In Houston, the management of solid waste is manned by the Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) whose main functions include the provision of services to over 408,000 households in Texas through collecting, disposing and recycling of waste material in a way that is efficient, safe, cost effective and environmentally friendly (City of Houston, n.d.). MSW recycling in Houston is carried by Greenstar Recycling Company, which offers recycling solutions through commodity upgrades, recycle processing, commodity trading sectors of the solid waste market and managed services (MSW Management, 2010). Thus, it is a major recycling company in North America. This company uses a single stream recycling system whereby the community is urged to combine all the materials that can be recycled in one bin. This increases the convenience to participating businesses and households.
The management of waste in terms of waste reduction has been successfully looked into, more so by the company Waste Management Inc. This company has claimed its niche in the whole of the North American region to become a leader in the provision of environmental solutions in partnership with the community to manage and reduce waste from collection to disposal coupled with efforts to recover valuable resources and creating clean renewable energy (WM, n.d.). Chemical wastes due to increased levels of toxicity cannot be recycled or disposed off like other trash. The only means of disposing them is through incineration. One company that does this is the Chemical Waste Management Inc. This private company not only deals with hazardous waste but also sanitary services through its units for incineration purposes.
References
City of Houston. (n.d.). About SWMD. Retrieved from http://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/about.html
MSW Management. (2010). Greenstar Recycling Facility in Houston. Retrieved from http://www.mswmanagement.com/the-latest/greenstar-recyclinghouston.aspx
WM. (n.d.). About Waste Management Inc. Retrieved from http://www.wm.com/about/index.jsp
