Our neighborhood receives curbside recycling services from the City of Houston. This service is sought after by many subdivisions within the City and it is important all of us participate. Curbside recycling is easy and helps reduce the waste deposited in our landfills.
Curbside recycling is picked up every other Monday, except holidays. Residents are asked to use the green recycling bins provided by the City for all recycling materials. In July, our neighborhood will be receiving 96 gallon recycling bins - read below for more info on the pilot program.
The City of Houston provides heavy trash pickup services the first Monday of every month, except holidays. Heavy trash items include furniture, appliances and tree limbs that are too large or heavy for residential collection crews. Beware: Putting items out before the Friday before the collection day is a violation of a City of Houston ordinance and may result in a $50-200 citation against the homeowner.
Our neighborhood was selected to participate in the City of Houston's automated recycling pilot program On one of our regular recycling days in July this summer, you will put out your 18 gallon green bin(s) and the City will pick them up )along with the recyclables in them) and replace them with a 96 gallon green bin that will be emptied by an automated truck like the regular garbage truck. The Civic Club was not given an exact date for the change, but we want to alert you that the change is coming and to encourage you to keep on recycling! You don't have to do anything unusual; once your 18 gallon green bins are replaced with the 96 gallon recycling bin, you will be on board with the program.
Under the pilot program, curbside recycling service will change from manual collection (green bins) to automated collection. Each of the approximately 10,000 homes participating in the pilot program will receive one 96-gallon green automated can similar to the black automated garbage can. Participants will still be able to put all of their unsorted recyclables into one city-provided container.
The cart is much bigger than the 18-gallon green bin currently used in the Curbside Recycling Program, and it has wheels, making it much easier to move the recyclables to the curb. Also, the cart has a lid which contains the recyclables and keeps them from getting wet or blown away. Printed on the lid is a list of the items that can go in the cart. This new service allows participants to recycle glass, which was not previously collected curbside. The recyclables will be taken to the Abitibi Bowater facility that has automated sorting capabilities.
This new service makes it easier for residents to recycle; thereby increasing recycling and helping the City divert waste from landfills. Collection costs are reduced because collection is automated, collection routes are serviced more efficiently and worker injuries are expected to decrease because of automated collection.
