The City of Allen Parks and Recreation Department received a $29,385 grant from the North Central Texas Council of Governments through funding from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to begin a recycling program in its newest park located at the intersection of Bray Central Drive and Ridgeview Drive. The recycling program includes purchase and installation of recycling receptacles and construction of a shared-use container enclosure as the new park is constructed. A promotional music video on recycling will be aired on Allen’s Cable Television Channel, ACTV, as part of the program.
Twenty-six blue recycling receptacles will be placed alongside each of the trash receptacles in the park’s new softball complex, playground area and along the pedestrian trails. The new receptacles will give all park visitors the opportunity to “do the right thing” by recycling their empty plastic bottles and aluminum cans.
“The Parks and Recreation Department is an advocate for the betterment of the environment, and we are very pleased to have received this grant,” said Tim Dentler, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Allen. “We are delighted to work with the North Central Texas Council of Governments and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on the recycling program. This is a step forward in raising the bar in our overall efforts to enhance the green initiative in Allen.”
Goals of this park recycling program include the diversion of 20% of trash generated in the park from the local landfill to the recycling stream. By constructing the trash and recycling container enclosure with lockable doors, Allen Parks and Recreation will also be able to prevent the potential for any illegal dumping within the container enclosure.
Design of a shared-use container enclosure has been included in the overall design of the park to allow for storage of multiple commercial containers and begin the recycling program. The enclosure will hold both trash and single-stream recycling containers. Implementation of this recycling program within Allen’s newest community park will allow for diversion of water/soda bottles and aluminum cans to the recycling stream instead of the local landfill. The recycling program is scheduled to begin upon opening of the new park.
Success will be measured by the number of tons of recyclable bottles and cans diverted from the local landfill to the recycling stream. Successful implementation of recycling within Allen Station Park, Celebration Park and Allen Event Center have provided a model from which we are able to expand our recycling efforts to additional community parks and public facilities throughout Allen.