LONGVIEW, Texas — Editor's Note: The above video aired on June 12, 2024.
For Longview residents, the contents of their recycling bins will be dropped off at the landfill until Rivers Recycling in Kilgore rebuilds its facility.
During Thursday's Longview City Council meeting, Director of Public Works Dwayne Archer revealed that the best option for the city's recycling service will be to wait for Rivers Recycling to return after a fire on June 12 at the facility.
Since June 13, anything in the recycling carts has been taken to a landfill with regular waste.
Archer said the closest materials recovery facility, which is what Rivers Recycling in Kilgore was, is in Dallas. He explained that transporting recyclables to Dallas would require a transfer station, and due to the cost and the timeline, this option would not viable for the Longview community.
Rivers Recycling is expected to rebuild within nine months to a year, Archer said, adding that Rivers leadership is committed to rebuilding and work is already underway.
"They have cleared all the debris off and are planning to get started on that as quickly as they can," Archer said.
Archer said the city of Longview Sanitation Division plants to continue the recycling program. While the recycling process won't be happening, the department will see a reduction in overtime, fuel and disposal costs.
He noted that it takes less money to drop off trash at a landfill, while taking materials to a recycling facility is much higher.
For customers who choose to use their recycling bins, the materials will continue to be taken to the dump. Archer said the city intends to issue a one-time refund to customers at the end of each fiscal year that they were without recycling.
Mayor Kristen Ishihara said it's sad to not have the recycling facility, but she thanked Archer for his commitment to making sure the city is ready when recycling can resume.