In the dumps:
Incorrect recycling poses dangers to Waste Management employees
ARLINGTON, Texas — The single stream materials recovery facility that handles Texarkana’s recyclables faces difficulty with loads of incorrect materials.
“(We see) water hoses, propane bottles, scrap metal other than steel cans, clothing and garbage,” Operations Manager Calvin Poole said.
The Waste Management facility in Arlington produces raw materials that are sold to manufacturers. The Materials Recovery Facility houses several stations for materials such as paper, cardboard and plastics.
“There was one day I was out here, I saw what must have been a whole bag of potatoes rolling down the conveyor belt,” Senior Manager of Public Affairs Greta Calvery said.
All materials are sifted through by the 101 employees that work at the facility, and then the materials are separated to different compacting machines that compile the materials into bales weighing about 2,000 pounds.
“We had a lawnmower blade make it through and it went through one of the screening machines and shot back out of the cogs like a boomerang,” Calvery said at a previous meeting.
Workers at the single stream facility wear thick gloves and protective sleeves due to medical sharps and other biohazards being placed in recycling bins. Medical waste and sharps are not permitted material for the recycling bin even though needles have metal in them.
After the bales are separated by material, they are “dressed,” which means that a few workers have pliers and pull out plastic bags or metal so the bales are ready to be sent to manufacturers.
“Batteries and those propane tanks will cause fires so quickly,” Calvery said. Workers also have to worry about acid from batteries getting in their eyes and severely harming them.
WM accepts rinsed out plastic bottles and containers, food and beverage cans, paper and flattened cardboard and paper board.