News
July 30, 2009
Be Mindful Of What You Put In Recycling Bin
So you’ve been putting yogurt cups, pizza boxes, and ceramic cups in your recycling bin. Guess what? The City of Raleigh cannot recycle these products.
The top three containers that residents are putting into their recycling bins which the City cannot recycle are:
- Non-bottle shaped plastic items, such as yogurt cups, bags, utensils, and margarine tubs. The City also is urging residents not to put acceptable items into plastic bags when their recycling bin is full. Instead use a box or other container;
- Pizza boxes; and,
- Non-food glass products such as ceramic cups, vases, dishes, plate glass, mirrors and light bulbs.
These items should be placed in the trash can, not the recycling bin. Putting them in the recycling bin with other acceptable recyclable items can be harmful to the City’s recycling efforts.
“Non-bottle plastic items, even those with the same resin code on them, will melt at a different temperature during the recycling process. If they end up in the oven together, bottles will be burning up before the non-bottle products even begin to melt, sending the entire load to the landfill,” said Linda Leighton, waste reduction specialist for the City of Raleigh Solid Waste Services Department.
“In the case of non-food glass items, again, each type glass melts at a difference temperature during the recycling process, resulting in bubbles, cracks and holes in newly manufactured glass bottles. Plastic bags are the nemesis of the recycling plant as they become tangled in equipment and burn up motors, shutting them down,” Ms. Leighton added.
The Solid Waste Services Department has produced a public service announcement (PSA) on the top three non-recyclable containers that residents are putting into their recycling bins. The PSA can be viewed at http://raleigh.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=93
The following items are collected by the City of Raleigh’s curbside recycling program:
- newspapers and all inserts;
- magazines and catalogs;
- white paper, including junk mail;
- plastic bottles. Beginning Oct. 1, a new state law will ban plastic bottles from being put into landfills. Plastic bottles should only be placed in recycling bins;
- corrugated cardboard (only 3-feet by 3-feet pieces);
- paperboard, chipboard and paper tubes;
- steel food cans;
- aluminum beverage cans;
- aluminum foil and trays that are free of food debris;
- plastic beverage rings;
- glass food and beverage containers;
- gable top cartons; and,
- aseptic (drink) boxes.
These items -- along with ink jet and toner cartridges and cell phones without accessories -- can also be taken to any of the City’s seven recycling drop-off centers. Unless otherwise noted, the drop-off centers are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The recycling drop-off centers in Raleigh are located at:
- Jaycee Park, 2405 Wade Ave.;
- Mini City Shopping Center, 4510 Capital Blvd, behind the Taco Bell and adjacent to Food Lion;
- Solid Waste Services Administrative Office at 400 W. Peace St. (7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday only);
- Brennan Station Shopping Center at the intersection of Creedmoor and Strickland roads. The drop-off center is located behind the shopping center off of Brennan Drive. Follow the large white water tower;
- City of Raleigh Yard Waste Center, 900 N. New Hope Road (open Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. only);
- Sam’s Wholesale Club, 2537 S. Saunders St.; and,
- Habitat Wake ReStore at 2420 Raleigh Blvd (open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on Sundays and Mondays).
For more information about the City of Raleigh’s recycling programs, including how to obtain a recycling bin or order an additional bin, contact the City’s Solid Waste Services Department at 996-6890 or visit the City’s website at www.raleighnc.gov/recycling.
Prepared by:
John Boyette
Public Affairs Specialist
Public Affairs Department
For More Information Contact:
Linda A. Leighton
Waste Reduction Specialist
Solid Waste Services Department
400 West Peace Street
Raleigh, NC 27603
919-996-6890
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