Tell Houston City Council and the Mayor to Abandon "One Bin for All" Dirty MRF!

After much deliberation and research, TCE has determined that Houston's "One Bin for All" proposal is a bad idea. We appreciate that the city is looking to make strides on reducing the amount of waste going to landfills however evidence shows that this facility will not only fail to divert waste from landfills but will cost $100 million, 10 times more than what it would cost to expand curbside to homes serviced by the city. It opens the door to dangerous disposal practices, and reinforces a disposable culture which undermines the message of reduction and reuse which offers the best means for protecting our resources.

Houston has never been a leader regarding waste and recycling. 45% of Houstonians whose trash is picked up by the city do not have, nor have they ever had, curbside recycling. In fact, Houston is the only large city in Texas that has not provided curbside recycling to all its residents. Houston's recycling rate is at a miserable 14%, yet elected officials lack the political will needed to properly address this issue.

The "technology" that the city is proposing is not new, nor is it innovative. In the recycling business, it’s called a “dirty Materials Recovery Facility” (or “dirty MRF” - pronounced “murf”). It has been tried before and has failed. San Diego, CA built a similar facility and abandoned it three years later. Now, with curbside recycling and other zero waste techniques, San Diego is diverting 65% of its waste from landfills and that number continues to rise.

TCE is not against new ideas and technologies and we want to work with the city to reduce, reuse and recycle all the discards we possibly can, but unfortunately, TCE and Houston residents were left out of the early planning phases of this proposal. The truth is, the city has not been transparent regarding the specific details of their plan and the grant proposal that was submitted to Bloomberg Philanthropies lacked substance or clear explanation as to what exactly the city is proposing, how it will work, and where the money to build it will come from.

TCE believes that Houstonians can recycle and that Houstonians want to recycle. Communities across the country are already doing this and are achieving great success. There is no reason Houstonians can't make recycling work and the city shouldn't give up before they've begun.

If you live in Houston city limits and have recycling, email Mayor Parker and city council and tell them that you don’t want your recycling bin/cart taken away.

If you don’t have recycling make sure to tell them that you want real recycling NOW.