Austin Resource Recovery saw the number of recyclables collected in October increase 8.7 percent from the same month last year, the Austin American-Statesman reported .
Austin officials told residents on Oct. 22 to boil their tap water before drinking it after rain and flooding overloaded water treatment plants’ capacity.
Austin handed out roughly 626,000 gallons of bottled water over four days.
Ron Romero, the city recycling center’s division manager for operations, said the amount of plastic recycled in three weeks following the crisis was "just crazy."
The center picked up roughly 5,230 tons of recycling in October, up from around 4,800 tons the same month last year.
"It was really a surprise.
"I don’t think they necessarily heeded that advice."
——— Information from: Austin American-Statesman, http://www.statesman.com Copyright 2018 The Associated Press.
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