Posted 12:53 am Thursday, May 13, 2010
Small Cities Fighting Waste With Recycling
By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Smaller East Texas communities are embracing efforts to recycle in hopes that more people will choose not to be wasteful.
In Whitehouse, residents can drop off items at the city's recycle center on Railroad Avenue. It is open from 7:30 to 10 a.m. and 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and from 8 a.m. to noon on the first Saturday of each month.
Dorothy LaFlure, secretary of Keep Whitehouse Beautiful, said newspapers, magazines, cardboard, aluminum and tin cans are all accepted. However, the center does not recycle glass.
"When you drive your car through the recycling center, usually community service workers are there that will take recycling out of your car and organize it. The person doesn't (have to) organize it themselves," Ms. LaFlure said.
Besides the recycling center, Keep Whitehouse Beautiful puts out containers at local events, such as the Don't Mess with Texas Trash Off and YesterYear parade, where attendees can recycle materials.
The organization also teaches children about the benefits of recycling through its education chairwoman, Pam Hood.
"As a retired teacher, I see the importance of planting the seeds very early," Ms. Hood said.
She said she visits schools and adapts her message to specific age groups.
For first-graders, she enters the classroom as the "litter lady" and gives students a litter bag and activity book. Second-graders get a seedling tree to grow; third-graders learn how to recycle paper; and fourth-graders get to tour the city's recycling center.
By fifth grade, Ms. Hood is talking to students about composting.
And education efforts do not stop there.
Ms. Hood said Keep Whitehouse Beautiful also has booths at civic events, so residents can pick up litter bags and other free items as they get information about recycling.
Ms. Hood said Keep Whitehouse Beautiful also has booths at civic events, so residents can pick up litter bags and other free items as they get information about recycling.
Recycling "is an important resource for us to be able to use to protect and conserve natural resources we have around us, to have resources for future years and for the natural environment so we have a pleasing place to live," said Debbie Shafer, the organization's president.
In the years to come, Keep Whitehouse Beautiful will continue to look at recycling efforts.
Ms. Shafer said one thing members are eyeing is the possibility of curbside recycling pick-up within the city limits. They already have surveyed some residents to see if they would be in favor of the initiative and, so far, 90 percent have expressed support.
The trash pick-up "contract expires in five years, and we're hoping at that point we will definitely have grown to a point where the concept will be viable," Ms. Shafer said.
If it does come to fruition, she said the curbside service would not take away the need for the recycling center because many of the center's patrons are from outside the city limits.
In Bullard, the city recently initiated a recycling program complete with a recycling bin, thanks to a grant that was about $7,500.
The bin is housed directly behind City Hall and is used to receive paper, recycled plastics such as cola bottles or milk jugs and aluminum and tin. It can be used from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Mayor Teresa Adams-Wilks said the bin is a way for Bullard to get rid of items without overcrowding landfills with waste.
"I think it's something a lot of citizens have wanted to see used," she has said. "I'm glad we're participating in recycling."
She added, "We invite the public to be a part of this program and recycle. Remember no part of recycling is too small to be effective."
Mayor Wilks said the city also would be open to considering other recycling efforts in the future.
In Jacksonville, there is not an official recycling program.
Will Cole, the city's public works director, said the idea of a program is discussed from time to time, but it has not been feasible because of economic circumstances or other factors.
Dale Jamerson, who co-owned a recycling center in Jacksonville, said although the city does not have a recycling program, residents can still recycle steel, aluminum and copper at a few places, including Jacksonville Iron & Metal on County Road 1520 and Easy Recycle on U.S. Highway 79.
Overall, though, he said the recycling market is not what it used to be.
"Right now the market is not there. The price for recycled goods, the recycled material is higher than the virgin material …," Jamerson said. "It's going to take a while until it gets back into the rhythm as it once was."
