Carlsbad installs two large recycling containers on city's south side

Residents living in South Carlsbad no longer will have to drive to the recycling center on Greene Street or to the convenience station on Lamont Street to drop off their recycling materials. The city has installed two large roll-off recycling containers on the south end of the Walmart parking lot.

"We wanted to be able to provide a convenience drop for people on the south side of town," said Sylvia Schneider, city of Carlsbad solid waste coordinator. "We had a drop off site in the south part of town several years ago, but it was hard to keep clean and we abandoned the site. We have not been ignoring the people on the south side or county residents. We now have the roll-offs that can handle more material for recycling."

Schneider said items accepted for recycling include cardboard, all kinds of paper, and numbers one and two grade plastic. Aluminum beverage cans are also acceptable.

However, aluminum pie plates and cookie sheets are not accepted.

Schneider said the city will empty the roll-offs once a week, or more often if necessary.

"It's going to be trial and error in determine how often the roll-offs will need to be serviced," she said. "Having them on the south end of town is good for our community."

In addition to the two recycling convenience stations the city provides, some residential areas also have curb-side pickup of recycling materials. In the future, the city hopes to provide more residential areas with the 90-gallon blue roll-out containers.

The material from the convenience stations and residential neighborhoods is taken to Rainbow Recycling Center, a division of CARC Inc., a nonprofit agency that serves people with developmental disabilities. The recycling center is expanding its operations at a new facility in South Carlsbad near the Cavern City Airport.