Seal of the City of St. Louis
City of St. Louis
Department of Streets
Refuse Division
Recycling Program
 St. Louis Recycles

Curbside Recycling
Cost-Sharing Pilot Program

About the Program How to Enroll Materials Accepted/
Preparation Instructions		 Collection Schedule Service Information Recycling Home Refuse Home

Note: The following information is also available in PDF Format

Enrollment
Materials Accepted and Preparation Instructions

All About the Curbside Recycling Cost-Sharing Pilot Program

As a result of generous support from the St. Louis-Jefferson Solid Waste Management District and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the City of St. Louis is able to offer financial assistance to households in zip codes 63108, 63110, 63112, 63113, 63116, 63139 and 63147 for the cost of curbside recycling service. This program is filled on a first-come, first-served basis. For one year of service, the resident pays a portion of the fee while the Refuse Division utilizes grant funding to cover the remainder of the cost.

In this program, a recycling truck collects aluminum, glass, plastic, and steel containers; mixed paper; and cardboard from the curb once-per-week. This limited program is first-come, first-served.

Regarding the fact that City residents must pay for curbside recycling service, please understand that the industry is still in transition. There is a common misperception that is it highly lucrative, so consumers should not have to pay for service. Small revenues are received for some of the recyclables collected in our curbside program, but any such income is currently insufficient to cover its cost. We are continually making efforts to improve the cost-effectiveness of this program.

How To Enroll

To request curbside recycling service, contact the Citizens' Service Bureau (CSB) by phone at 314.622.4800, or online at http://stlouis.missouri.org/government/csb.html

  • Residents who do not live in one of the zip codes eligible for the Curbside Recycling Cost-Sharing Pilot Program, may contact Earth Circle Recycling to determine if curbside recycling is available in their area. Residents may contact them by email at earthcirclerecycling@earthcirclerecycling.com or by phone at 314.664.1450. Their website is http://www.earthcirclerecycling.com.

  • City residents may also use any of 27 dropoff recycling sites located throughout St. Louis City. For more information about our dropoff sites, visit http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/recycle/locations.htm.

    Materials Accepted / Preparation Instructions

    Please place recyclables at the curb before 7:00 a.m. on your assigned collection day.
    Do not include food wrappers or food contaminated materials.
    Do not place recyclables in plastic bags. Any recyclables in plastic bags will not be collected. Recycle plastic bags by taking them back to the retailer you received them from.
    To prevent blowing litter, please secure recyclables. Materials that do not fit in the bin provided may be collected in a separate container (e.g., brown paper bag, cardboard box, storage crate, laundry basket, etc.).

    SINGLE STREAM RECYCLING
    This year we will continue to experiment with single stream recycling For now, it will not be necessary to separate each material. You will place all recyclable materials in the same bin. However, the materials will need to be properly prepared and recyclable though this program, otherwise, they will not be collected.

    RECYCLABLE CONTAINERS
    Remove caps and lids that are not numbered. Remove contents. Rinse containers. Labels do not need to be removed.
    Aluminum Bottles & Cans: aluminum can
  • DO include bottles and cans, food trays, pie plates, and foil.
  • DO NOT include food contaminated materials.
    		• Aseptic Packaging & Gable Top Containers: Remove all caps, lids, and straws. aseptic juice gable top milk
  • DO include juice, milk, soup, and stock boxes and cartons.
  • DO NOT include food contaminated materials.
    		•

    Glass Bottles and Jars:
    Remove all caps and lids (their metal cannot be recycled often because they include a rubber ring or seal).
    Avoid breaking containers. glass bottle and jar

  • DO include brown, clear, green glass bottles and jars.
  • DO NOT include ceramics, dishes, drinking glasses, lightbulbs, mirrors, Pyrex, windows, blue glass products (unlike other colors, even the tiniest bit of blue glass can contaminate beyond usefulness to glass manufacturers).

    • Plastic #'s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 (not including #6) (see the recycling triangle on the bottom of the container):
    Remove caps and lids that are not numbered (they cannot be recycled because they are an unknown type of plastic) Flatten (to reduce storage space, transportation costs, and pollution). plastic bottles

  • DO include containers for beverages, foods, body care and household products, and other non-hazardous materials.
  • DO NOT include containers that contained antifreeze, cooking oil, hazardous materials, motor oil; disposable diapers; frozen food bags; plastic bags or wrap; "Styrofoam", foam, or polystyrene products.

