Holiday trash loads up Colorado Springs recycling centers

After days of unwrapping gifts, chances are your house was left in a mess. Neighborhoods across Colorado Springs already have their trash bins out, filled to brim waiting for their service to come by.

Most of the trash you’ll find this time of year is wrapping paper and cardboard boxes, but have you ever thought, where does it all go?

Depending on your service, it might end up in the Waste Management – Colorado Springs Recycling Center. In December, they’ll receive more than 1600 tons of recycling material. Material Receiving Facility Supervisor, Brandon Pelton says that’s two to three times more than an average month.

“We see a huge influx of materials during the holidays, ” he says.

The first step is compiling all the cardboard into large piles while a front-loader pushes it onto a moving assembly belt.

From there the trash comes down in front of two service workers who are making sure it’s only paper material going through the processor.

Next, the cardboard is smashed into 3/4 ton bales. The final step is putting the bales on a truck and shipping them to recycling mills all over the country who work to reuse the materials.

Meanwhile, trucks are continuing on their daily routes picking up as much as they can.