Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

If you've ever wondered, that's what happens to your beer, wine and fancy water bottles, at least if you live in Albuquerque—they turn into miniature mountains. Of course, you may also notice them showing off in some of the medians around town, and a few random xeriscaped yards. Next time you see them, stop to pay attention; they're smooth, chromatic and they come from your own recycling bin.

Our glass is turned into this glittery amalgam at the Intermediate Processing Facility (IPF), the state's only recycling hub, which sits out on the far reaches of the Westside. It's a center that's been around for over a decade, and it's also where all your recyclables go for reincarnation.

There are usually only eight workers that man the station, sorting through more than 60 tons of material a day, which comes from Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Los Alamos. That may sound like a lot of refuse, but, according to the city's website (cabq.gov/solidwaste/recycle.html), Albuquerque generates a total of 1,500 tons of trash a day that could be recycled.

Mayor Martin Chavez recently announced that he intends to dramatically increase the number of Albuquerqueans who recycle. He has jumpstarted his goal by proposing nearly 20 new recycling drop-off sites around the city. It's an admirable ambition, but there may be a catch-22: IPF workers say the facility is already at capacity and, if they don't get funding for more employees and a larger facility, the mayor's goal may be an impossible feat.

Genaro Tafoya, IPF supervisor, has worked at the facility for more than 10 years. He speaks proudly of the increase in volume they've experienced over his time there. “When I first started, we were only generating 15 to 18 bales a day; now, we're doing 40 to 45 a day. It's great, but we're at capacity; it's more than we can handle.”

Luther Clayton, spokesperson for the Solid Waste Department, mimicked Tafoya's concerns. “Right now, it's getting to be too much, we can't keep up. We're the victims of hard work. If the mayor wants to increase the number of people who recycle, we're going to need more people and equipment.”

The mayor is, however, aware of the problem. “The mayor is going to address these issues now and see what needs to be done,” said Clarence Lithgow, director of the Solid Waste Department. “We will have to look at the whole picture.” Lithgow added that the city is currently seeking grant opportunities that may help fund renovations to IPF.

Finding funding for recycling can be difficult for the city, in that it doesn't get much money in return for its efforts. In fact, it barely breaks even. The annual operating costs for recycling services in Albuquerque (all of which come from the city) are $2,771,000. The city is able to make back most of that money through selling materials to private recycling businesses, but it hardly ever garners a profit.

“We're a poor state,” said Clayton. “We do what we can.”

In the meantime, IPF still manages to process over 10,000 tons of recyclables every year, more than 7,500 of which comes from newspaper. Despite their relatively maxed threshold, workers still encourage people to recycle.

“There are three faces to recycling: it saves landfill space, maintains natural resources and creates jobs,” said Tafoya. “It is a very good thing.”