Can all plastics be recycled? Which ones go in Cuyahoga County's recycling?
All empty plastic bottles or jugs can be placed in your curbside recycling. This includes items like water and soda bottles, shampoo bottles, milk, water and juice jugs, laundry detergent jugs and bleach bottles. Bottles and jugs should be emptied and rinsed. Replace the cap and put in your curbside recycling.
Most local recycling processors are only able to accept bottles and jugs for recycling at this time due to China’s recent import ban on mixed plastics. This ban has limited the types of plastics that can be recycled nationwide. Please support recycling by not putting other types of plastic into your recycling container. If you do, it will likely have to be sorted out as trash.
[video] Learn more about recycling plastic bottles and jugs.
Why do plastics have numbers inside recycling symbols if they’re not recyclable?
The numbers on plastic containers are resin codes used by the plastics industry to identify the type of chemicals used to make the container. The codes do not always mean that the item is recyclable, so we no longer look at the numbers on plastics to determine if it goes in curbside recycling.
The shape of the container determines if it belongs in curbside recycling. Only recycle items shaped like bottles and jugs.
What happens if I place the wrong plastics in my curbside recycling? Can I just throw in any plastic that I want and let someone else figure it out?
No. If there is too much of the wrong materials (contamination) in the curbside recycling mix, there is a chance that the recycling plant will choose to put everything, even the good recycling, in the regular trash. See more about contamination and wish-cycling and why you should care about proper recycling.
Do not include these items:
- NO plastic bags and netted produce bags. Bags wrap around the gears, wheels, and machinery at the recycling plant which clogs up the separation process and eventually shuts down the plant. Think of it like an item getting caught in the beater brush of your household vacuum. See more about plastic bags.
- NO plastic, single-use cups. These thermoform plastics are brittle and break apart while moving through the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF or recycling plant). The loose pieces will end up mixed into the glass and paper in the plant. See more about plastic cups.
- NO berry and produce containers. These thermoform plastics are brittle and break apart while moving through the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF or recycling plant). The loose pieces will end up mixed into the glass and paper in the plant.
- NO flower pots. Empty plastic flower pots, packs and flats should be reused or placed in the trash for disposal. See more about flower pots.
- NO plastic blister packaging. These thermoform plastics are brittle and break apart while moving through the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF or recycling plant). The loose pieces will end up mixed into the glass and paper in the plant.
- NO Styrofoam packaging, Styrofoam cups and Styrofoam food containers. This plastic has been expanded with air and is very fragile. It breaks apart into tiny pieces during the sorting process. See more about Styrofoam.
- NO plastic utensils and hangers.
- NO cat litter containers and 5-gallon buckets. These items are too large to be included. Consider reuse before placing them in the trash.
- NO empty motor oil and antifreeze jugs. These containers may have residue of the hazardous materials they held and should be placed in the trash, not recycling, for proper disposal.
Apartment and condominium dwellers can recycle too. See our blog post about recycling options in your building.
Businesses can recycle industrial plastics via local specialized companies. See a list in our Business Recycling Directory.