City’s pilot program tags contaminated recycling bins

The City of El Paso is cracking down on residents who put non-recyclable items in their recycling bins.

The City is testing out a pilot program where it tags contaminated bins.

The tags alert residents that they are in violation, and instruct them to remove the non-recyclable items.

The bins are not collected until the bins are clear of infractions.

Currently, the program is being tested out in West El Paso at homes near High Ridge Drive.

“During our last audit, which was conducted in April of this year, we were at a 34 percent contamination rate. Anything over 15 percent, we are charged approximately $46 a ton,” City of El Paso recycling operations manager Raeann Ortega said. “What we’re going out and doing is educating the residents.”

Friedman Recycling has a contract with El Paso to keep recyclable material out of a landfill by processing the recyclables into a raw material that is then sold to manufacturers.

It has sold the majority of the material to China. However, China’s new “National Sword Policy” severely restricts imports of recyclable materials.

That has increased costs for Friedman recycling and they’re no longer accepting recycling that comes in plastic bags.

“Given the current climate that the recycling industry is in, we’re going back and we’re trying to look at all the areas where we can help clean the material to have a better material to sell,” president of Friedman Recycling Morris Friedman said. “We’ve identified that the plastic bags are an issue. They are clogging up our equipment and not allowing our equipment to work.”

The City is no longer accepting shredded paper and all cardboard needs to be flattened. The City provides this guide to help residents know what is recyclable.

“I think with the tags, they should give us notice a little bit better,” West Side resident Lauren Vanderzwan said. “We were confused, we had to call [the City], instead of them talking to us. We had to talk to our neighbors and other people who have been going through this. It’s not just us and I think they should do a better way of going through it.”

The City has not said when it plans on expanding the program to the rest of El Paso.