A Brownsville Paradox~Zero Interest in Curbside Recycling While Leading the Nation in Actual Recycling

Rose Timmer Caricature by Nena Barton

Despite Popeye the Sailor Man, 50's kids never learned to like soggy, canned spinach, although the same baby boomers now consume tons of the fresh form of the green leafy vegetable in salads.

It almost seems as if Rose Timmer, the Executive Director of Healthy Communities of Brownsville, has been trying to force the old soggy, stringy, overcooked canned veggie down our collective throats in her relentless push for curbside recycling in this paid-for All-America City of 2014.  The response of the taxpayers so far has been mixed:  "No," "Never!" or "Hell, No!"

Last September the indefatigable Ms. Timmer set up a Curbside Recycling Workshop at the Brownsville Police Department's Southmost substation.  According to Timmer, Health Director Art Rodriguez, Public Works Director Santana Torres and Ruth(Assistant City Manager Ruth Osuna?) were the only ones to show up.  No taxpayers made the meeting.  A January 6, 2014 curbside recycling trial run, involving 1,200 homes. garnered an actual participation rate of 5%, yes folks, 5 out of 100 homeowners.

Alley Recycler, Mr. Rodriquez, Posing with his
triciclico de carga

The absolute paradox of Brownsville's rejection of mandated curbside recycling is that 24/7 the city's downtown alleys, shopping center dumpsters and West Brownsville's trash cans are combed relentlessly, like crazy, for anything of value.  Old men on triciclos, sturdy trikes, that can be purchased in Matamoros for $300, search the alleys of downtown and West Brownsville for cardboard, aluminium, steel and salvageables.  

During the night, but well into mid-morning, men in pickups make a daily tour of dumpsters behind the malls, strip malls, shopping centers, sorting American and Chinese cardboard, picking up pallets, discarded shopping carts and anything of value not tied down sufficiently.  Covertly, these drivers make deals with retail clerks to control certain dumpsters or get a "call" when something of value is discarded as in a store reset or remodel.  

Recently, at a car wash's vacuuming station, two men carefully lifted each trash can, emptying it's contents on the pavement. Aluminum cans, coins, plastics were sorted out and the remaining trash was redeposited into the trash receptacles.  Those who insist Brownsville doesn't recycle just don't get it.  It's done daily, relentlessly, out of sheer economic need, but not under the control of city administrators.

Much of this country's discarded clothing arrives in Brownsville and the RGV on freight trains, tied into 100 lbs pacas.  Central and South America, Africa and the world get this ropa usada, after it is sorted out in warehouses around town and throughout the valley.  A little known fact is that much of donated clothing in the U.S. never reaches the shelves or hangers of the Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc.  There is simply not enough retail space.  Much of that merchandise, along with store returns, out of season items, etc. eventually reach Brownsville.  

The handling of this clothing is based on movement and varies from establishment. Lawani Souleiman, who has operated a ropa

Lawani Souleiman

segunda for many years across from the Brownsville Historical Association on Washington Street, starts new merchandise at around $3.00 per pound, with a reduction in price each day. After one week, the merchandise is shifted to the other side of his store, where it remains for yet another week with prices approaching $1.00 per pound. Other stores in downtown simply shift older merchandise to a "monton," a large mound of assorted clothing piled to the ceiling. Still, Souleiman's primary business, as well as that of other downtown ropa usadas, is shipping recycled clothing around the world.  Recycling at it's zenith!

USS Forrestal, Towed into the Port of Brownsville
 for Scrapping, Recycling

We haven't touched on the illegal pilfering of copper from construction sites or AC units, the lifting of manhole covers, etc. Scrap yards do ask questions, but only the legally required ones. Not long ago, I watched a man and woman pushing an H.E.B. shopping cart down E. 14th, headed for the salvage yard. Another shopping cart was turned upside down on top of the cart being pushed. Other metals stuck out of the carts, all headed to the scrap yard to be sold for a tiny fraction of H.E.B.'s replacement cost for one cart.

There is yet more to Brownsville's recycling picture. Dozens of small stores downtown as well as vendors at the Hwy 77 Flea Market sell small appliances like coffee makers, juicers, ice crushers, radiant heaters, etc. The boxes have been carefully retaped. These are return items or sometimes items with product recalls. They are purchased in so-called pallet sales from vendors from up north with the reseller bidding on the pallet. It's just another form of recycling in the city.

Recycling:

1. To extract useful materials from garbage or waste.
2. To use again, especially to reprocess
3. To recondition and/or adapt to new use or function

Well-meaning city leaders like Ms. Timmer constantly try to force-fit Brownsville into the Austin model.  Brownsville is not Austin, never will be.  It is driven by its own forces and unique needs. Until that is understood, nothing works.