Earth Day 2022: Recycling some items not possible in Abilene, but options being explored
With the yearly celebration of Earth Day — first observed April 22, 1970 — thoughts for some Abilene residents return to recycling.
And while there are programs that could yet expand, or in the case of plastics or glass, return, there's plenty of it going on in the city of Abilene, especially since the reintroduction of cardboard recycling near the end of last year.
In the first quarter of 2022, the city took in about 381 tons of cardboard, 34.5 tons of metal and 5.5 tons of aluminum for recycling, assistant city manager Michael Rice said.
Cardboard recycling returned to the city's portfolio of materials in November 2021, following a departure in December 2020.
Residents, Rice said, generally have expressed gratitude.
"I think that there's a greater appreciation," he said.
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Diverse offerings
As far as materials, the city currently accepts:
► Aluminum cans
► Bi-metal cans
► Scrap metal, white goods (large electrical goods used domestically) and appliances containing refrigerant gasses.
► Cardboard
It does not accept:
► Newspapers, magazines, office paper, and junk mail
► Concrete
► Furniture
► Glass bottles and jars
► Plastics (milk jugs/soda bottles/water bottles)
► Wood products, such as fencing or framing lumber
The city does accept tree trimmings and limbs, which it can turn into chips and mulch, Rice said.
"That is available for the public, if they want to do that, as opposed to all that being just taken the landfill and covered up," Rice said.
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Ebb and flow
The history of city recycling programs has, in recent years, been somewhat variable.
Near the end of July 2019, the city announced it no longer would accept plastic and glass materials for recycling, citing a "prolonged and future-anticipated change in the recycling market."
"Because of this change in business, the city of Abilene has no point of distribution for plastic and glass recyclables," the city said in a news release at the time.
In December 2020, a "prolonged depressed recycling market" further prompted the end of cardboard and paper materials, the city announced.
Not long thereafter, though, the city announced the return of cardboard recycling at its drop-off centers, stating the Abilene area vendor that collects recyclable materials had partnered with a new buyer.
That change gave the city the ability to collect cardboard materials and transfer them to a vendor for recycling once again, instead of having to discard them as a waste product.
At the time, Rice said if the effort was successful, it could "springboard into other materials."
Looking ahead
Rice said the city does hear from time to time from those who wish there was a "more robust recycling program" in place.
Much comes down to where Abilene is geographically located, Rice said.
"There are some things going on nationwide to promote recycling," he said. "But it comes down to economics, just plain and simple."
The city has a good relationship with RWL Recycling, Rice said, and like residents is happy that cardboard was able to be added back to the list of recyclable materials.
But right now, the company is not ready, "and I don't think the markets are supporting them doing anything in addition to cardboard at this time," Rice said.
"That doesn't mean it might not change in the future," Rice said. "But as of today, we are doing everything that the markets will support."
Rice said he has a professional contact with the Solid Waste Association of North America, which covers United States and portions of Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and other areas.
"She's been working on some type of regional recycling coalition," he said, with areas potentially including Lubbock, Abilene and possibly part of the Midland-Odessa area.
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"This is all just conversations at this point, there's been no contracts pending, no negotiations have been even begun or started yet," Rice said. "But we are working on trying to come up with a regional plan. We feel like regionally will have a larger volume, which will be make it more attractive to the big players that would then be interested in that product."
Things such as plastic, he said, could potentially be added back, he said, if "someone is willing to take (those items) from us."
"As those opportunities arise, we'll share investigate those and we'll incorporate those into the programs if we can make it work," he said.
Brian Bethel covers city and county government and general news for the Abilene Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.
How/where to recycle
Environmental Recycling Center, 2209 Oak St., (325) 672-2209. Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays, 8 a.m.-noon; closed Sundays and Mondays.
Neighborhood recycling:
►2070 Zoo Lane (Abilene Zoo)
►4580 Buffalo Gap Road
►1345 Barrow St. (H-E-B)
►1657 Highway 351 (Walmart)
►1301 South 8th St.
►4374 Southwest Drive
►920 N. Willis Street (United Supermarkets)
Brush Recycling: Abilene Brush Center, 2149 Sandy St. Weekdays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Self-service: Citizens Convenience Center, 2149 Sandy St., for self-service bulky items & brush recycling. Accepted materials include bulky items, such as furniture and mattresses, carpeting (two roll limit per visit) and wood fencing (limit 50 feet per visit).
Prohibited materials include items from commercial establishments, multi-family residential property, or government sites, construction waste such as bricks, concrete, rock, sheetrock, shingles, tile, putrescible waste, etc. Tires also are prohibited.
Hours are weekdays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturdays 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Recycling some items not possible in Abilene, but options explored
