The recycling programs in Las Cruces and El Paso are entwined for the foreseeable future – or at least for the next 18 months that remain on the contract between the South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA) in Las Cruces and Friedman Recycling processing plant in El Paso.
China continues to reject shipments of contaminated recyclables – and in fact is now making moves to ban all material. According to a July 18, 2018 Resource Recycling article, “The Chinese government has released a proposal to completely ban imports of recovered fiber and every other form of ‘solid waste.’”
In the meantime, Las Cruces continues encouraging recyclers to only recycle items deemed “acceptable” and shown on top of your blue curbside bin, and be sure everything is empty, clean and dry.
In El Paso, the City’s Environmental Services Department is trying a pilot program to educate recycling customers in the hopes of greatly reducing contamination in the blue curbside bins. It’s a Recycling Partnership program called “Tug, Tip, Tag, and Turn” that’s been adopted in other U.S. cities; in June El Paso started with 16 routes, 26,000 households and 8 officers who inspect recycling bins manually and do the following:
Tug: An inspector gives the bin a quick tug. The bin should move easily as it should be light with items like clean pieces of cardboard, along with empty and rinsed plastics and cans.
Tip: The inspector will tip open the lid to see if there is anything amiss. The inspectors look for things like bagged recyclables, plastic bags, yard waste, food or liquids and “tanglers” that can mess up recycling equipment at the Friedman plant: things like hoses, wires, chains, and extension cords.
Turn: If anything is found amiss by the inspectors, they turn the bin around so it will not be picked up by the recycling truck.
Tag: The inspectors leave an “Oops!” tag and circle the reason why the city didn’t pick up the bin so residents to know what to leave out in the future.
“It’s still early in the pilot, but we’re excited to see a positive trend in the education process,” explained Kurt Fenstermacher, Deputy Director of El Paso’s Environmental Services Department. “We already seeing fewer ‘Oops’ tags, which is what is written on the tag. It’s a trend that we hope to encourage.”
Many times, by accident residents throw things in recycling that don’t belong there, but sometimes it’s just a lack of awareness of what is acceptable in the blue bin. Always check your lid and compare it to what’s in your hand before you toss it in. It’s up to us to keep the long-term security of our recycling programs by making sure that our bins stay “tugable” as well.
Mark your calendars: October 9th and 11th, the SCSWA will be hosting “Listening Sessions” in Las Cruces to get input from residents to design a recycling program to serve Las Cruces for the next decade.
Green Connections is submitted by the South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA) managing solid waste, recyclables, and working to stop illegal dumping for residents and businesses throughout Doña Ana County. Contact the SCSWA at (575) 528-3800 or visit www.SCSWA.net.