The City of Victoria Environmental Services department is launching a grant-funded campaign to educate residents about waste diversion—that is, keeping unnecessary waste out of the landfill. In addition to recycling, the campaign will promote reducing the amount of single-use items we bring into our homes and reusing things before recycling even enters the picture. With the emphasis often on recycling, it’s easy to forget that the most impactful way to divert waste is to simply minimize what gets tossed out—whether in the trash bin or recycle bin.
Fortunately it’s easier to do this than you might think. Small choices can end up making a huge difference. Here are some good options:
- Reusable shopping bags: Reusable bags can last for years without needing to be repaired, recycled or thrown away.
- Reusable bottles: Plastic bottles are one of the most littered items in waterways and along roadways.
- Thrifted clothes: Donating, purchasing and swapping clothing keeps textiles out of our landfill—where they will sit for hundreds of years.
The efforts recently begun by the Victoria Public Library are great examples of reducing and reusing. These include making the switch from using plastic bags for borrowed items to reusable bags—and by the way, they are looking for more donations of bags! More information about library services can be found at www.victoriatx.gov/library.
The library also held a clothing swap in honor of Earth Day, and they are planning to make it a regular event. Local thrift stores, as well as online resources such as ThredUp, are also great ways to get rid of those clothes you don’t wear anymore and find new stylish items to complement your wardrobe.
What should be recycled?
In Victoria, we can recycle No. 1 and 2 plastics, metal cans, paper and cardboard that is free of food residue (no pizza boxes).
We can make our recycling much more efficient by keeping certain things out of the recycle bin. Plastic bags, wax-coated milk cartons and plastics numbered 3-7 are just some of the common contaminants we encounter. These items disrupt the sorting process and can clog machines, and also compromise the quality of recyclable materials. If our drivers are able to identify contaminated loads before picking them up, they will tag the cart to let the resident know.
What happens to the items I put in my City of Victoria recycling bin?
Our recycling is first sent to our local collection location in Victoria for an initial sort. Any load that has too much contamination—such as trash, yard waste or paint—is sent to the landfill. The rest is then sent to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Houston, where it is sorted and packaged for distribution to manufacturers.
I want to be sure to thank our partners for their support of this waste diversion education campaign: the Coca Cola Southwest Beverages and HEB through a partnership with Keep Texas Beautiful, and the Union Pacific Community Ties Program.
Let’s all make sure that our waste goes to the right places so we can keep using our landfill for years to come and keep Victoria a wonderful place to live. To learn more about all of our waste disposal programs, visit www.victoriatx.gov/environmental-services.
Christy Youker is the executive director of Keep Victoria Beautiful and the assistant director of Environmental Services for the City of Victoria.