HOUSTON – You recycle for many reasons. By doing so, you conserve energy, reduce air and water pollution and reduce greenhouse gases. But recycling as we know it can be complicated and confusing at times.
Every other trash day in Houston is recycling day. Houston streets will be lined with big green 96-gallon recycling bins. The question being… is what you put in that bin, going to be recycled?
Here is a list of items that can be recycled:
· Metal cans, cartons and glass (emptied and rinsed)
o Soup cans, soda cans, fruit cans and coffee cans
· Paper
o Newspaper, magazines, catalogs, junk mail and office paper
· Carboard (emptied of packing materials)
o Cereal boxes and shipping/moving boxes
· Plastic (emptied and rinsed)
o Bottles, tubs: water, soda bottles, milk jugs, yogurt cups, margarine tubs, detergent bottles and shampoo bottles
Moving boxes, do you have to remove the tape?
Keith Koski, Solid Waste Management Department Manager said, “No you don’t.”
Pizza boxes, if they have grease stains, are they considered contaminated?
“Yes, they are and often the grease is on the bottom of the box, so if you open it up, check and if the lid is clean, they are usually perforated, you can tear it right off, and put the top into the recycling bin, and the bottom with the grease into the black container.” Explained Koski.
When it comes to plastic bottles, do you have to remove the plastic ring and cap?
“That’s a great question, and the people at the materials recovery facility just told us you don’t have to take the cap off the bottle, in fact it’s better you leave it on.” Explained Koski. “The contamination rate for recycling in Houston, that means our residents well-meaning or not, putting the wrong stuff into the recycling bin or drop off, is 35%. So, 65% is the right stuff, 35% is the wrong stuff. So, the national average is around 27-28%, so we are a little above the national average. We recently had efforts to get out and tag those green carts with a lot of rich information, for people to read so they can recycle right. We got that contamination rate down 28%.”
Items that should not go into your recycling bin:
- BATTERIES/ELECTRONICS
- SHREDDED PAPER
- CORDS/HOSES/WIRES/CLOTHING
- TRASH
- FURNITURE
- SCRAP WOOD
- SCRAP METAL
- YARD WASTE
· DO NOT BAG YOUR RECYCLABLES!
When in doubt, throw it out. When it comes to placing your recycling bin and trash can out by the road, make sure it is not within 3 feet of a lamppost, mailbox or car. Face the metal bar toward the street and make sure the lid is closed.