Free recycling bins in Sun City West used by residents, including those in Sun City and neighboring cities, for the past 20 years are no longer available.
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Free recycling bins in Sun City West used by residents, including those in Sun City and neighboring cities, for the past 20 years are no longer available.
Since about 1995, Parks & Sons crews placed one large 20-yard roll off receptacle and 13 eight-yard containers behind Safeway, 13503 Camino Del Sol, in Sun City West. The company services the large bins three to five times per week and the smaller containers five days per week. But the receptacles were removed April 1 and will no longer be offered as a free service.
Parks & Sons Business Manager Shawn Parks said the bins were placed to collect large amounts of recyclable material, which were collected on site by Parks & Sons drivers.
“We have three partner companies we work with throughout the Valley where we would unload the materials to be sorted,” he said. “But over the years contamination became an issue and we were damaging our relationships with recyclers because it wasn’t just the load we were bringing, but the load was contaminating everyone else’s loads, too.”
However, over the years old matresses, regular waste, plastic bags and anything else people wanted to get rid of ended up in the bins.
Jan Warren posted on the Recreation Centers of Sun City West Facebook page in response to the removal of bins.
“It’s a shame. We are dedicated recyclers,” she wrote.
Sun City West resident James Pancoast said he and his wife realized the bins were removed and believes it will be problematic to a large number of residents who make use of the bins.
Large recycle bins were not placed in Sun City and that is why some residents of that community took their items to the Sun City West bins, presumably because it was too much for curbside service or they missed the recycle day.
Through the years, Parks & Sons officials had to make changes, according to Mr. Parks, unloading at specific locations at the recycling facility so loads could be sifted through before finally the company was told the loads could no longer be accepted. That meant the load had to be taken to the landfill. Additionally, people living behind Safeway complained about loads being dropped during late hours and the growing mess of a mini-landfill, which had taken over.
“When the market was good for recycling we would get a small rebate to help offset the expense we had to collect it, The last four years it was a savings because we didn’t have to pay as much disposal cost at a landfill, so it was both a financial and environmental savings,” Mr. Parks said. “But right now it costs more to recycle things then it does to take to the landfill and it’s been that way for the last 18 months.”
Mr. Parks said years ago a man volunteered his time to monitor the bins to ensure only acceptable items were being disposed of. However, over time and without anyone to monitor, the bins were repeatedly contaminated with various kinds of trash being placed inside. Three years ago the percentage of contaminated material that was accepted was 20-25 percent. In 2019, Mr. Parks said the rate was down to 5 percent and now it is at 1 percent, otherwise the load cannot be recycled.
“That’s why the cities are making changes to their programs because it is not cost effective,” Mr. Parks said. “The stringency is so precise and that makes it difficult because if you have one or two bad stops the entire load can be bad. And some cities have even canceled the recycling program altogether.”
However, residents will not be totally without recycling services. Customers under contract with Parks & Sons already receive curbside recycling with the paid service contract in both Sun City and Sun City West. Recyclable items can be placed outside on the curb on the appropriate day and will be recycled. Mr. Parks said there is recourse if a customer is leaving items on the curb that are not recyclable.
“We can pull out one or two items and place them in our customer’s trash or we can inform the resident of the items that are not allowable in the recycle pick up. We have a lot more recourse,” Mr. Parks said. “In some of our service areas we have the option to fine or cancel the recycling service if contamination continues.”
Mr. Parks said the company believes in environmental protection. He added Arizona landfill rates are much cheaper than other parts of the nation, so the recycling program is not so much a financial decision as it is an environmental one.
“This is strictly because we have a client base that wants to do things for the environment and we are doing everything on our end to protect the environment and use our resources wisely,” Mr. Parks said.
According to the United State Environmental Protection Agency website, all recyclables must be relatively clean, empty and dry. Labels do not need to be removed as they will be burned off. Plastic bags should not be included in the recycling materials, rather take the bags to the local grocery store for recycling. The EPA website lists products manufactured with recycled content, including newspapers, paper towels, steel cans and plastic laundry detergent bottles are used in asphalt to pave roads.
I am passionate about sports and community writing and shining the light on positivity, while delivering the facts. I have been with the Independent team for five months, but in the game for 15 years. I am a proud Grand Canyon University alumni. Born and raised in Peoria, I also am blessed to have a street named after me called Jennifer Rose Court.
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