FOR SOME, RECYCLING IS NOT CHILD'S PLAY
West University Examiner
By Rachel Seeley
September 19, 2006 - Seven-year-old Braeswood Place resident Ellen Alley takes recycling more seriously than most adults.
Ever since she was appointed her family's recycling chief about a year ago, she's been diligently sorting through two recycle bins full of material every other week and setting it out by the curb for city collection.
"I take out the recycling and I sort it, then I take it out and the recycling people pick it up," she said.
Her mother, Brene Brown, said from the time she takes a can of soda out of the refrigerator to the time she rinses it out and places it in the bin, Ellen is watching.
"She used to say something to us. Now she just gives us the look," Brown joked. "If we threw away the wrong thing, she'd take it out of the trash and say, 'What are y'all doing?'"
Family members appointed Ellen recycling chief about a year ago when they decided she was ready for chores, and cleaned up an old red wagon she could use to take the bins to the curb.
Now the Mark Twain Elementary School second-grader is setting an example for the whole family, including her father, Steve Alley, and 1-year-old brother, Charlie. The city of Houston hopes more families will follow Ellen's lead.
This June, Mayor Bill White kicked off a campaign to recharge the city's dwindling recycling program. On average, only 20 percent of area homes have been taking advantage of the program, and many aren't even sure how it works.
So, fliers began going out to homes with their water bills, and a recycling contest was initiated to give people incentive. Four $5,000 awards will be given to the neighborhoods with the highest and most improved newspaper and co-mingled collections.
Neighborhoods that fail to garner a certain amount of participation may lose recycling collection, though the city hasn't yet announced what the necessary participation level will be.
"If a neighborhood isn't at a certain level, some of the neighborhoods may be cut from the program," said Marina Joseph, public information manager for the city of Houston Solid Waste Management Department.
"We've got trucks, we've got laborers, we've got fuel that we're paying for. If we're not picking anything up, then it's not a benefit," Joseph said.
"We want to do the environmentally correct thing, but we also want to be wise stewards of the taxpayers' dollars."
Members of the Braeswood Place Homeowners Association are taking the mayor's challenge to heart.
Though the 36 percent participation rate the neighborhood boasted was higher than most other Houston-area neighborhoods, residents are determined to do better.
Member Judy Siverson has helped fuel the homeowners' association drive to increase participation with a three-pronged approach that includes surveying residents, distributing reminder signs to be posted in lawns and putting a regular reminder in the neighborhood's monthly newsletter.
"We have definitely noticed an increase in participation," Siverson said.
Every other week, the 110-block neighborhood is dotted by signs reminding residents to put out their recycling bins for city collection. And the effort is working.
"We're getting the message out that it's easy to do, it's convenient, and it's a service we get for free," Siverson said.
She hopes the trend catches on citywide and everyone follows Ellen's example.
Percentage of area homes using Houston recycling services as of June 2006:
Boulevard Oaks 20%
Braeswood Place 36%
Old Braeswood 38%
South Hampton 24% Southgate 38%
Sunset Terrace 10%