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The year 1888 is an important one for us in New Mexico as it marks the year our oldest public institution of higher education was founded, New Mexico State University. 1888 is also the year the “straw” was patented in Washington D.C. by Marvin Stone. The patent consisted of a manufacturing process where the straw was produced using winding strips of paper. However, in the 1960s, it was replaced by a toxic material called plastic, which is the common straw we know today. While it may seem harmless and quite silly to even think that a simple plastic straw could have such a devastating impactRead More →

¿Sabía que la mayoría de los desechos de excursiones, campamentos o viajes de caza se pueden r eciclar? A medida que los parques recreativos y las tierras públicas comienzan a reabrirse, queremos recordarles a todos que tengan en cuenta sus desechos cuando visiten la naturaleza. Una pequeña cantidad de basura desechada puede tener un impacto devastador en la vida silvestre y el ganado. La ingestión de desechos de metal y plástico puede causar tumores, infecciones y enfermedades fatales en las vacas y animales nativos de Nuevo México. Puede tomar hasta setenta años a una botella de plástico, cuatrocientos cincuenta años a unas porta latas deRead More →

A partir del 1 de julio, la tarifa de su contenedor de reciclaje azul subió 35 centavos por mes para clientes residenciales, de $ 6.65 a $ 7. Los contenedores azules son solo para reciclables aceptados y se vacían (revisan) cada dos semanas. Si no está seguro de sus días de reciclaje, es fácil y gratuito inscribirse en Recycle Coach visitando www.SCSWA.net. Con Recycle Coach, recibirá un mensaje de texto la tarde antes de que su contenedor esté programado para ser recogido; es un recordatorio simple y rápido para llevar tu contenedor azul a la acera. El gran problema con el reciclaje sigue siendo laRead More →

SCSWA congratulates all the New Mexico communities who received this year’s RAID Grant. We are proud of their hard work in Recycling and Illegal Dumping efforts – CONGRATULATIONS! For a complete list of RAID grant recipients, please click on the following link: NMED RAID GRANT RECIPIENTSRead More →

According to a study by the Recycling Partnership, prior to COVID-19, the U.S. only captured roughly 32% of the 37.4 million tons of collected single-family recyclables. This means over 20 million tons of single-family recyclables ended up in landfills. Due to the Pandemic, those figures are likely to change, regrettably not for the better. That is why setting zero-waste goals could go a long way towards protecting our environment. As families are staying home, ordering takeout and online products more than ever before, the amounts of recyclables and trash are increasing. To help divert recyclables from going to the landfill, it is important to knowRead More →

The staff at South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA) was delighted to hear of Mr. Fred Fletcher’s “glass-caping” experience, we had to share it with you. Mr. Fletcher is an avid cyclist, recycler, and landscaper who moved to Las Cruces 25 years ago. For the past seven years, he has been picking-up glass “cullet” (about 450 buckets) from the Las Cruces Recycling Center. Glass cullet is derived from crushing recycled glass bottles and jars into small chunks of colored glass. If the color he is looking for is not there, it only takes a few weeks for it to appear.          Read More →

LAS CRUCES – Garbage day will be getting a bit more expensive. That’s because the Las Cruces City Council unanimously voted to raise residential and commercial garbage pickup rates at its Monday meeting. The rate increase takes effect in a month, Assistant Utilities Director Delilah Walsh told the council. The rate hike was postponed twice, in March and in April, due to the growing economic downturn resulting from the COVID-19 public health emergency. Months later, most New Mexico businesses still cannot operate at full capacity and thousands are still out of work. Expanded federal unemployment benefits, which added an extra $600 a week on top of unemployedRead More →

Starting July 1, the fee for your blue curbside recycling bin is going up 35 cents per month for residential customers, from $6.65 to $7. Blue bins are for accepted recyclables only and are emptied every other week. If you are not sure of your recycling days, it’s easy and free to sign up for Recycle Coach by visiting www.SCSWA.net. With Recycle Coach you receive a text message the afternoon before your bin is scheduled to be picked up; it’s a quick reminder to take your blue bin to the curb. The big issue with recycling continues to be contamination. Las Cruces contamination rate isRead More →

By Cassie McClure and Suzanne Michaels It’s a strange time to start a new job in public outreach, when social distancing keeps us “distant”. But Peter Ibarbo, new Education & Outreach Coordinator for the South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA), is optimistic and hit the ground running… even if the path doesn’t quite put him in front of his audience, yet. “We will use every outreach resource available with social media, website updates and new targeted signage to connect with customers about solid waste issues throughout Doña Ana County, including sustaining and growing our recycling program,” said Ibarbo. “We also want a 2-way conversation withRead More →

For most of us across the state of New Mexico, we have a recycling bin that is picked up each week by our city or county facilities. This bin is meant to hold a variety of items that vary by location, but the list typically includes plastics, paper and metal. Unfortunately, there still seems to be confusion not only on what can be recycled, but the right way to recycle it. Not recycling adds items to the landfill. Recycling incorrectly can add even more. It also causes costly errors to the recycling process because food waste, items that cannot be recycled, and trash contaminate loadsRead More →