Lake Charles residents got a step-by-step look at the process during the city鈥檚 鈥淪ummer of Sustainability鈥� event. At Drew Park, Team Green and Waste Management teamed up to walk residents through the full journey of recyclables 鈥� from the moment they鈥檙e dropped off, to the time they鈥檙e turned into something new.
鈥淲e wanna just start with the basics and explain how to recycle correctly,鈥� Beverly Gilchrist, Waste Management District Manager, said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got pages of where the recycling trucks are stationed, we have a recycling center in Lake Charles, we have a list of what鈥檚 acceptable and not acceptable.鈥�
Every day, 100 to 150 vehicles drop off materials at Team Green trucks. Between July 2024 and July 2025, Lake Charles residents recycled more than 261 tons of material. However, officials warned that contamination is a major challenge. 鈥淚f a recycle truck is contaminated, if someone doesn鈥檛 do the right thing, the whole load can be contaminated,鈥� Kimberly Albrecht, Programs Manager with the City of Lake Charles, said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e taking the time and energy to recycle, doing it the correct way will ensure that it doesn鈥檛 get mixed up with regular trash and that it does go to our recycling center.鈥