A new business in town, “Good Earth Recycling” is aiming to get more people in Lubbock to recycle and help beautify the city’s parks.
Nick Nowicki and Rachel Gililland founded the group together realizing there was a need for more recycling in Lubbock.
Nowicki, a Dallas native, said while he’s happy to be in the Hub City now, he wants to bring the eco-friendliness he grew up with in Dallas to Lubbock. The main problem he saw in Lubbock was that many people did not seem to find recycling very convenient.
“There was a really big need for this here in Lubbock because no one was really recycling,” said Nowicki. “The main thing I want people to realize is that recycling doesn’t have to be hard.”
Gililland, born and raised in Lubbock, said she really just wants to be able to take better care of the place she grew up in and help her fellow community members learn to do the same.
“I know a lot of people here in Lubbock care about the condition of our parks and our outdoor and our wildlife and want to make a difference,” said Gililland. “As soon as you’re finished with a plastic bottle or glass jar, just rinse it out with water and throw it in the recycling bin.”
That’s where Good Earth Recycling comes in to help. When you’re signed up for this program, they will include you on their list of houses along their route to go by and pick up the bag(s) of recyclables in your front yard.
Once a month pick up is $10, twice a month pick up is $20, or you can sign up for monthly pickup at $40.
From there, Nowicki takes the bags to the Texas Tech Recycling Center where the bags are sorted through properly. The money the university is able to make from recycling goes straight into scholarships for students.
“I believe a lot of people really do care and that a lot of people do want to make the impact, but they may not have the time. They may not want to go through and sort all their recyclables, so that’s why we try to make that very convenient for people to help them recycle and make that impact without having to interrupt their daily lives,” said Nowicki.
In just the three months the business has been up and running, Nowicki says they have had more than 100 customers sign up for their services.
In addition to the recyclable pick-up, the group has also started a new program, “Purifying Parks,” in an effort to clean up the city’s parks.
Carrie Badillo and her son, Stephen Logsdon, volunteered with the group at their first park clean up at Mae Simmons and hope to see more community members at the next one in November.
“We do have some really beautiful spots and I think we should take care of them so we can enjoy them,” said Badillo.
If you would like to sign up for the Good Earth Recycling curbside pickup program or find out about more volunteer opportunities with Purifying Parks, you’re encouraged to visit their website by clicking here.
