Refuse and recycling carts at the curb
Streets & Urban Forestry

Other Recycling Mistakes & Why It Matters

Trash mixed in with recycables costs Madison taxpayers thousands of dollars.

All of the trash that needs to be separated out from good recyclables costs extra dollars.  

In 2024, 18.7% of the recyclables of what we collect in the green recycling carts is actually trash items that should not be there.

In some cases, the wrong material in the recycling cart can be dangerous.  It can cause significant damage, including fires, to the facilities that sort the materials.

Check out the video that shows how your recycling is sorted. That will help you better understand the recycling rules, and have greater empathy for the people at the recycling sorting facility who are helping sort through all of the tons of stuff we all throw out. 

Below are some additional advice and information about recycling right. 

 

Other Recycling Advice

Empty and Flatten Your Cardboard Boxes

You must empty and flatten your cardboard boxes before putting them into the recycling.

A lot of packing material cannot be recycled.

You are also using up too much space within your recycling cart when you don't collapse your boxes and empty them out.  This makes it harder for you to fit other recyclables inside the cart.

Make Your Best Effort To Clean Out Bottles & Cans

Recyclables should be clean, empty, and dry before you put them into the cart.  How clean is "clean"?  Make an honest effort.  Do your best and do not leave any obvious food chunk or piece of debris behind.  It does not have to be perfect, but you should not leave anything obvious behind inside the consider.

Only Recycle Bottles & Jars

Drinking glasses, baking dishes, windows, light bulbs, and other glass items do not belong in your recycling cart.

Only bottles and jars can be placed into your recycling.

Why? Bottles & jars melt at different temperatures than other types of glass.  And you can't separate the other types of glass out from bottles & jar glass once it's all mixed together.  Here's a long video about glass bottle making from a bottle manufacturer if you're interested to learn more about the process.

Don't Put Items That Are Too Small in the Recycling Cart

If the item is smaller than a standard sticky note, then it should go into the trash.

Small things like bottle caps, or loose shredded paper, fall in with the glass.

Why? It has to do with how the sorting equipment works.  Anything smaller than a sticky note is designed to fall into the glass sorting area.  And then the company that processes the glass has to clean it again.

Close the Lid of the Recycling Cart

When you leave your cart lids open, it leaves the material inside exposed to rain and snow.

This can ruin paper products.

Please keep the lids on your cart closed.

Don't Put Anything Too Big in Your Recycling Cart

You don't want to put anything bigger than about a jug of milk into your recycling cart.

We see a lot of plastic buckets in the recycling cart, and they are too big for the cart. 

Just Because It's Plastic Doesn't Mean You Can Recycle It

There's so much plastic in our lives, and we can only recycle certain plastic containers.

Check the online recyclopledia or contact us if you aren't sure if you can recycle the plastic item you have. 

Recyclopedia

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Trash & Recycling