Recycling gets boost

Good news for those of us who think green.

Allied Waste is installing additional recycling bins at a new drop off site on Plains Boulevard, near the Hastings Distribution Center.

The new bins make it easier for residents in central Amarillo to take waste products for recycling, rather than tossing them into the Dumpster, and eventually ending up in the landfill.

I like to recycle. I grew up in Oregon, the founding capital of the U.S. environmental movement. I haven’t been as recycling conscious since moving to Texas more than 25 years ago. But my family and I adapted nicely to a curbside recycling program that Beaumont instituted some years ago. Much less garbage ended up in the landfill while the program was in effect.

To that end, it still baffles me that Amarillo hasn’t instituted a curbside program. I know it’s costly, but the energy savings accrued from using recycled products — rather than making them from scratch — is significant over the long term.

The addition of the bins at Plains Boulevard is a welcome addition to the city’s recycling infrastructure.