Longview Recycling Faces a July 30 Council Review: What Belongs in the Blue-Lid Cart Now

By the Real Ryan Nichols Editorial Team
Facts last checked: July 26, 2026, 9:50 a.m. Central

Longview’s curbside recycling program is headed back before the City Council on Thursday, July 30—one month after the city narrowed the plastic containers accepted in blue-lid carts.

The official 34-page meeting packet lists a discussion to “review the recycling program.” It does not publish a proposed rate increase, a plan to end curbside recycling or a new list of accepted materials.

That boundary matters. The meeting is real and current, but the outcome is not yet known.

For now, residents should follow the city’s existing rules:

• Put the blue-lid recycling cart out the day after regular trash collection.
• Place accepted materials in the cart loose, not in plastic bags.
• Recycle only clean plastics marked #1, #2 or #5.
• Clean household metal cans, paper and cardboard are accepted.
• Do not put glass, food, liquids, Styrofoam, clothing, wood or plastics #3, #4, #6 or #7 in the blue-lid cart.

The council meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 30, in the City Hall Council Chamber at the Jo Ann Metcalf Municipal Building, 300 W. Cotton St. The agenda includes citizen comment before the recycling discussion.

What the official records establish

Three city records explain why this review deserves attention.

1. The current cart rules are narrower

On June 26, the City of Longview announced that its materials recovery facility would no longer accept every plastic numbered 1 through 7.

The city now accepts only:

• #1 plastics, such as many water, sports-drink and soda bottles;
• #2 plastics, such as many milk jugs and detergent bottles; and
• #5 plastics, such as many yogurt, sour-cream and cottage-cheese tubs.

The number is normally molded into the container. The number alone is not the whole rule: the item should also be clean, empty and placed loose in the cart.

The city says plastics #3, #4, #6 and #7 should go in the trash because they are no longer recyclable through this curbside program.

2. Contamination has a direct processing cost

The City Council’s May 14 meeting minutes show that it unanimously approved a processing agreement with Northeast Texas Regional Materials Recovery Facility in Kilgore.

The minutes describe the facility as the only local operation able to process Longview’s single-stream curbside material. They record:

• a standard tipping fee of $90 per ton;
• an increase to $100 per ton on October 1; and
• a $150-per-ton charge for loads containing more than 20% contamination.

The approved resolution authorizes a contract term of up to six years, with annual spending limited to budgeted funds.

Those figures are processing prices paid under the city agreement. They are not, by themselves, a household sanitation-rate change.

The same May minutes said the facility processed plastics #1 through #7 at that time. The city’s June notice later narrowed the accepted curbside plastics to #1, #2 and #5. The public records reviewed for this article do not explain the operational reason for that later change.

3. The July 30 agenda promises discussion, not a result

The current agenda identifies Dwayne Archer, Longview’s assistant public works director, as the presenter for the recycling review. It does not attach a staff memo, proposed resolution, cost table or recommended action for that discussion item.

No vote outcome should be assumed before the meeting.

What belongs in the cart today

The city’s current recycling page applies to residential customers with a City of Longview water bill.

Put in the blue-lid cart	Keep out of the blue-lid cart
Clean plastic containers #1, #2 and #5	Plastic bags and bagged recycling
Clean aluminum and steel household cans	Glass bottles and jars
Clean paper	Plastics #3, #4, #6 and #7
Flattened, clean cardboard	Food, liquids and dirty containers
Items placed loose	Styrofoam, clothing and wood

Glass is a special case. The city says glass bottles and jars may be taken to the Compost Site and other separate glass-recycling locations, but they should not go in the curbside cart.

The collection-day rule can also change the destination of the entire cart. The city says blue-lid carts placed out on the regular trash day will be treated as trash. Recycling is collected the day after trash.

For an item that is not clearly listed, call Longview Sanitation at 903-237-1250 before putting it in the cart.

Who is affected

The immediate audience is every Longview household using city curbside recycling. The effects extend further.

• Residents need an accurate list and collection day so material is not rejected or landfilled.
• Sanitation workers handle the carts and loads created by household decisions.
• Sorting-facility employees have to remove non-recyclable material, including loose trash and items that can obstruct equipment.
• Ratepayers have an interest in processing costs and any future budget effect.
• The city landfill and environment are affected when recyclable material is diverted—or when contaminated loads cannot be recovered.

Local reporting provides useful history. In October 2025, KLTV documented contamination problems at the regional facility and the city’s decision to collect recycling the day after trash. The city’s current contract and June 2026 plastics notice are the controlling records for today’s rules and prices.

What remains uncertain

The public record reviewed Sunday morning does not answer:

• Longview’s current contamination percentage.
• How many tons have been accepted, rejected or sent to the landfill since service resumed.
• Why the processing facility stopped accepting plastics #3, #4, #6 and #7.
• Whether the October 1 processing-price increase is already reflected in the adopted sanitation budget.
• Whether staff will recommend new collection, education, inspection or enforcement measures.
• Whether the council will discuss a household rate change.
• Whether the council will take any action after the discussion.

These are questions for the July 30 meeting. They are not findings of wrongdoing, waste or program failure.

What residents can do before Thursday

Audit one cart

Before the next pickup, remove:

• plastic bags;
• food or liquid;
• glass;
• foam;
• plastic without a visible #1, #2 or #5 mark; and
• anything not listed on the city’s current page.

Flatten cardboard, empty containers and keep recyclables loose.

Verify the collection day

Use the city’s collection-day map and place recycling out the day after trash. Do not rely on an old calendar if your schedule has changed.

Attend or follow the July 30 meeting

The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 300 W. Cotton St. The agenda provides time for citizen comment.

People who need an auxiliary aid or service should contact the City Secretary’s Office at 903-237-1080 at least two days before the meeting. The agenda directs Spanish-language assistance requests to 903-237-1000.

Useful questions include:

1. What is the current contamination rate, and how is it measured?
2. How many tons has Longview delivered to the MRF this fiscal year?
3. What caused the accepted-plastics list to change in June?
4. What processing costs has the city paid, including contamination charges?
5. Is any cart, collection-day or household-rate change under consideration?
6. When will residents receive an updated printed guide?

Ryan’s Take

Editorial analysis prepared by the Real Ryan Nichols Editorial Team; this is not presented as a firsthand quotation from Ryan.

Recycling only works when the public rules match what the receiving facility can actually process.

Residents should do their part: keep bags, food, glass and unaccepted plastics out of the blue-lid cart. But public cooperation is easier when the city shows the numbers behind the policy.

The July 30 review should give Longview a plain-language scorecard: tons collected, contamination percentage, processing cost, landfill diversion, rejected loads and the reason the plastics list changed.

That is not an argument to end recycling. It is an argument to make the program understandable enough to succeed.

If a household follows an old “1 through 7” message while the facility now accepts only 1, 2 and 5, good intentions can still produce a contaminated load. Clear government communication protects both the program and the people paying for it.

The council should explain what is known, identify what will change and leave residents with one current guide they can trust.

Sources and related East Texas coverage

• July 30 Longview City Council master agenda
• City of Longview June 26 recycling update
• Current City of Longview recycling rules
• May 14 City Council minutes and MRF contract terms
• KLTV’s October 2025 contamination and schedule report
• Marshall’s 19-project hazard-mitigation draft and July 31 comment deadline
• Longview and Marshall weekend heat-index guide

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OG artwork disclosure: The social image is an original symbolic editorial illustration of a blue-lid recycling cart, currently accepted material types, a July 30 calendar and a generic council-review folder. It is not a photograph of a specific Longview street, an official city graphic, a government document or a prediction of the council’s decision.