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Recycling Guide

What can and can't go in your curbside bin, plus how to handle tricky items.

♻️
Aluminum cans
Rinse, don't crush. Infinitely recyclable.
♻️
Steel/tin cans
Rinse, labels OK. Lids go inside can.
♻️
Glass bottles/jars
Rinse. Lids usually separate. Some areas don't accept.
♻️
Plastic #1 (PET)
Water/soda bottles. Rinse, replace cap.
♻️
Plastic #2 (HDPE)
Milk jugs, detergent bottles. Rinse.
♻️
Plastic #5 (PP)
Yogurt containers. Check locally.
🚫
Plastic #3, #6, #7
Often not accepted. Trash or specialty drop-off.
🚫
Plastic bags/film
NO curbside. Take to store drop-off bins.
♻️
Paper (office, mail)
Clean, dry. Shredded = bag separately.
♻️
Cardboard (corrugated)
Flatten. Remove tape and staples OK.
🚫
Pizza boxes (greasy)
Grease contaminates. Compost or trash. Tear off clean lid.
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Paper cups (waxed)
Plastic lining. Trash.
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Food scraps
Compost if your area accepts.
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Styrofoam (#6)
Almost never curbside. Trash.
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Batteries
Special drop-off — never curbside.
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Electronics
E-waste recycling drop-off.
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Textiles/clothes
Donate or textile recycling.
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Light bulbs (LED)
Drop-off at hardware stores.

Rules vary by municipality — when in doubt, check your local recycling program. Wishcycling (guessing) contaminates good recyclables.

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