SAN ANTONIO – Black smoke, big fires and a feeling of outright fear — that’s how neighbors have described living near certain recycling centers and salvage yards in San Antonio.
“Somedays there’s beyond African dust in the air,” said Jeff Hunt, president of the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association.
Now, the city is building a task force to review how it regulates these facilities.
“It is time for updated codes,” said Amin Tohmaz, interim director of the development services department. “We don’t want to shut down any business, but at the same time, we want the safety for our community.”
San Antonio is currently building a task force to review two city codes related to Metal Recycling Entities and Used Auto Parts Recyclers. This was created through a Council Consideration Request.
The task force will comprise 10 community members chosen by the City Council, 10 industry representatives selected after an application process, city staff and other agencies.
Six community members are guaranteed to be chosen from Council Districts 1 through 6. The other four can come anywhere in the city. This is to ensure people who live in districts with the most recyclers have a guaranteed spot on the task force. Any interested members of the public should reach out to their respective city council office to be chosen for the group.
Applications for recyclers to be on the commission were due Wednesday night. The criteria are broken down into five categories: not currently in litigation or lawsuit, licenses operators, geographic diversity, no violations in the last code enforcement inspection and no current citations.
The last time the codes were updated was back in 2012.
Tohmaz said the goal is to fill the task force by next week so meetings can start.
He wants recommendations completed and presented to the city by February 2025.
