Michael Tucker of Scenic City Recycling dumps mixed paper into his truck in North Chattanooga following the Christmas holiday.A cartoon Santa peeps from the side of a green gift bag nestled in a pile of discarded wrapping paper in a blue recycling bin by the side of the road.
Stacks of cardboard boxes for new computers, TVs and other electronic equipment are scattered throughout the route taken by Scenic City Recycling workers in the weeks after Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Joe Fowlkes, owner of the recycling company, said the holidays are always a busy time for recyclers.
“It really starts pretty much the week after Thanksgiving and gradually builds until two or three weeks after Christmas,” he said. “The week after is the heaviest. We usually see a 50 percent increase in paper.”
For small recycling companies, it’s no easy feat to prepare for and handle the extra materials that come their way after weeks of holiday get-togethers and gift giving.