Residents Record Corpus Christi Driver Mixing Waste and Recycling Bins

A video of a Corpus Christi, Tx. truck driver is making the rounds as it shows the driver collecting both waste and recycling at the same time, upsetting residents.

David Lehfeldt, Corpus Christi Solid Waste Services Director, explains that the driver who made the error was a floater that was assigned to help with recycling routes. Lehfeldt said that the driver picks up trash on Thursdays but was helping with recycling collection on Friday.

"He just messed up. One of those honest oh-no moments.  He realized what he had done, switched to the recycle, and went on to collect the recycle," Lehfeldt said.

The video in question shows the driver grabbing the blue recycling can and dumping it into the truck, effectively mixing waste and recycling materials before realizing his mistake. Lehfeldt says that not all is lost as this little hiccup up doesn’t interfere with the recycling that was collected.

"When it gets to the recycle facility, they dump it on the floor and run it through the sorting process and at that point they remove that trash and all the trash put in it," Lehfeldt said.

"We will learn from our mistakes, going forward we will work to ensure it doesn't happen again.  We do have a good recycling program, our recycling material is recycled, we've got a good recycling partner.  They sort it for us and market it for us, and so we do collect and sell the recycles people put out there.  It's not going to the landfill.”

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