District News

Recycling pickup for Northampton on Wednesdays

For several years, Northampton MUD has pursued a workable recycling program which would benefit our neighborhood.

When we began considering a recycling program, we were informed by the trash companies that landfills in areas like Colorado and California, where the cost of land is prohibitive, does not allow recyclables to be deposited as trash.  Recyclables simply occupy too much space in the landfill. As a result, in those states, it was cost effective to send recyclables to recycle centers. However in Houston, land is cheaper and recycling is not considered a priority.  While that may have been a contributing factor, the MUD Board felt there was more to the issue.

We found the programs previously offered were by trash companies who were trying to make a recycling program fit their ready made trash business. The trash companies were using their heavy duty trash equipment and crews to pick up recyclables. The result was it was not cost effective, and in some cases, it was found the “recyclers” were merely collecting the goods and transporting them to the same dump site as the trash.  It was actually cheaper for the collector to dump the recyclables with the trash than be burdened with transporting to separate recycle receivers, even taking in to consideration the value of the recyclables collected. Obviously, this defeats the purpose of recycling, which the District sees as two-fold: first, to promote the reuse of a resource and second, to reduce the volume impact our trash has on landfills.

The MUD is pleased to announce we have successfully negotiated a program with “Residential Recycling of Texas”, a company truly devoted to recycling.

What is going to be collected?

Paper – magazines, newspapers, copy paper, computer paper, etc.
Plastics – juice, water, milk, soda, cleaning and detergent containers (if in doubt, please check container for stamp, most plastics have mold stamp that indicates #1, #2, etc.)
Aluminum – any type of soda, beer, drink, etc.
Tin Cans – any food can, pet food, etc.
Cardboard –boxes, cereal, food, detergent, pet food, etc. (please break down larger boxes)

**Please lightly rinse out all containers.  Recyclables are delivered to a certified recycling center and they prefer clean as much as possible.  Thanks for your help with this.

What is not collected at this time? (but they are working on it!)

Glass
Styrofoam

How do I get an additional collection container?

If you would like an extra container, they will be available for purchase at the MUD building for $15.00, or recyclables may be placed in closed plastic garbage bags curbside with your container.

Do items have to be sorted?

No.

What is the collection schedule?

Pickup day will be Wednesday of each week.  Please have recycle bins out to curbside by 7:00 a.m.
Holidays observed are:  New Years Day, Memorial Day, 4th July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.  If a holiday falls on a Thursday, service will resume the following week on Thursday.

What do I have to do to participate?

            Place your full container curbside on WEDNESDAY morning before 7 AM.

What if I do not want to participate?

Please bring your empty container to the MUD Building or give to a neighbor that needs an extra one.

Thank you in advance for participating!
Northampton MUD