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Jennifer Lloyd | 210SA San Antonio’s recycling was ranked third in the nation by Men’s Health, but that doesn’t mean there’s not room for improvement. While up to 80 percent of what we typically throw away can be recycled, residents only put about 12 percent of their total waste into recycling bins, an official says.

Americans toss 2.5 million plastic bottles into the trash every hour, according to the Clean Air Council. Even though many San Antonio residents are part of the largest curbside recycling program in Texas, that doesn’t mean every bottle ends up in the recycling bin.

Even pros such as sisters Michelle and Melissa Mendoza, who have been recycling for about 10 years, sometimes pitch items they know are recyclable. The sisters, who are both UTSA students and live together, said once in a while, they just get too lazy to recycle, especially when it comes to water bottles. Melissa, 26, estimates that about one-fifth of their total waste is recycled.

“I feel guilty because I know better, but sometimes I’m just too tired to go into the garage to recycle,” said Michelle, 20.

210SA investigated San Antonio’s recycling habits in honor of Earth Day, which is Wednesday, April 22.

Within a few months, the City of San Antonio’s Solid Waste Management Department expects to have switched all 340,000 customers to an automated recycling system using a x  96-gallon blue cart (a bit of a step up from the old 18-gallon green bin).

This transition, combined with the recent opening of the technologically advanced Greenstar recycling facility, creates impressive recycling possibilities.

These local efforts have not gone without recognition. In March, Men’s Health ranked San Antonio the No. 3 city in the nation for recycling. But there’s still room for improvement. The Mendoza sisters are not the only area residents who don’t take full advantage of their recycling program.

And though the prices manufacturers are willing to pay for recycled materials have dropped drastically, there still is some profit to be made while benefiting the environment.

Is S.A. still slacking?

San Antonio residents are recycling more than ever, but there are still great strides to be taken.

In 2006, the Solid Waste Management Department delivered 23,000 tons of material to the recycling processing facility, said Stephen Haney, environmental programs manager for the department.

This year, Haney projects the city will deliver about 72,000 tons for processing that would otherwise be dumped in privately owned landfills. Haney said he believes part of the increase in recycling is because of the great convenience of the new blue carts. In 2008, only 50 percent of the city’s customers had the new carts, but those with the carts generated 64 percent of the recyclables collected.

But Haney said residents only put about 12 percent of their total waste into the recycling bins. Up to 80 percent of what we typically throw in the trash could be recycled, Haney said. Another hindrance in recycling locally is that many apartment complexes use private waste-disposal companies that might not offer recycling services, Haney said.

Comparatively, San Francisco had the highest recycling rate in the country at 70 percent last year. But unlike San Antonio, San Francisco and other cities in California must meet a state-mandated recycling goal.

“If you’re comparing us to San Francisco, you’re comparing apples and oranges,” Haney said. “Here in Texas and in San Antonio, recycling is still voluntary. If you want to, if you feel motivated to, then you participate. But in states like California, Oregon ..... that’s all required by statute that they recycle.”

Haney said one long-range prospect for reducing the amount of waste San Antonio generates is to implement volumetric pricing in which customers’ waste bill would vary based on the amount of trash they create. Another long-range option for reducing waste might include banning yard waste from the landfill.

Is recycling worth it?

Though the environmental benefits of recycling are clear and San Antonio has just begun using a new processing facility, the money to be made from selling recycled materials has dropped significantly in recent months.

In March, Greenstar opened a second and much larger recyclable processing facility in San Antonio, which created about 75 jobs.

In addition to creating positions locally, John Rabon, the San Antonio-based manager of Greenstar North America’s Southwest Region, said that recycling saves resources, such as trees, keeps materials from entering the landfill, reduces our carbon footprint and provides materials that are easier to process than using raw materials to manufacture.

Though the city is only sending about 6,000 tons to the new Greenstar facility per month, the plant is capable of processing up to 20,000 tons per month, Rabon said. The facility also processes recycling from other communities, including Austin.

The recyclables are run through an extensive sorting process at the facility before being shipped to manufacturers in the U.S., Mexico and elsewhere abroad. For instance, recycled plastic bottles might end up as clothing, carpet or plastic lumber.

But in the past few months, the prices for recycled materials have dropped between 50 and 90 percent, Rabon said.

For instance, old corrugated cardboard, which was selling for roughly $125 a ton last year, was going for only about $25 recently, Haney said. Though some places in the U.S. have begun stockpiling or dumping recyclables because of their diminished worth, Rabon said Greenstar has done neither.

“We’re not stockpiling anything,” Rabon said. “We’re shipping everything that we manufacture or process.”

Still, the revenue the city sees from its recycling program has declined. Haney said last year the city received more than $3 million in recycling proceeds. This year, the city projects that it will only receive $400,000.

Recycling in their own way

Though the curbside program is in place for those who recycle through the city’s Solid Waste Management Department, some young adults in San Antonio are still neglecting traditional recycling techniques and choosing creative ways to recycle instead.

Angie Weatherhead, a fashion design and photography student at the University of the Incarnate Word, doesn’t ordinarily go out of her way to recycle.

The 21-year-old recycles “if the opportunity comes up.” She added, “I feel a little guilty when it comes to paper because I pattern draft, and I use a lot of paper.”

But Weatherhead has recently begun recycling in her fashion design.

On Wednesday, April 22, Weatherhead will take part in an eco-fashion show at Whole Foods Market for which she has made a short strapless dress from plastic bags and banners. So while she knows she could recycle more, she’s still an example of how today’s young adults are making recycling inventive and even sexy.

Jennifer Lloyd | 210SA