Aspirational recyclers are people who “hope” a material is recyclable and put it in the blue bin or recycling dumpster. “It’s made of plastic, there must be some way to recycle this!” is the thought some people have, and thereby ignore the list of materials that our recycling partner Friedman Recycling can take.
“We need high quality, clean and dry recyclables to send to Friedman’s recycling plant in northeast El Paso,” says Tarkeysha Burton, recycling coordinator for the South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA). “We know there are many residents who are dedicated to recycling and work to reduce their environmental impact. But we’re also getting a lot of food contamination and materials that are not recyclable.” The upshot is because so many people are ignoring the sticker on top of their blue bins, Las Cruces is not receiving ‘revenue share back’ dollars from Friedman and we’re looking a small price increase in the recycling fee this summer.
Friedman is set up to accept, manage, and sell only specific materials that are most valuable to established manufacturers that use recycled materials.
Remember, recyclables – such as aluminum cans – are being processed into something new. Aluminum is considered the most recyclable and valuable of all materials. Recycled cans are melted into new sheets of aluminum that can be made into new cans and many other aluminum items without adding new raw materials.
That list of recyclable materials accepted in Las Cruces is on the permanent sticker mounted on top of your blue curbside bin.
“We are urging our residents to please continue recycling, but be more aware and thoughtful about what goes in their blue bin,” explains Burton. Curbside recycling is a service that began as a citizen movement in Las Cruces; it was lobbied for and pushed forward by residents and launched on Earth Day 2011. In 2016 Las Cruces residents and businesses recycled 7,000 tons of materials (14 million lbs) of materials. That’s material that was diverted from being permanently buried in Corralitos Regional Landfill.
Green Connections is submitted by the South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA), managing solid waste, recyclables, and fighting illegal dumping for residents and businesses in the City of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County. You can reach the SCSWA at (575) 528-3800 or visit www.scswa.com