Recycled holiday lights at the Tyler Recycling Center in Tyler on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. (Tyler Morning Telegraph File)

From Staff Reports

Tyler residents will soon have more opportunities to recycle, thanks to a new agreement between the city and Cyclyx International.

Tyler City Council approved a partnership on Wednesday allowing the Tyler Recycle Center to expand its accepted materials list to include all plastics except PVC.

The change, set to take effect March 3, marks a major shift from the center’s long-standing limit of only accepting plastics #1 and #2.

The expansion comes after a June fire destroyed Rivers Recycling in Kilgore, the region’s main commercial-scale plant. The loss forced curbside collection in several cities — including Tyler, Bullard, Whitehouse, Longview, Kilgore and White Oak — to pause indefinitely.

Rivers Recycling plans to rebuild on its existing property in north Kilgore, with a new facility expected to open by late 2025. The updated plant will feature advanced sorting technology to improve efficiency, CEO Jeff Craine said in a previous Tyler Morning Telegraph article.

Under the agreement, Cyclyx International will accept the collected plastics for at least one year and pay the city $0.035 per ton of material. The company specializes in breaking down plastic waste into reusable feedstock for industry partners, such as Exxon, to create new products.

City officials say the partnership aligns with Tyler’s broader sustainability efforts by diverting more waste from landfills and promoting plastic repurposing.

Residents are encouraged to take advantage of the expansion by bringing eligible plastics to the Downtown Tyler Recycle Center, 414 N. Bois D’Arc Ave.

The facility, which is a free, self-service drop-off center, is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to noon Saturday each week. It is closed on Sundays. For more information, call 903-531-1388.