WWRA: What can and can’t be recycled with the new single stream system

(Chelsea Update would like to thank Laura Scriven, education coordinator for Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority, for this story.)

The single-stream line is up and running, and the majority of bugs have been worked out. Materials are being organized and prepared for recycling at a steady pace.

This week’s article is going to focus on what can and cannot be recycled, and why.

Let’s start with what can be recycled. Just rinse out cans, jars, and bottles, flatten cardboard, and labels can remain on. Then put all recyclable materials into the provided container.

Things that are accepted into WWRA single stream containers:

• Newspaper and junk mail

• Magazines, catalogs, paperback books, and phone books

• White office paper

• Cardboard, paper bags, cereal boxes, juice and milk cartons, pizza boxes

• 1-7 plastics including plastic bottles, milk jugs, detergent bottles, cottage cheese and yogurt containers and more. Please remember to rinse these containers.

• Rigid plastics such as plastic buckets, soda crates, coolers, toys, laundry baskets, empty garbage cans, and plastic pet containers

• Glass bottles and jars. We accept clear, green, and brown. Please, no blue glass.

• Tin and aluminum cans. Please rinse.

Things that are not currently accepted:

• No plastic bags of any kind. They get into the gears and damage the machinery

• No plastic tarps, shrink wrap, pool covers, bubble wrap, or any similar plastic materials

• No Styrofoam of any kind

• No oil containers or propane tanks

• No tires

• No household paint cans

• No hazardous materials

• No light bulbs

We are continually trying to find more ways to recycle more products and as they become available, I will write about it.

If you have any questions or concerns, please send me an email at [email protected].