Corpus Christi Aims to Reduce Recycling Contamination Rate
City of Corpus Christi
CORPUS CHRISTI (News Release) - City council authorized the purchase of four right-side drive Jeeps in the amount of $189,360. The vehicles will be used by Quality Control Officers in the City’s Solid Waste Department to inspect recycling carts throughout the community.
The inspections will be conducted as part of a new program called Recycle Contamination Lessening Education and Enforcement (CLEAN). The initiative aims to reduce the City’s recycling contamination rate. Currently, the City spends nearly $500,000 annually to address prohibited materials in its recycling program.
Recycle CLEAN is a multitiered education and inspection program. The education portion of the program will focus on providing the public with information about how to reduce recycling contamination through public service announcements, social media advertising, and speaking engagements.
The compliance portion of the program will involve daily recycling cart inspections performed by Quality Control Officers in the City’s Solid Waste Department. The officers will identify and remove items deemed to be unclean or unfit for recycling.
Similar programs have proven successful in reducing the contamination rates for cities like San Antonio and McAllen. Recycle CLEAN is expected to launch in the summer of 2021.