HOUSTON’S RECYCLING RATE LOWEST OF ALL MAJOR CITIES

By Ella Tyler

Houston made the New York Times Tuesday, and not in a flattering way. The Times said that Houston recycles just 2.6 percent of its total waste, citing a survey conducted by the trade publication Trash News. The national average for large cities is 32 percent. San Francisco is the leader, diverting 69 percent of its waste. Dallas recycles 11.5 percent of its trash and San Antonio recycles 4 percent. The Times story and an accompanying video can be seen on the Times website. Warning – it might raise your blood pressure.Houston’s curbside recycling program began as a pilot program in 23 neighborhoods in 1990. Now curbside recycling is available to 162,000 homes in more than 260 neighborhoods, however, in 2006, only 16% of the homes used the service. At that time, the program lost money. The city spent more to collect the trash than it made by selling the material and saved on landfill costs.

After a 10-month-long contest among civic clubs to raise participation in curbside recycling, that number rose to 23%. That competition ended in April of 2007. The participation rates for different subdivisions can be seen online.

In contrast, between 2006 and 2007, El Paso jumped from a recycling rate of 2.5 percent (from six drop-off sites) to a recycling rate of 16 percent after it instituted curbside recycling, according to a March 3, 2008, article in Trash News. In a study done a several months after curbside recycling began, 85% of the residents in the neighborhood studied were using the program. El Paso gave its environmental services department about $400,000 to spend on an education and outreach campaign to promote the new curbside recycling program.

Houston is making some improvements in its recycling program. It has just signed a contract with Living Earth Technology to recycle yard waste beginning this fall and now picks up a broader selection of plastics. Now #1-5, and #7 plastics can be recycled. Look for the number in the triangle. Examples of the kinds of plastic that can’t be recycled curbside include toys, packing materials, flower pots, styrofoam, plastic bags, or plastic furniture. A good review of the “Dos and Don’ts of Houston Recycling” is online.

Although there are about 25,000 households on a waiting list for curbside recycling, the city appears to be reluctant to discontinue serving any neighborhood. It was not until last month that Houston’s solid waste director notified the residents of the 23 neighborhoods with less than 10% participation in curbside recycling that the service might be suspended next year unless participation increases. That letter cites saving landfill space as the reason to recycle.

See also INCENTIVES COULD BOOST HOUSTON RECYCLING, ADVOCATES SAY.