Trash Talk: Don’t Kick the Can Down the Road

Let’s talk trash—and be pragmatic about recycling.

Recycling has only a recent history in this country. The plastic industry emerged in the 1950s, and two decades later we were being inundated with plastic products of all sorts. In the 1970s we began to hear “reduce, reuse and recycle.” A half century later, we are still asking whether we are buried in our own trash.

Will we ever be able to reverse

the effect of plastic pollution?

Plastics languish forever in the landfills; some are washed into the oceans consumed by aquatic life. Researchers predict that by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans. And some are finding that microplastics can work their way into our food chain.

In 2024 the Environmental Protection Agency found that only 15% of the 300 million tons of plastic waste generated each year in this country gets recycled. They set a goal of reaching a recycling rate of 50% by 2030 and have made specific recommendations for reducing plastics.

Some countries and some places in this country have found ways of recycling and reusing plastics. But to reduce requires the plastic industry to reverse its production trajectory of the wonderfully convenient and cheaply-made plastic products generated from petroleum.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are studying ways to create biodegradable plastic from materials other than petroleum. They even have a plan to develop a new class of biologically-synthesized, protein-based and biodegradable materials to replace traditional petroleum derived plastics. But we’re not there yet. In the meantime, we can avoid single-use plastics like the bags we use at the checkout counter.

Not all plastics are recyclable and some are technically recyclable but not economical. In order to keep producing, the plastic industry promotes a seven-numbered identification system for distinguishing different types of polymers, but only the first two of those numbers are actually being used in most recycling.

What is the payoff from recycling?

Bandera County has taken a pragmatic approach to recycling. In order to ensure that it pays for itself, the county has contracted with Keep Texas Beautiful to find buyers for only those materials that can be kept clean, easily baled and sold at a reasonable price. So, when recycling was restarted two years ago, the items are limited to aluminum cans, corrugated cardboard, and #1 plastic bottles. That was (1) to make storage cleaner; (2) to ensure that 100% of the recycled materials do not end up in the landfill; and (3) make a profit on sales that would support recycling.

The promise was that the number of acceptable items would increase if practicable. This month the county commissioners will consider adding HDPE #2 Naturals (milk jugs) to the acceptable materials it recycles.

If we compare the February 2025 market prices that we get per ton for the sale of different recycled materials, clearly cans rank as the most marketable. For aluminum cans we will be paid $1,840 per ton, 26 times what we get per ton for corrugated cardboard and almost 7 times what we get for number one plastic water bottles. HDPE#2 Naturals in February sold for almost as much as cans-$1,620 per ton.

What’s the real value of recycling?

The 51 tons of recyclables Bandera County shipped last year sold for $8,694 and saved approximately $1,529 in landfill fees. But there are even better reasons than the profit motive for continuing recycling. The environmental savings from recycling included:

• 866 trees;

• 208,977 KWHrs of electricity;

• 356,790 gals of water; and •168 cubic yds of landfill.

DON’T MAKE WASTE BANDERA has initiated an effort to get those working on road cleanups to recycle aluminum cans from what they pick up. To keep aluminum cans out of the landfill, DMWB will give see-through mesh bags to any groups sponsoring cleanups on any roads or highways in the county. Just send an email to: dontmakewastebandera@ gmail. com and tell us how many bags will be needed.

To volunteer or contribute to any of the projects of DMWB—on roads, yards or recycling—send us an email or call Bob Brischetto at 210-413-7264.