By Tanner Hunt
You finish a beer. Do you throw the bottle in the trash?
If it were up to the city of Lubbock, that would be your only option — even though glass is considered one of the rare materials to be infinitely recyclable without loss of purity or quality.
Yet, the city stopped accepting glass for recycling in the spring. The reason is that glass recycling is not financially sustainable, said Penny Morin, Lubbock’s solid waste manager.
“You can only fund so much when it comes down to the city,” Morin said.
Where do your empty bottles end up? Photo from Canva.com.
Luckily, Texas Tech’s recycling center and a new company can save your empty bottles and other glass from ending in the landfill. And it doesn’t even have to involve much hassle.
When Baron Eliason moved to Lubbock, he couldn’t believe the city had no curbside recycling program. After toying with the idea of creating a recycling program for a long time, this November he opened 1-2-3 Recycling, which offers a no-contract service to pick up your recycling from your home. The service costs $30 for bi-monthly and $60 for weekly pickup.
The company takes the bagged recyclables to Tech’s recycling center to be processed or sent away to be sold.
“We are trying to be connected to the community and good partners with Tech,” Eliason said.
Since 2009, Tech has offered free recycling drop-off in the back of the Student Housing Center. The center is run by Melanie Tatum and Jacqueline “Jackie” Kimbler.
Kimbler said the center received 12 tons of glass in September, and 13.5 tons since then.
The university recycling center does not profit from recycling glass, which is shipped to Midland. Community members are encouraged to bring the rest of their recycling to Tech’s as well because the center can earn money from processing other recyclables.
Tech’s center has seen a rise not only in the amount of glass but also other recyclables as a result of the city shutting down glass recycling.
“When the city made that announcement, our phones were ringing off the wall,” Tatum said.
The city has also stopped taking certain electronics, such as old TVs, Tatum said. By contrast, the Tech recycling center has a partnership with Suddenlink Communications to ship old electronics to ECS Refining in Dallas. The amount of profit depends on the type, with computers being more profitable than TVs.
Convenience is key to recycling efforts. Victoria Isett, a freshman double major in philosophy and German, said she recycles when there are bins around — on campus, for example.
“My family used to recycle all of our bottles, so I know how much glass Lubbock is throwing away,” Isett said.
People in Lubbock need more information about recycling, Eliason said, because some of them do not know what can be recycled or how to sort it.
Scott Cochran, a Tech alumnus and a Lubbock resident, said he was unaware the city had stopped collecting glass and that he thought that was a clear sign more public awareness was needed.
“I don’t recycle as much as I should, but that is no excuse for the city,” Cochran said.
Morin said the South Plains Association of Governments, or SPAG, offers help to about 20 applicants each year, but the city is yet to receive additional funds for recycling. These public works grants come through the South Plains Economic Development District and the Economic Development Administration, SPAG’s website shows.
About JOUR 3312
this guy recycles
This is awesome. I love up-and-coming tech companies and I love recycling. Do you know of any other Texas-based companies that are spearheading initiatives like this? I’d hope that there’s a long future for recycling companies, but this could just be a one-off. What do you think?