Recycle Smart

Recycle Smart: Do your part and pledge to only put the right items in your recycling cart.

If you put the right things in your cart, they'll be recycled. And keeping nonrecyclable items out of your cart helps prevent problems with collecting, sorting and processing your items into something new.

Always put in your cart:

• Mail, office and school papers
• Magazines, newspaper and inserts
• Boxes (food, beverage, toiletries)
• Cardboard
• Steel and aluminum cans
• Glass jars and bottles
• Plastic bottles, containers and jugs (#1, #2, #5)
• Cartons (milk, broth, juice)

Never put in your cart:

• Plastic bags
• Bagged recycling
• Large plastic items (laundry baskets, storage tubs, toys)
• Random metal items (pots and pans, pipes and poles, hangers)
• Food-soiled paper (napkins, paper towels, paper plates, fast-food wrappers)
• Straws and utensils
• Electronics and batteries
• Hazardous materials (motor oil, propane tanks)
• Medical waste (sharps: needles and syringes, lancets)

We'll tag your cart if there's a problem

First tag – Our crews use a white educational tag to inform you about a problem with your recycling. We may also mail you a letter about the problem.

Contact us if you have questions about the tag or your letter.

Second tag – If you get more than one educational tag, we may remove your blue One-Sort recycling cart. This could happen if you put nonrecyclable items in your cart or if you do not regularly set out recycling for pickup.

How to recycle if we take your cart – You may still set out recycling in paper bags or cardboard boxes for collection.

Avoid having your cart taken away – See materials accepted for One-Sort recycling

How to get your cart back

Cart returned at no cost – Wait three months, then contact us and ask for your cart back.

Cart returned for a fee – To have your cart returned before the waiting period ends, the utility bill payer must complete and submit the garbage and recycling service change form.

• We'll add the fee for having your cart returned to the utility bill for the property.

Attend a recycling class - Watch our recycling video to learn more about what is and is not accepted and how recycling is sorted. After watching the video, you can take a quiz to to get your recycling cart back at no extra cost. 

Take the recycling class

Reasons we might tag your recycling

Issues with items in the cart:

• There were plastic bags in the cart (either containing recycling or as part of the recycling).
• There were other non-recyclable items in the cart.
• The cart was overflowing and causing litter problems.
• Cardboard was not properly prepared for collection.

Issues with the cart:

• It was not out at your designated collection point (the alley or curb line) by 6 a.m. on your pickup day.
  • The City decides your collection day and pickup location, and it cannot be changed.
• It was stuck in snow or ice.
• It was not in the pickup area next to the garbage cart.
• It weighed over 200 pounds.