It can be super confusing to know which plastics can go in your curbside recycling bin and which do not.
Here’s a simple tip — don’t bother with the numbers on the plastic items, you can just consider their shape.
♻️ Recycle in the Blue Bin
- 🫙 Jars, bottles, and jugs (6 ounces or larger) that have a screw-on lid or a neck narrower than body, including: milk jugs, peanut butter jars, shampoo bottles, laundry soap bottles, and cleaning product bottles.
- 🪣 Buckets (5 gallons or smaller), including handles.
- 🪴 Planting pots (4-inch diameter or larger) that are rigid (not crinkly or flexible) plastic.
- Round plastic containers (6 ounces or anything larger), which could include containers including for salsa, yogurt, margarine, and hummus.
❌ Trash
You may be able to find special ways of recycling the following items, but if you’re putting them at the curb, they need to go in the garbage:
- Lids
- Trays
- Plastic bags
- Plastic wrap
- Styrofoam
- Plastic straws
- Plastic cups
- Anything that’s had motor oil, pesticides, herbicides, or other hazardous material in it.
For more information on what to do with some of the plastic that doesn’t go in the curbside recycling, here’s an online resource.
Other Trash Questions? Email me
