Get Answers: ABQ recyclables sitting in massive pile

take time to sort your recyclable items every week but we've learned they don't always make it to...  More »

take time to sort your recyclable items every week but we've learned they don't always make it to the city of albuquerque's recycling facility right away.. a former city solid waste manager is among a group of former city employees that asked us to check into this massive pile of material sitting near the city's dump. investigative reporter jeremy jojola started asking questions... and found it may be violating state environmental laws: thanks to your thanks to your nobel efforts the city takes in more thanks to your nobel efforts the city takes in more than 20-thousand tons of recyclable materials every year. it all goes minute thumbnail 10:15 pm here to the city's sorting facility on the west mesa that was built in the early 1990's. at least it's supposed to go there.. some material has not been sorted for months----and it's turned into....this. a massive pile just south of the facility surrounded by trailers, old tires and barrles. tarps on top have shredded away---the pile of cardboard, paper and plastic has been exposed to rain and the elements for who knows how long. "i think it's time to come clear withhe public." frank ortega who worked in solid waste for 25 years and retired as a maintenance manager in 2007 says much of the material might as well be thrown into the dump because mold and mildew has likely ruined its recycling potential. "jojola: so all of this stuff was meant to be recycled, and now it's contaminated ... "ortega: it's contaminated" ortega says he was routinely trained in recling during his time at the landfill and believes without a doubt the city is trying to hide the pile from public view because it proves there's a problem. "they can't keep up with what's going on. the facility can only do so much." ortega blames the city for not upgrading the sorting facility since it was built as a pilot program. inside, the same baling machine minute thumbnail 10:16 pm that was first handling all recycling material in the early 90's is still handling all the material coming in today, even more so as more people "think green" the old baler has repeated break- downs, ortega says, costing the city tens of thousands of dollars in repairs and that those break-down leads to back-ups. and even when it is working there is a bottle neck effect. "jojola: ortega is not the only former city employee to make these claims, but he is the only one willing to go on camera. he's among a handful of city employees that approached us with this issue months ago claiming the city's recycling program is garbage." "i don't know if i would use the word overwhelmed...we are definitely nearing capacity." the city reffered us to jill holbert, deputy director of solid waste, in charge of recycling. we asked her about ortega's claims---especially about that massive pile. "do you know how long this has been sitting there for? " "it's from this year. i don't know the minute thumbnail 10:17 pm exact date." "jojola: can this still be recycled, this material?' "yes" "jojola: it's not contaminated by the rain or anything like that?" "uhm, there might be a little bit of problem ...no...no not really. we get very little rain fall in albuquerque, and snow cover..so certainly you'd want to cover it the best you can and keep it out of the elements." hollbert says this pile is a very small fraction of what's actually being recycled at that it's just a storage area. but she admits it's proof the city has a problem with so much recycling material coming into an out-dated, slower system. "jojola: would you characterize this as a spill over effect." "over flow, it's definitely overflow. oh i would definitely love to have the capacity to process that tomorrow, and like i said, we've been very forth comming in saying we need a new facility. we need the ability to process all the materials." hollbert says the city is pushing hard for a new recycling facility that would cost 20 million dollars...but she stresses, everything that is coming in is minute thumbnail 10:18 pm eventually recycled, and not contaminated. "jojola: is it smart to encourage people to recycle, but at the back end, we have what appears to be a spill- over effect?" "i would say....i know what you're getting at. this is something, unfortunately again, we have this backlog ...but for the most part though, we are able to process everything that comes in." new mexico's environment department- says the sorting facility was last inspected back in april of 2008. a spokesperson says the agency is looking in several complaints about it.. and if any violations are found, the city could be slapped with fines.  « Less