5 Essential Things You Need to Know Now About Recycling in San Angelo

Just under 20 tons of plastic, paper, tin and trash have been dumped before a large metal building by the truckload every day this week, a team of workers outfitted with gloves sifting through the garbage heaps by hand in a quick attempt to sort out what they can before the next truck pulls in to dump more on top.

The citywide recycling program is in its infancy, and the team at Butt’s Recycling Center is learning literally as they reach for litter, but a barrage of phone calls and piles of inappropriately disposed garbage is posing hurdles to the processors.

“The first load that came in on Monday morning was like only 2-3 percent trash, which was way below our expectations,” Butts Recycling Vice President Kevin Butts said. “Our expectations, we thought it would be about 10-15 percent trash. As the day went on, it got a little bit worse. This morning, we got tree limbs, baby diapers, glass. We’re still seeing it, so the more we get the word out there that these are the don’ts, please help us, the more time we have to sort the [recyclables].”

Butts is confident that as the community adapts and becomes more educated on the recycling program, the amount of contamination will drop. However, there are some areas that have caused obvious confusion and simple mistakes that are being made that are stalling the sorting process.

Below are the top five issues the recycling plant is currently facing and simple instructions on how residents can ensure they are following the right procedures.

Don’t bag your recyclables

San Angelo does not have a recycling program for plastic bags of any kind, including thicker, heavy duty bags used to hold water softener pellets and packing materials.

“There are options for it, it just gums up our machines,” Butts said. “A lot of cities like Austin have outlawed them…plastic bags you can recycle, we just choose not to do it here.”

Although people haven’t been disposing of bags by the hundred, the recycling team is finding black trash bags filled with empty plastic bottles and other recyclable materials. While it does keep the items segregated, all of the bags end up torn open any way, and the bags have to be put into a regular trash bin. It adds a layer of work to the process.

“We’ve been out there for three days and people are still putting their recyclables in a plastic bag and tying it up,” Butts said. “That’s a no-no. We don’t want any bags. We don’t even want recyclables in a bag. That’s a big, big help if they stop doing that.”

Empty, but don’t wash, food containers

There has been a fair amount of commentary regarding “washing your trash”, but the folks at Butts say that a thorough scrubbing is not necessary.

“Just dump it out…it doesn’t have to be sterilized and cleaned, though. Just dump it out and recycle it,” Preston said.

Butter tubs, dog food cans, milk cartons and other like recyclables should be scraped clean, but there’s no need to rinse. Just so long as any leftovers or expired products have been dumped out, the containers can go into the bins with a bit of residue.

“We want it dry, clean—it doesn’t have to be washed, but no food left in it,” Preston said. “Have it empty, but it doesn’t have to be washed.”

Diapers, hygienic and medical waste are not recyclable

The workers at the recycling center are sorting the materials by hand. In the first week of the residential program, workers found used syringes, tampons, maxi pads, diapers, tissues and various other sanitary items. Those items have to be discarded in a landfill anyway, so disposing of them in a recycling bin only exposes workers to unsanitary and biohazard waste and doubles the amount of work needed to dispose of those items.

“Diapers are not recyclable,” Butts said. “I went through at least 50 or 60 this morning. They fold them up nice and neat for you but that’s not [recyclable]. And sanitary stuff, I’m running into a lot of sanitary stuff.

“The sad part is somebody will put it in a bag, which we say please don’t do, and we open it up and it’s like 98 percent recyclables in there and then we see napkins and hand towels and stuff and we just throw it,“ Butts said. “We have to. It’s contaminated.”

Sanitary items include napkins, toilet paper and tissues, in addition to feminine hygiene, medical and incontinence items.

Sack shredded paper in transparent bags

“The one thing that we do want in a plastic bag is shredded paper,” Butts President Sandra Preston said. “It needs to be in a clear plastic bag so we can identify it.”

Preston explained that because the trucks come in and dump the materials on the ground for sorting, collecting the various shredded bits of paper can be cumbersome and lead to more paper being scattered around the outdoor work area. If the paper shreds are placed into clear sacks, workers can quickly and easily identify the contents and place it in the appropriate holding area.

Absolutely no glass is accepted

As with biological waste, the key takeaway when considering discarding glass in the recycling bin is that the workers sort the materials by hand. Butts does not have a program for glass recycling, and bottles and jars often become sharp and splintered shards by the time the reach the recycling plant.

Cross Contamination

While most seem to be on board with the recycling program, those rebels who refuse to change their habits are urged to consider the efforts of those at the recycling center when disposing of their waste.

“If you don’t want to recycle, fine, don’t recycle,” Preston said. “Just turn your bin in. If they put trash in it, they’re going to contaminate the recyclables that are in there and that would be defeating the purpose.”

Contaminated recyclables, such as those covered with food waste or with bits of used toilet paper stuck to them, are sorted and discarded with the regular trash, then taken to the landfill.  

All of the recycling bins are emptied into separate trucks whose final destination is the recycling plant.

As a general rule, Butts said, “if you’re confused at all, go back to the flyers…just look at the do’s and don’ts, and if it’s not listed as a do, then it’s a don’t. If you’re unsure, you can make a phone call.”

Those with questions regarding pick-up schedules or anything pertaining to the carts and garbage transport should contact Republic Services at 325-481-7700. A color map indicating pick up days, lists of what may and may not be recycled, and other information may be found here.