PHOTO: Yard waste and tree limbs sit in a pile at the City’s compost facility after being collected from residents’ yards. These materials will be ground into chips, mixed with biosolids and left to decompose into compost, which will be sold to gardeners.
Keep Victoria Beautiful has received two competitive grants to help fund an education campaign that aims to keep recyclables, compostable yard waste and hazardous materials out of our City’s landfill.
KVB received a $5,000 Community Ties Giving Program grant from Union Pacific and an $800 Our Texas Our Future grant from Keep Texas Beautiful in partnership with H-E-B and Central Market.
“We’re thankful for the support of these grant programs that empower our outreach efforts,” said Keep Victoria Beautiful Executive Director Christy Youker. “Many residents may not fully understand the different waste disposal services that the City offers, and this education campaign will help them help us to get rid of waste appropriately and extend the life of our landfill.”
Why is waste diversion important?
The campaign comes shortly after Environmental Services completed a six-year effort to get permission from the State to expand the landfill. Prior to the expansion agreement, the landfill only had about 15 years of use left.
Landfill space is a finite resource, and communities that are short on space must seek costly alternatives and/or turn away profitable commercial clients. Keeping recyclables and other non-landfill waste out of the landfill helps to ensure that the space can be used for years to come.
How can residents help?
Residents can help keep waste out of the landfill by correctly using other waste disposal methods offered by Environmental Services.
- Put your recyclables—and nothing else—in your recycling cart for collection. Environmental Services only accepts No. 1 and 2 plastics, metal cans, paper and cardboard that is free of food contaminants (no pizza boxes).
- Place your yard waste in paper bags, not plastic.
- Contact Waste Management at 1-800-449-7587 to dispose of household hazardous materials.
Stay connected
To learn more about the City of Victoria’s recycling program and other waste disposal services, visit www.victoriatx.gov/environmental-services.