As the situation with COVID-19 extends, many are wondering about the continuation of recycling and household hazardous waste services. Whether these services are currently running is dependent on your city or town. Check with your City, County, or waste service provider to see if curbside or drop off locations are open. If someone in your household has tested positive for Coronavirus, it is advised that you do not recycle until the household is clear and tests negative.
Please do not place any Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in your recycle bin. For proper disposal, check out the EPA's video on PPE Disposal.
If you have further questions about recycling and sustainable management of food during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency, please visit the EPA's web page for guidance.
Recycle Bin or Trash Can?
We've put together some Easy Steps to Recycling that will help get you moving in the right direction. For a more detailed listing of recyclables and the finer details of becoming a true recycling guru, please check out our "How to Recycle" resources. Also, you can check our Frequently Asked Questions About Recycling for answers to more specific questions about specific items.
Empty: Is the item you're about to recycle empty? When you put a recyclable item that still contains food or liquid in your curbside bin, it is considered not recyclable and could potentially contaminate the entire recycling bin!
Clean: If your empty recyclable (such as a jar, can, or plastic bottle) has lots of residue on it from what it was holding, you need to give them a quick rinse. It doesn't need to be perfect, but the majority of the residue needs to be removed. This helps prevent potential contamination in your recycling bin and increases the value of the materials.
Dry: After you have cleaned your recyclables, let them air dry before putting them in your recycle bin. Also, be sure to close the lid to your recycling bin (if it has one) to keep all your recyclables dry in case of rain. This is important because if your paper or cardboard gets soaking wet, it will likely not be able to be recycled and gets sent to the landfill.
By following this simple method of recycling you are helping ensure your recyclables actually get recycled and don't end up in a landfill due to contamination!
If you're curious about what happens to your recyclables after they are picked up, check out our Recyling Process Page!
Most people know paper and cardboard are recyclable, yet we are still sending tons of it to the landfill. Let's get all of it!
Plastic drink bottles are a high value recyclable, yet we are still sending over half to the landfill. Reduce use and always recycle these.
Soda cans can be back on store shelves in 60 days, this makes them a high value item to recyclers.
Clean and dry food cans have great recycling potential, don't send them to the landfill.
View full list of Participating Communities
Time To Recycle is an educational effort that encourages residents to properly dispose of or recycle items, reducing the impact on the region's landfills. It was created by and is maintained by the region's solid waste advisory committee, the Resource Conservation Council (RCC) of the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
