Bellaire ESB hosts Waste Management briefing on recycling, contamination and safe disposal

The City of Bellaire Environmental Sustainability Board (ESB) hosted a public learning session on recycling in which Waste Management senior account Shanna Lopez described how material-recovery facilities (MRFs) sort recyclables, the limits of domestic markets, and items Bellaire residents should not place in curbside bins.

The presentation matters because contamination and hazardous items in curbside recycling affect whether loads are saleable, raise collection costs and can cause fires. Lopez said Bellaire's recent audits show relatively low contamination but urged residents to follow simple rules so local recycling remains viable.

Lopez opened by describing the circular goal for recyclables: "We want to make sure that that plastic water bottle that we can take in is gonna become something else," she said, explaining that end markets must exist for a collected material to be recyclable in practice. She showed video and slides depicting the MRF process: trucks tip material onto a floor, conveyors and human sorters remove tanglers (bags, Christmas lights, batteries) and optics then separate aluminum, plastics, paper and cardboard into commodity bales.

Lopez described major operational changes at MRFs: fewer people physically sort material (she said one facility reduced from about 30 sorters to roughly 11) and companies have invested in optical sorters and other automation. She said waste-management companies and mills have shifted much of the recovered material to domestic U.S. markets since roughly 2019; cardboard is still exported to Mexico and glass often leaves the U.S., she said.

Local audit results and what they mean

Lopez summarized Bellaire-specific audit work Waste Management performs: crews take about a 250-pound sample twice a month and sort it by hand to measure composition and contamination. "Like, the month of March, you guys had, I think, around 8% contamination, which is terrific," she said, noting many cities average close to 20% contamination. In the ESB's most recent audit Lopez identified cardboard (OCC) as the largest single stream in Bellaire's recycling, at about 31.2% of the sampled material.

Contamination and safety risks

Lopez emphasized items that frequently cause problems: plastic bags and other loose film, batteries (especially lithium), electronic waste and liquids or hazardous chemicals left in containers. She said crews are trained to remove bags and tanglers early in the process and that anything delivered to the MRF in a bag is likely to be routed to residue. Lopez warned that batteries mixed with other materials have started truck and facility fires: "Batteries do not go in the garbage nor the recycled container," she said.

What Bellaire residents can — and cannot — put in curbside recycling

Lopez urged residents to "stick to the basics": clean-ish plastic bottles and jugs, cardboard, paper, aluminum and steel cans, and glass bottles and jars. She said quick rinses are sufficient; items do not need to be "squeaky clean." Items the MRF does not accept in curbside recycling include loose shredded paper (unless collected at a special event), Styrofoam, most plastic film and bags (unless taken to a designated grocery-store film drop-off), lithium batteries and hazardous chemical containers that retain residue.

She noted some materials that are sometimes assumed recyclable but currently lack local end markets, such as multilayer cartons (e.g., some juice cartons) and certain mixed-material packaging. "Right now, we do not have a market for those," she said, advising shoppers to consider packaging choices when possible.

MRF operations and markets

Lopez described the MRF workflow: material is fluffed on a tipping floor to avoid clumping, conveyors separate streams, eddy currents remove aluminum, and mechanical balers compact sorted commodities for shipment. She said large investments have been made to upgrade facilities (she cited large-scale capital spending on modernization) and that optics require ongoing maintenance and occasional reprogramming to track new product types.

Local programs and guidance

ESB members and Lopez pointed attendees to several Bellaire services: weekly curbside recycling, a city food-composting/food-waste program, and an annual "big recycling event" where residents can drop off batteries, electronics, Christmas lights, furniture and other bulky items that do not fit in regular curbside collection. Lopez said the city and WM collaborated on an on-line resource and a phone app to help residents decide whether a specific item is recyclable; ESB members referred to it in the meeting as the city app (the board demonstrated the app's "wizard" search function for items such as Styrofoam and packing peanuts).

Questions from residents during a 30- to 45-minute Q&A covered shredded paper, wet cardboard, greeting cards with foil, plant pots and bulky rigid plastics. Lopez recommended placing small loose paper items on a full sheet or inside envelopes so they are large enough to sort, said slightly wet cardboard can be downgraded but is often still processed, and reiterated that foil-backed wrapping or glittered cards are not recyclable in curbside streams.

Where to find more information

ESB members said the recording and slides from the session will be posted on the ESB page of the City of Bellaire website and encouraged residents to use the city app or contact ESB members with follow-up questions. The board also reminded residents of the city's annual recycling event and the availability of a food-composting program.

Ending

No formal policy changes or votes were taken at the session; it was presented as an educational learning academy meeting. ESB members and Lopez framed the session as part of ongoing outreach to keep contamination low, reduce safety risks and maintain domestic markets for Bellaire's recyclables.