Recycling Do's and Don'ts

Everyone knows that recycling is good for the environment- but it can be hard to what you should and shouldn’t recycle, especially as rules have changed over the past few decades.

If nothing else, know these three main rules of recycling:

1. Always recycle bottles, cans and paper
2. Keep your recycling items clean: wash out cartons and containers before recycling them
3. Do not put recyclables in a plastic bag, as plastic bags are not recyclable

Items that are always recyclable for curbside pickup:

• Plastic items from your kitchen, such as bottles or containers
• Paper, including phonebooks, magazines, mail, newspaper
• Cardboard boxes, including cereal or snack boxes
• Metals, including tin, aluminum and steel cans
• Glass containers and jars
• Soft drink, beer, wine and liquor bottles
   

Items that are not recyclable for curbside pickup:

• Soiled food containers, such as pizza boxes
• Styrofoam containers, such as egg cartons, take our containers and cups
• Plastic bags (instead, recycle these at your local grocery store)
• Broken glass
• Batteries 

Recycling is a great way to do your part and help save the environment. Take it a step further by following these simple tips to help you cut down on your household waste:

1. Use microfiber towels, rather than paper towels
2. Use recyclable cloth bags at the grocery store
3. Use rechargeable batteries
4. Send bills, statements and receipts to your email, not snail mail
5. Shop locally to reduce on transporting costs and efforts
6. When shopping with online retailers, such as Amazon, consolidate orders and schedule delivery for the same day to cut down on transportation and packaging

For more info on how you can Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, visit https://www.epa.gov/recycle