HOUSTON — If you recycle plastic and other items, you probably assume it's going to a recycling center. A Houston woman who recycles faithfully was surprised to learn that's not always the case.
Brandy Deason decided to toss an Apple tracking device in with the rest of her recycling to see where it ended up.
"This is like the James Bond of plastic recycling," CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy told her during a recent interview. "You're like a plastic spy."
Deason wanted to use the trackers because she was skeptical of Houston's new program that accepts some types of plastic not normally considered recyclable. She said nearly every bag with one of those Apple trackers in it ended up at a place called Wright Waste Management.
"I thought it was kind of strange," Deason said.
CBS News obtained documents showing the site has failed three Harris County fire safety inspections and is not approved to store plastic waste.
Wright Waste Management wouldn't allow their crew on the property but drone video showed piles of plastic waste stacked more than 10 feet high. They showed the video to Houston Director of Solid Waste Management Mark Wilfalk.
"Doesn't that doesn't look kind of chaotic to you?" Tracy asked him.
"It's not the most desirable-looking site," Wilfalk replied.
He said they'll have to look into the issues with fire safety inspections.
Meanwhile, Wilfalk admitted the city has collected 250 tons of plastic since the end of 2022 and none of it has been recycled yet.
"We're gonna stockpile it for now. We're gonna see what happens," Wilfalk said.
Information from this story is from CBS News' Ben Tracy and produced for KHOU.com by digital managing editor Michelle Homer.