Sunrise Mayor Mike Ryan’s op-ed essay as we approached America Recycles Day was excellent (“A winning game plan for Broward’s waste future,” Nov. 12). Individuals need to recycle more, but there are two steps you can take first. One, reduce the amount of stuff you buy. This is especially relevant this holiday season. Our emphasis on new things often overshadows creating moments that cost little and will be remembered long after the holidays are over. Second, reuse what you have or give it to a charity to resell it. Your “trash” may be someone’s perfect holiday gift. Monica Elliott, Southwest Ranches Broward’s waste crisis I appreciate the Sun Sentinel’s support for recycling in its full-page graphic in the Nov. 16 issue. Unfortunately, many are confused about what to recycle or not, and many who originally were enthusiastic about recycling have become cynical, asking: “Is that fill-in-the-blank item actually recyclable? I hear it isn’t.” In Broward, different cities have different rules that contradict each other. There’s no denying that Broward has a waste crisis. We produce millions of tons of trash a year with fewer places to put it. We all need to reduce the amount of waste we create, and Broward needs one unified recycling program with simple, clear recycling instructions countywide. We have the potential to do this with the county Solid Waste Authority, a very unsexy, unheralded but critically important development. The county and most cities have worked hard to create this new authority and a master plan, and it’s important that all Broward cities join. It can lead to a day when we reduce the literal mountains of trash we produce by reducing the amount of waste we create and effectively recycling much of the rest. Bonnie Gross, Fort Lauderdale ‘Grim reaper’ DeSantis I’m not complaining about the existence of the death penalty, which is the victim’s family’s final form of retribution to compensate for its loss. Some wrongly claim that the death penalty deters violent crime. But it is highly unlikely that a mentally or emotionally damaged person is thinking about the ultimate penalty when he or she pulls the trigger, strangles or rapes. Gov. Ron DeSantis seems to silently delight in signing death warrants while refusing to commute a death sentence to life without parole. One can’t help believe he’s in a contest with the malignant Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for unofficial title of America’s 21st Century “grim reaper.” If this is DeSantis trying to prove he’s a law-and-order presidential candidate, it’s just another of his many misjudgments. Maid Joy Kahn, Boca Raton ‘Lauderdale County’? No way It is so sad that state Rep. Chip LaMarca has no better ideas to put forward then to change the name of Broward County. During these times with so many people struggling, the fact that this is the only thing he can come up with shows the lack of care and how out of touch the Republican Party is with the citizens of Broward and the state of Florida. It would be difficult enough for everyone and every company to change the name of the county everywhere. And to think that Major William Lauderdale (for whom Fort Lauderdale is named) was involved in removing Seminole Indians from their native lands (in the Second Seminole War, 1835-1842). It’s a no in my book a big fat NO! Diane Miller, Plantation.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2025/11/20/recycle-reuse-and-buy-less-stuff-letters-to-the-editor/