HOUSTON — Houstonians are wishcyclers. Meaning we haven't quite mastered what recycling really is.
Forty percent of the items put in the City of Houston green bins end up being hauled to the landfill.
Recycling is a good idea until you get it wrong, so to help you get it right, we reached out to the City of Houston Solid Waste Management Department.
Scroll to the bottom of this page to take our recycling quiz!
KHOU 11 consumer reporter Tiffany Craig scooped up 3 random bins and dumped them out to see what Houstonians are doing right and wrong.
Keith Koski, interim manager of recycling for the city, pointed to the mess in the middle.
"This is the worst of the three,” he said. “I would say it’s 99% unacceptable.”
The bin appears to be used as a garbage can with lots of recycling no-nos. There’s yard debris, food and garbage bags stuffed with who knows what.
The bin on the left gets a much better score but Koski says this homeowner is doing some “wishcycling” by throwing in an air filter.
“If I put this air filter in here, maybe somebody will recycle it," said Koski.
The bin on the right gets a pretty good score except items are supposed to be loose. Also, this recycler put the most mistaken in the bin, plastic shopping bags.
“This is the number one contamination in green recycling carts in the city of Houston,” said Koski.
To find out why, we visited FCC Environmental Services on Ley Road in Houston. The facility sorts and processes all the city’s recycling, which is about 80 truckloads a day.
“You get your good, your bad and your uglies,” General Manager John Schultz said.
Schultz said that they fill up about 14 dumpsters full of items mistakenly put in recycle bins. Some of those items can mess up the machines.
“What are the items that come through here that mess up your machines,” Craig asked.
“Clothes, sheets, hoses, Christmas lights, anything that can be wrapped up around the shafts,” he said.
The includes plastic shopping bags.
Other items that can’t be recycled
- Scrap metal
- Wood
- Shredded paper
We also asked about an item that comes up in conversation all the time.
“What’s the deal with pizza boxes,” Craig asked. “The biggest urban legend ever. They’re recyclable! Even if there’s cheese on there, they’re still recyclable.”
Click here to see a full list of what can/can’t be recycled in the City of Houston.
Take the recycling quiz below. If you're having trouble seeing the quiz on this page, you can also take it here.