CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Director of the City's Solid Waste Services Department said there is a way to help protect the environment year round by recycling.
Director David Lehfeldt said for the most part residents do a good job at recycling.
"We just want to make sure people do get it right and we want to make sure we do everything we can to help them," Lehfeldt said.
This comes as the City has seen misappropriated items ending up in recyclables across town, such as plastic bags.
"Plastic bags are recyclable but not in our system," Lehfeldt said. "They are actually hazardous for the recycling equipment. They wrap around belts and pullies, and clog up the material. They damage the recycling equipment and cause a shutdown."
It was just last year, when a recycling truck caught on fire. It's believed someone put lithium ion batteries inside their recycle bin. Other big items that shouldn't go into your cart are items such as Styrofoam and yard clippings.
"Our biggest problem is the trash that isn't recyclable that people put in the recycle carts, about 40 percent of it a year ago," Lehfeldt said.
Something that was estimated to costs the City about a half million dollar each year.
There is a whole list of dos and don'ts on the City's website that can give residents the clarification they need. The Solid Waste Services Department started a program called Recycle Clean. The program is aimed at cutting down on the amount of contaminates.
"Where we are putting our officers in the field, opening the containers and looking inside, based on national averages expecting 15-20 percent were going to be really poor performers," Lehfeldt said.
Locally, Lehfeldt said the amount of contaminates was much lower at around six-to-seven percent, which means the Corpus Christi area is beating the national average.
He adds that residents often dispose of items they know can not be reused, which can cause an array of problems.
"It's dirty diapers, it's yard waste, plastic bags, things we know aren't recyclable," Lehfeldt said.
For more information on how to recycle properly, click here.
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