Carlos Rovelo, the City’s recycling coordinator, wants residents of Sanitation District 4 to think of the new curbside recycling program as a competition – the old plastic garbage bags versus the new, blue recycling bags.
He’s hoping the blue bags win.
By increasing the number of recyclables collected, the success of the first phase of the long-awaited curbside recycling program is assured. If you’re not certain which district you reside in, check out Laidlaw’s map on Pages 4-5A of this month’s Advocate or call the Recycling Office at 670-4475.
Garbage will still be collected twice a week, and your blue bags will be picked up weekly on a regular trash day. Since a different truck collects recyclables, the time of day may be different.
Blue bags can be purchased at area grocery stores and City recreation centers located in District 4.
Items accepted in the bags are plastic bottles marked #1, #2 and #3, including milk jugs, detergent bottles and juice, soda and water bottles; aluminum; and tin cans. Crush what you can, but no sorting is necessary.
Leave the labels on the tin cans, but remove the lids. Thoroughly rinse plastic bottles and remove the lids and caps. Do not include any plastic bottles from automotive supplies, such as oil.
Newspapers (with slicks) can be bundled or placed in brown paper grocery sacks, along with magazines, catalogs and sale brochures. Computer paper and junk mail in envelopes cannot be accepted, but slick, flyer-type advertisements are okay.
Stack the paper bundles next to your blue bag, but don’t leave paper out when it’s raining. Also, wait until your bag is full before recycling.
Glass isn’t accepted in the curbside program, but the City’s igloos will remain in place throughout District 4. Glass igloos are marked Clear Glass and Colored Glass. If anything but clear glass is placed in the designated bin, it will contaminate the entire load.
Other Recycling Options
If you don’t receive curbside service, there are still many recycling options. The closest location for one-stop recycling is the Fair Oaks Transfer Station, 670-6126. Located at 7677 Fair Oaks Drive, half-a-mile west of Abrams, this center accepts glass, aluminum, newspaper, mixed paper, grass clippings and leaves.
Mixed paper include junk mail, magazines, telephone books, catalogs, sales brochures, computer paper, cardboard and chipboard (cracker and cereal boxes). Hours of operation are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
Statewide Goals
Homeowners generate 35 percent of the total waste collected by the City. The other 65 percent is commercial waste, created by businesses and apartments. The City drafted an ordinance addressing mandatory commercial recycling. Forwarded to various businesses for review, the ordinance would be a welcome addition to residential recycling efforts.
The commercial angle also is being reviewed at the State level. According to Rovelo, 26 states recycle more than Texas. Texans generate seven pounds of trash per person per day; the national average is four pounds. Back in 1990, the State established a 40 percent waste reduction goal by Sept. 12, 1994.
With only a 12 percent decrease, “40 percent task force” was created to re-evaluate this goal. New incentives and ideas are being considered for both residential and commercial recycling efforts, including a “pay as you throw” policy, for presentation to the State Legislature.
