Paper & Cardboard
Flattened cardboard, newspaper, magazines, office paper, and common mail can be recycled as long as they are not contaminated by food, liquid, or waste.
→Break down cardboard boxes. It makes them easier to process and leaves more room for other recyclables.
→Paper can’t be recycled if it’s mixed with other materials. Remove the bubble wrap or plastic windows before recycling padded packaging or security envelopes.
Metal Cans
Before recycling food and drink cans, remove paper or plastic labels and clean out any residual materials.
→Some metal cans have an insulated coating that might not be recyclable. When in doubt, throw it out!
→Recyclables don’t need to be thoroughly washed, but they do need to be dry so they don’t contaminate other items.
Plastic
While hard plastic containers like water bottles, milk jugs, and detergent containers can go in your container, flexible plastics like grocery bags, bubble wrap and styrofoam require special handling and can’t be recycled curbside.
→Lids are too small to recycle by themselves, so put them on the containers or throw them away.
→If you can poke your finger through the plastic, it doesn’t belong in your recycling container.
»Food and condiment bottles are great recycling candidates. Just be sure they’re rinsed and dry before you put them in your recycling container.«
No Soiled or Wet Materials
One dirty item can contaminate an entire truckload, so make sure recyclables are empty, clean, and dry.
→Once cardboard or paper comes into contact with food or liquid, it can no longer be recycled.
→Never allow more than one teaspoon of liquid remain in a recyclable.
Don’t Bag or Contain
Never bag or bundle your recyclables. Items should be placed in the container individually.
→Plastic bags can get caught in the machinery causing delays and damage to equipment.
→Bundled recyclables can’t be sorted at the facility, so all of it ends up in a landfill.
No Connected or Mixed Materials
When two or more materials are connected they cannot be recycled as is, even if they’re all recyclable.
→If all of the mixed materials are recyclable, like a plastic package with a paper insert, separate the items and put them in your container individually.
→If only part of the mixed materials is recyclable, like a window envelope, separate the plastic portion from the paper and recycle the paper.
Want to learn more? Check out Republic’s Guide to Recycling!