Looks like the typical rush to get rid of empties right after New Year’s could be a little compressed this year from Rice Village to Upper Kirby. A Swamplot reader sends in pics of the new sign that’s gone up at the sort-it-yourself recycling center at 5004 Dincans St., across the street and behind Goode Co. Seafood. West University’s city council voted in October to close the 24-hr. drive-up facility, and the sign announces the January 2 closing date.
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The sign directs West U residents to put their recycling out at curbside, and for Houston residents — who since its opening in 1997 have been the heaviest users of the facility — to try the freeway-side Westpark Recycling Center. Alas, Westpark isn’t open on Sundays or after 5 pm any other day of the week, and doesn’t provide that satisfying “clink” (during daytime hours only, please) you get from shooting a bottle through the metal portal and into a container full of glass yourself.
- West U recycling center to close [Houston Chronicle]
- It’s Official: West U Recycling Center Closing [Instant News West U]
- Previously on Swamplot: Bellaire Dumps Its Recycling Center
Photos: creative accidents
I used to use the West U recycling center. Despite all the other disadvantages listed, and despite being a little further from me, I started using the Westpark one for one reason: through the magic of community service hours, someone else takes the recycling out of my car and sorts it. Easy in-and-out. Also, the Westpark recycling center seems to to take more kinds of stuff (electronics, batteries, and chemicals, for example).
Typical Houston. Just tear everything down. ;-)
The Center St. City of Houston recycling center is closing as of Jan 1, 2014. For those of us in the Heights who still do not have the big green single stream bins, we will have to go up N. Main or truck it all the way down to Westpark. It stinks that West U is closing because at least going down there was a good pretext to go to Local Foods or Goode Company Taqueria.
This is pretty frustrating. In the east end only a small portion have recycling pick up. We lost our “recycling center” and are forced to drive our recycling elsewhere. Discovery green has an inconsistent option, at least West U was always there but now we lose this option as well. Making it extremely difficult to recycle.
Would someone please explain to me why these places close? Do they not make any money from the mountains of glass, paper, and aluminum?
These little affluent community’s are notorious for their penny penching, they will pay 150000 for a car then bitch about a penny raise on their Taxes. I’m sure people gripped that the center wasn’t paying for itself of whatever and they need the savings on their property taxes so little Britney can go to Europe for summer.
Recycling is a pointless endeavor, it’s like pi$$ing in the ocean. It’s an entertainment for the hipsters and hollier than thou crowd. Maybe when they figure out how to profitably recycle from the main garbage stream it might start making a difference, but until then, resources and time are better spent elsewhere.
I do find it interesting that West U’s “icky” facilities are not in West U. The recycling center and their sewage treatment plant (along Brays Bayou)
Well the upshot might be that this totally tax exempt one acre plus property may now be developed and put back on the City of Houston’s tax rolls.
@ahn
I’ve read before that in a lot of cases, recycling is actually a losing proposition. The money generated by selling the recyclable materials is not worth the money and resources spent to collect them.
From an economic standpoint, its basically feelgood make work.
There are costs associated with burying our discards in landfills, too.
From those noted Birkenstock and dreadlock wearing hippies in Missouri: http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/swmp/pubs-reports/rececon.htm
figured the center would close with the new apartments being built (too much noise for the new “luxury” residents)..
Ah, my last Christmas at the West U Recycling Center. When the kids have finished unwrapping their presents, I always sneak out of the house in the car filled with paper and boxes for a few quiet minutes to myself. It was always satisfying to recycle the boxes before the Christmas rush. It had become a Christmas tradition for me – it’s odd, but I’ll miss the center most for that very reason.
A LOT of people use this facility, this is a sad day. I’ve used it for over a decade, since apartment communities are not afforded curb side pick up. Way to go H-Town! Another solid move … Time to start packing…
@Kineticdev, this was a West U facility, not Houston
I am going to miss this place! That slide and shatter of glass bottles (can’t put those in a bin) is so liberating. I’m pretty sure the shattered glass is useless, but it sure is fun. Now, I’m going to have to go back to wondering why Houston ever let West U exist inside it. A city like Chicago would have annexed it 50 years ago.
For the folks claiming recycling is “pointless” keep in mind that it’s cheaper to recycle aluminum than mine new, and selling it pays for the system.
A darn shame! This is one of the few places where you could see the community at work and involved. Besides that satisfying clink, there was the satisfaction of giving back instead of throwing away. Best of all it was unmanned! Just come in at your leisure and toss your recyclables! Westpark just won’t cut it and no after hours there as well. If the City of Houston opened several of these around town they would see heavy use.
I guess Goode Company wanted the land.