Press Releases
 


REMEMBER TO RECYCLE THIS LABOR DAY, HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

August 31, 2006 - The Solid Waste Management Department wants to remind Houstonians to recycle, especially during the Labor Day holiday.

"Instead of letting your cans overflow and having to pay for extra garbage bags, just take a few minutes to separate your items and recycle," says Edward Chen, Solid Waste Management Deputy Director responsible for environmental services.  "Any extra bag of garbage is required to have a 'Tag for Bag' (Extra Capacity Sticker) which costs $1 per tag per bag.  Taking the recyclables out will reduce the amount of garbage set out for collection," says Chen.

Recycling preserves landfill space and it benefits tax payers. "The city received $560,000 in revenue from the sale of recyclables to the end user's market and the city saved approximately $367,500 last fiscal year by diverting materials from the landfill," said Solid Waste Management Department Director Buck Buchanan.  Buchanan adds, "Since disposal costs are paid from the City's General Fund, the avoidance of paying a large fee allows the city to utilize the money for other projects whether it is for the Solid Waste Management Department, libraries, parks or other city services." 

The Curbside Recycling Program is provided bi-weekly to 162,000 Houston homes.  Materials collected include: aluminum and tin cans, #1 and #2 plastic containers, corrugated cardboard, mail, envelopes, home and office paper, telephone books, newspapers, magazines and used motor oil.

Recycling opportunities are provided to all Houstonians through area drop-off locations. The department has seven permanent sites and two alternate weekend sites where residents can bring recyclables (following):