(File Photo) Austin’s recycling center became overwhelmed by a spike in recycled plastic items in the weeks after the city ended its boil-water notice following flooding that filled lakes with silt, mud and debris.
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 .
The center’s data show November’s recyclables jumped 5 percent from the previous year.
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.
(Published Friday, Dec. 21, 2018) 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.
The center also used additional trucks to recover the high volume, while residents had recycling carts overflowing with plastics and set up extra boxes along their curbs.
"It was really a surprise.
"I don’t think they necessarily heeded that advice."