Driving down East Elizabeth Street, residents may have noticed that the usually bustling City of Brownsville Recycling Center has become a ghost town in recent weeks.
According to the City of Brownsville, the center has been closed since Jan. 10 by its operator GMS Waste Disposal.
While the city owns the building the recycling center uses, the city’s third-party provider, GMS Waste Disposal, staffs and runs the facility and has decided to close it as a precaution due to COVID-19.
Currently, the City of Brownsville has indicated that the community is at Threat Level 3- Significant on the COVID-19 Threat Matrix. According to its COVID-19 dashboard, there are an estimated 1,112 active cases as of Friday.
Following concerned calls from residents about the halt in service, the city created a stop-gap measure to keep things going until the center can be reopened utilizing another third-party provider, Republic Services. The temporary program allows residents of each district to drop off their recycling in a designated park in their area: Gonzalez Park in District 1, Cabler Park in District 2, Veterans Park in District 3 and Monte Bella Park in District 4.
The collection is spread across four weeks, cycling through one district a week over the month with recycling bins set out on Saturdays from 8 a.m. until noon.
According to a Facebook post from the city on Jan. 15, the following items can be accepted for recycling: newspapers, cardboard, polyethylene terephthalate (like water and soda bottles), aluminum and tin cans and high-density polyethylene (like milk jugs, shampoo and conditioner bottles).
While the temporary system can’t handle the same volume as the center, it’s intended to help keep recycling going in the city until conditions improve and the center reopens.
“Right now that’s what we are relying on,” J.P. Villarreal, Director of Internal Services for the City of Brownsville, said.
For now, residents can see the weekly collection schedule on the city of Brownsville Facebook page, and updates to the hours of the City of Brownsville Recycling Center will be posted on their website and social media accounts once available.
