AND ROBERT BRISCHETTO
Guest Column
Let’s talk trash—the Bandera County trash that is recycled and not buried in the landfills. Janus Olive, DONT MAKE WASTE BANDERA Recycling Volunteer Coordinator, takes us through the recent rebuilding of a recycling service in Bandera County.
RECENT HISTORY OF RECYCLING
Prior to Covid, unsupervised recycling dropoffs were allowed at all four county solid waste sites. Recyclables were collected, sorted and baled by the sheriff’s department/trusties and inmates. In partnership with Keep Texas Recycling, a rural recycling cooperative, bales were transported to processing centers and revenue was collected by the County.
Recycling was paused during the Covid period and the county decided not to resume due to difficulties with contamination and trash issues with unsupervised recycling drop offs. The County did not allocate funds to provide staff for that purpose.
2022 - A group of county residents interested in resuming a recycling program in the county is organized and approaches the County with a proposal to restart the program with volunteer supervision. The County approves a “trial” period with volunteers supervising the collection and sorting of accepted items at the central Bandera (Mansfield) site, managed by Commissioner Jody Rutherford.
Sheriff’s department/ trusties assume the responsibility of baling the items. Rutherford becomes a liaison between the County, Keep Texas Recycling and Bandera Recycles volunteers. Accepted items include aluminum drinks cans, #1PETE plastic bottles, and corrugated cardboard.
In November 2022, volunteer-supervised recycling, free to the public, begins operation every Saturday, 9am-3pm. Bandera Recycles volunteers coordinate the supervision of accepted items dropped off. The Sheriff’s Department coordinates the baling of recyclables.
Average number of customers = 25-30/Saturday 2023 - As customer numbers grow and volumes of recyclables are collected, the understaffed Sheriff’s Department is unable to keep up with the baling. Bandera Recycles volunteers are trained to bale, relieving the Sheriff’s Department from that responsibility. The piles of plastic bottles, aluminum cans and cardboard are baled, stacked and stored for shipment.
Average number of customers doubles to 60-70/ Saturday.
2024 - Keep Texas Recycling collaborates with the County for shipping recyclables to designated processors and mills. During 2024, 51 tons of baled recyclables will be shipped. Sales revenue is returned to the county and used to maintain the recycling program.
The Lakehills community requests a local recycling site in order to capture more residents in their remote, populated region of the county. HEB awards grant funding for the fabrication of a RecycleMobile. Lakehills volunteers organize and train with Bandera Recycles for supervising collections. Lakehills recycling site opens for Saturday collection in July 2024. Every week, the loaded RecycleMobile is transported to the main site in Bandera (Mansfield) for baling.
Average number of customers increases to 110-115/ Saturday.
2025 - Recycling sites at both Bandera and Lakehills continue to successfully operate every Saturday with Bandera Recycles volunteers supervising. By the end of June 2025, another 30 tons of recyclables are baled and shipped.
An additional item is approved by the County and added to the accepted items list: #2 HDPE Naturals. These are the “milk jug” type plastic containers.
Average number of customers increases to 133/Saturday (Jan-June)
ENVIRONMENTAL SAVINGS TO BANDERA COUNTY The following data have been gathered covering Nov 2022 through May 2025 (19 months): Shipments of recycled items:
• Corrugated Cardboard = 3 (65.09 Tons)
• Aluminum Drink Cans = 2 (5.54 Tons)
• #1 PETE Drink Bottles = 2 (10.23 Tons) Total tons of recyclables baled and sold to date = 80.86 Tons (161,720 pounds) In addition of keeping 81 tons of materials out of our landfills, recycling in Bandera County has significantly reduced the environmental impact in several key areas:
• 65.1 tons of corrugated cardboard has saved
• 1,106 mature trees
• 455,600 gallons of water
• 5.54 tons of aluminum cans has saved
• 465 barrels of fuel oil
• 77,560 kwh of electricity. Enough to serve as a power source for approximately 86 households for one month
• Recycling aluminum cans uses only 5% of the energy needed to produce new aluminum
• 10.23 Tons of #1 PETE plastic drink bottles has conserved
• 39 barrels of oil
• 73,700 gallons of water
PRODUCTS FABRICATED FROMTHESE RECYCLED PRODUCTS • Recycled Cardboard
• cardboard
• cereal boxes
• packaging materials
• paper towels
• Recycled Aluminum Cans
• new aluminum cans
• car and airplane parts
• baseball bats
• window frames
• Recycled #1PETE Plastic Bottles
• new plastic bottles and containers
• fleece fabric
• carpet
.png)
