arrived at the Bailey Rd. recycling location to find several boxes of hazardous materials. Items such as paint, fertilizers, gasoline, cleaning products, motor oil, batteries, etc. cannot be disposed of at the landfill and should not be left at the County recycling sites.

Sadly, dumping occurs regularly on County property and County rights-of-ways. Not only is this harmful for the environment, it costs the County thousands of dollars a year in labor, equipment and disposal costs.

The County, in conjunction with Keep Nassau Beautiful and the Alachua County Environmental Protection Department, organizes 2 Household Hazardous Waste Events per year (once in the fall and once in the spring) where these items are collected and taken to a proper disposal location out of County. While it may be a minor inconvenience, we encourage residents to store these items at home and dispose of them at a future recycling event. The next event is already being coordinated for October 2021!

Here is a link to a Recycle and Waste Disposal Tool created by Keep Nassau Beautiful that provides information on how to safely dispose of hundreds of types of items. Also, as a reminder, furniture and household items can be taken to the Convenience Recycling Center located at 46026 Landfill Rd. in Callahan and disposed of at no-charge.

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer

4/22/21 @ 10:45 a.m. - It's hard to imagine a time where there was no Environmental Protection Agency, no Clean Air Act or no Clean Water Act to protect the Earth from harmful effects of pollution.

That was the case until 1965 when a fire on Cleveland's Cuyahoga River uncovered that factories regularly released toxic smoke into the air and dumped toxic waste into nearby rivers and streams.

Following this event, Americans slowly became aware that mechanisms needed to be put in place to protect the Earth. In the spring of 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day to raise awareness on this important issue and to his surprise, 20 million Americans held demonstrations in U.S. cities across the country urging Congress to do more. In December 1970, Congress authorized creation of a new federal agency, the Environmental Protection Agency, to tackle environmental issues (1). By 1990, Earth Day was being celebrated by 140 countries around the globe. (2)

Fortunately, most of today's Americans actively participate in activities and events that protect our planet throughout the year. Examples include recycling, picking up litter, planting trees and conserving water. Together, we can all make the world a happier, healthier place to live.

Source(s):
1) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
2) National Geographic Society

-Sabrina Robertson
 County Manager's Office