Household Recycling

Recycling conserves resources, saves energy and valuable space in our landfills.  Here’s a list of the materials that most services accept:

Plastic Bottles, Tubs, & Jugs:  Recycle all soda, water, sports drinks, shampoo, milk, juice, sour cream, margarine, yogurt, etc.  Items should be clean and dry before going into the bin.  Remove caps and covers.

Glass Bottles & Jars: Recycle only glass containers that come with food or drink in them. No perfume bottles, light bulbs, window panes, glass dishes or cookware. All colors of glass are accepted – clear, green, brown, blue. Items should be clean with the caps removed. (Check with your hauler for restrictions.)

All Cans – Aluminum, Tin & Steel : Recycle aluminum beverage cans, tin and steel food cans that are clean.  Throw away jagged metal can covers since they can harm people working at the recycling center.

Newspapers: Only clean, dry newspapers can be recycled. Discard wrappers, bags and rubber bands. You may place the newspapers into a brown paper bag before recycling them – no plastic bags, please!  Plastic bags can be returned to the grocery store where they are recycled into new plastic bags.

Magazines & Junk Mail: Recycle all magazines, catalogs, junk mail and inserts that are clean and dry. Remove all plastic wrappers.

Cardboard: Recycle cardboard that has not been contaminated with food or liquid. Before placing cardboard in your recycling bin, be sure to flatten boxes. Pizza boxes are okay as long as they are not contaminated with food or grease.

Chipboard: Examples include tissue boxes, cereal and other food packaging boxes. Remove and discard box liners and flatten boxes before placing them into your recycling bin.

Styrofoam: The Triad Foam Recycling Coalition will accept foam (except for peanuts) cardboard, and plastic bags for recycling. More information about styrofoam recycling can be found here.

Here are a few pointers to keep in mind:

Never place plastic bags in your recycling container; they will not be recycled.  Plastic bags get caught in the machinery and it takes time to separate them from the recyclable materials and send them to the landfill. Instead, take your plastic bags back to the grocery store where they’re happy to recycle them for you.

• It isn’t necessary to remove labels from cans, bottles and jars.
• All materials can be mixed together in your recycling container.
• All materials should be clean and dry when placed in your recycling container.
• Don’t recycle cardboard and paper that is contaminated with food or liquids.
• Never place tissues, paper towels, paper plates or foil/shiny gift wrap in your recycling container.
• When in doubt - toss it out.

Questions or Comments?
 Email lelkins@guilfordcountync.gov  if you have questions or need additional information.