Don’t Kick the Can, Recycle it!

When residents formed a nonprofit to kickstart recycling in Bandera County more than two years ago, the county took a pragmatic approach. They accepted only three clean items that could be easily sold in the recycling marketplace: corrugated cardboard, #1 plastic bottles, and aluminum cans.The county works with a statewide nonprofit, Keep Texas Beautiful, to find the best price for these items.The prices paid per ton varied wildly in February 2025: $1,840 for aluminum cans, $270 for #1 plastic bottles and $70 for cardboard. Profits collected come back to the county to keep the recycling equipment operating.Don’t Make Waste Bandera wants to work with road cleanup crews to keep aluminum cans from going into the landfill and at the same time support recycling. DMWB is offering reusable mesh bags to any group sponsoring cleanups on any roads or highways in the county. To obtain ten of these bags, just send an email to [email protected].You can volunteer or contribute to any of the projects of DMWB—roads, yards or recycling—by sending to the same email or calling Bob Brischetto at 210-413-7264.