Paper and plastic please

The Try 2 Recycle facility on 15th Street no longer takes plastic recyclables, which means students will have to go farther (to the Huntsville Recycling Drop-Off Center) to recycle their plastic waste.

Try 2 Recycle has been a part of my Sunday routine: I’ve taken all of my recyclables there for almost two years. I love its convenience and that on weekends or after hours you can still drop by and place your items in their corresponding bins. If you brought a substantial amount of material, especially metal, they will pay you for the recyclables.

The new "no plastic" implementation is now a part of a growing list of items they don’t take including: Styrofoam, grocery bags and glass.

Don’t get me wrong; I understand that Try 2 Recycle is a business, not a community drop-off center. I also understand that as a business they are in it to make money, not for the sole purpose of doing something for the good of the planet, but when 12.4 percent (31 million tons) of total municipal solid waste was plastic in 2010 according to the Environment Protection Agency, this is a large portion of recyclable material that may end up unrecycled.

Students who live on and near the campus had a good thing going with the incredible proximity to the Try 2 Recycle facility. I’m nervous that the many students will stop recycling plastic altogether because the alternative recycling center is off I-45 North and 10 minutes away from campus.

If students aren’t going to make the trip to recycle their plastic waste I hope that they at least reuse or repurpose the material.

According to sources, Try 2 Recycle no longer accepts plastic waste because of the lack of storage space for it and the lack of money plastic brings in.

The alternative recycle facility option is the Huntsville Recycling Drop-Off Center, which is inconveniently closed on Sundays and closes at 5 p.m. everyday. While they do accept most plastics, some grocery bags and glass, like Try 2 Recycle they reject Styrofoam.

Students are encouraged every Wednesday to recycle at the circle turnaround outside the CHSS and Lee Drain buildings between 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

I suppose I will continue to take my nonplastic recyclables to Try 2 Recycle as per my Sunday routine, but will take my plastics to the community recycle center during a separate trip.

The Huntsville Recycling Center and is located at 590 I-45 North and can be contacted through the Solid Waste Services Office at 936-294-5743.