Manager Armando Gabaldon
Division Manager 
County Environmental Services 

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

On Oct. 17, two trailers carrying 23.33 tons of Los Alamos County’s recyclable material arrived at BarCO Recycling of Albuquerque for an audit to determine how adept County residents and businesses are at recycling.

Pretty good; it turns out.

Looking at the material collected from residential and commercial collections, drop off sites such as the Lemon Lot and Overlook Convenience Center, and Los Alamos National Laboratory, the waste audit summary report concluded that Los Alamos County achieved a 17.67 percent contamination rate. This is below the national contamination average, which is 24 percent.

“We’re actually doing really well,” County Environmental Services Division Manager Armando Gabaldon said.

That doesn’t mean Los Alamos’ record is spotless; Gabaldon noted that contamination still occurs.

For instance, in the commercial recycling dumpsters solely for cardboard, other materials such as mixed paper, plastics or other materials might be found. The County receives revenue for clean cardboard averaging $50/ton or more which helps with expenses. If materials other than cardboard are found, the rate decreases, resulting in less revenue for the County.

In the residential carts, mixed recyclables have been found bagged in trash bags. Gabaldon said this defeats all the individuals’ efforts to recycle because the bag will immediately be sent to landfill. If the recycling center personnel cannot see the material, it will be put in the trash heap, he explained.

Drop-off locations at the Lemon Lot and Overlook Convenience Center are the hotspots for bad recycling behavior.

A variety of non-recyclable and other materials that shouldn’t be placed in the collection containers have been spotted at these locations: sheetrock, tires, wood and metal, Gabaldon said. One particularly bad discovery was a bucket of rotting fish guts.

The consequences for contaminated recycled materials, according to the audit report:

• Increased labor and processing costs;
• Reduced resale value of recyclables; and
• Entire loads rejected by processors.

There are resources available and efforts undertaken to combat contamination.

“Given that we are still seeing contamination, we do our best with outreach as far as the do’s and don’ts of how to recycle, how we accept it,” Gabaldon said.

One piece of outreach is the Recycle Coach App, which can be downloaded from the County Environmental Services’ website. The app is a tool to determine what can and cannot be recycled as well as to get informed about different waste collection schedules.

“It’s a usable app,” Gabaldon said.

He noted in November, there were 2,470 app users and the app had 10,854 interactions.

Besides Recycle Coach, Gabaldon said Facebook is utilized to inform people about contamination in recycled material and Environmental Services Division staff regularly attend Farmers Markets once a month to help provide outreach to the community.

Residents are also good at policing any instances of contamination occurring at the Lemon Lot’s or Overlook’s recycling collections; Gabaldon said the Eco Station receives calls from the public if someone is spotted dumping a non-recyclable material.
Despite having a generally good record with recycling, Gabaldon said his goal is to make it even better.

“My goal for the County is to decrease our contamination level to 15 percent or less in the next two years.”

He added that he feels this would set the bar for all of New Mexico.

BarCO not only performed the County’s audit, but it also handles its recyclable material. Gabaldon said County staff does not sort or discard any of the recycled material collected; it is handled by BarCO personnel. BarCO also handles finding a market for the material, which provides revenue the County receives from cardboard.

The audit report provided an analysis of the different recyclable materials:

• HDPE is a durable plastic used in items like milk jugs, detergent bottles and piping. It is divided into:
• HDPE Natural (unpigmented) – Easier to recycle and in higher demand.

HDPE Color – Slightly lower market value due to dyes.
Recycling Benefits:

• High strength and resistance make it valuable for reuse.
• Can be recycled into piping, plastic lumber, and new bottles.

Challenges:

• Must be clean and separated by color for best results.
• Contamination from labels or food residue lowers recyclability.

PETE (Polyethylene Terephthalate)
Commonly found in water and soda bottles, PETE is one of the most widely recycled plastics.

Pros:

• Easily processed into new containers or textile fibers (e.g., polyester clothing).
• Reduces need for virgin plastic production.

Cons:

• Contamination from food or plastics can render batches unrecyclable.
• Requires thorough cleaning and separation.

UBC (Used Beverage Cans – Aluminum)
Aluminum cans represent one of the most valuable recyclables in the waste stream.

Pros:

• Infinitely recyclable without quality loss.
• Saves up to 95% of the energy required to produce new aluminum.

Cons:

• High contamination (liquid residue or mixed with other metals) can reduce value.
• Requires proper sorting to separate from tin and steel.

Cardboard Recycling (packaging, UPS, FedEx)

Pros:

• Cardboard is one of the most efficiently recycled materials.
• Reduces landfill waste and supports circular economy initiatives.
• Clean cardboard has strong market demand and a low carbon footprint.
• The recycling of cardboard in the cardboard only bins, as opposed to mixed recycling bins with other recyclables, provides a higher recycle value and generates some income to the County.

Cons:

• Contamination from food, grease, or moisture can make cardboard unrecyclable.
• Wet or dirty cardboard weakens fibers, lowering recycling quality.
• Mixing contaminated cardboard with clean loads increases disposal costs.

When it comes to how to encourage people to recycle correctly, new ideas and suggestions are always welcomed, Gabaldon said. Contact the Environmental Services Division at 505.662.8163 or email solidwaste@lacnm.us.