Queen Creek continues to expand recycling efforts

Queen Creek residents are stepping up their recycling.

At its Wednesday meeting, the Queen Creek Town Council will be getting an update on how the town’s recycling program is performing — and the numbers for 2025 are impressive.

Last year saw the relocation of the QC Recycle Center from Ellsworth Road adjacent to the old dog park and the municipal services building to 22179 E. Ryan Road near Frontier Family Park.

The $322,000 relocation was funded from the solid waste and recycling fund balance.

The move was necessary after the area was identified as the location for the Queen Creek Police Department’s new headquarters.

This year, there are plans to add three new containers to the recycling center for a total of 26.

The town holds quarterly recycling drop-off events and last year, despite the relocation, the events logged a total of 1,158 vehicles with 69.7 tons of recyclable items collected, according to a staff report.

Queen Creek’s glass recycling pilot program collected 31 tons last year and the program may expand to two more locations this year.

As Queen Creek does not have a household hazardous waste drop-off location, the town partners with Gilbert to provide residents with an environmentally safe and responsible way to drop off the waste.

The Gilbert Household Hazardous Waste Facility is located at the South Area Service Center, 2224 E. Queen Creek Road, on the northwest corner of Greenfield and Queen roads. Queen Creek residents must obtain a voucher from the town to use the Gilbert facility. The town offers about 32 vouchers per month.

In fiscal year 2025, 310 vouchers were used by Queen Creek residents who disposed of more than 12,000 pounds of hazardous waste. That compares to fiscal year 2024 when 266 vouchers were given out and more than 10,000 pounds of hazardous waste was collected, the report continued.

Speaking of hazardous materials, the town has recently launched an outreach effort to educate residents about not using recycling or trash carts to dispose of medical waste, particularly needles, sharps and prescription medications.

Also not allowed in the trash and recycling carts are batteries. The town holds battery collections and last year 800 pounds of batteries were gathered.

Residents now will be able to drop off batteries at QC Recycles events. The next event is set for April 18.

The town’s recycling efforts are not going unnoticed. The town received the 2023 Recycling Excellence award from the Arizona Recycling Coalition. The Environmental Services Department was recognized for “initiatives to put recycling and sustainability at the forefront of their municipality,” according to the Arizona Recycling Coalition’s website.

The Queen Creek Town Council meeting starts at 6:30 p.m., April 1 at Community Chambers, 20727 E Civic Parkway.

Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org. Please send your comments about this article to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.