    • Steel Cans:
    Lids can be recycled with cans. steel cans

  • DO include cans that contained coffee, fruits, soups, vegetables, and aerosols.
  • DO NOT include cans that contained oil, paint, or hazardous materials.

    • RECYCLABLE PAPERS
    Catalogs/Magazines: magazines
  • DO include thin catalogs, glossy/slick paper or advertising flyers.
  • DO NOT include food contaminated materials, food wrappers, hardback/paperback books, postcards, thick catalogs.

    • Junk Mail/Mixed Office Paper:
    It is not necessary to remove regular paper clips or staples. office paper

  • DO include colored or copier paper, envelopes (including plastic windows), folders (without metal or plastic), gift or holiday wrapping paper (no foil-type), packing paper, printer or school paper, stationery, white paper, junk mail.
  • DO NOT include binders; binder clips; carbon paper; construction paper; decorations, such as bows, ribbons, string, twine, etc.; food contaminated materials; food wrappers; hardback/paperback books; non-Kraft-paper shopping bags or bags with handles; notebooks; plastic coated, laminated, or lined paper; plastic sheet protectors; rubber bands; facial, sanitary, or toilet tissue products; spiral notebooks; thermal or treated fax paper; tissue paper.

    • Newspaper: newspaper

  • DO include inserts that arrived in the paper.
  • DO NOT include paper or plastic bags or wrappers, string, twine, or food contaminated materials.

    • CARDBOARD / PAPERBOARD
    If cardboard does not fit in the bin provided, it may be stacked beneath recycling bin(s). Remove contents, including liners or packing materials.
    Break down and flatten (to reduce storage space, transportation costs, and pollution).
    Carrier Stock:
  • DO include boxes that contained beer or soda.

    • Chipboard/Paperboard: cereal box

  • DO include boxes that contained cake mixes, cereals, crackers, dry foods, food mixes, paper supplies, shoes.
  • DO NOT include boxes or cartons that are coated or lined, such as with wax, plastic, or foil (i.e., frozen food, milk, juice, etc.) or food contaminated materials.

    • Corrugated Cardboard: cardboard box

  • DO include brown/Kraft paper (e.g., bags, sheets, wrapping, etc.).
  • DO NOT include cardboard cans (such as fiber drums), food contaminated materials (such as pizza boxes), or non-Kraft-paper shopping bags or bags with handles.

    • Collection Schedule

    INCLEMENT WEATHER
    In the event of snow or ice, recyclables will be collected from streets plowed by the City; all other streets will be picked up as deemed safe. All impassable areas will be serviced the following week on your regularly scheduled collection day.

    HOLIDAY COLLECTION SCHEDULE
    Should any of the following holidays or observances occur on a regularly scheduled collection day, pick up will be rescheduled to the next business day:
    Holiday Day Observed Date Observed Makeup Day Makeup Date
    Veterans' Day Wednesday November 11, 2009 Thursday November 12, 2009
    Thanksgiving Day Thursday November 26, 2009 Friday November 27, 2009
    Christmas Day Friday December 25, 2009 Monday December 28, 2009
    New Year's Day Friday January 1, 2010 Monday January 4, 2010
    Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday January 18, 2010 Tuesday January 19, 2010
    President's Day Monday February 15, 2010 Tuesday February 16, 2010
    Memorial Day Monday May 31, 2010 Tuesday June 1, 2010
    Independence Day Monday July 5, 2010 Tuesday July , 2010
    Labor Day Monday September 6, 2010 Tuesday September 7, 2010

    Service Information

    ADDRESS CHANGES, SERVICE TERMINATION, MISSED PICKUPS, AND REFUNDS
    To terminate service, request a refund, transfer service to a new address, or report a missed pickup, contact our Citizens' Service Bureau by phone 314.622.4800 or online at     http://stlouis.missouri.org/government/csb.html. Recyclables should be placed at the curb by 7:00 a.m. and left out until 7:00 p.m. on your assigned collection day. Drivers may not collect your materials at the same time each week, due to a variety of circumstances (e.g., weather, traffic, route changes, truck needs emptied, etc.), so please do not report a missed pickup until after 7:00 p.m. on your collection day, even if your neighbor's was already collected. Due to the expenses involved, refunds will not be issued below a minimum amount ($15.00 or less, subject to change according to costs). If funding is secured for the following year, renewal invoices will be sent in the Fall of 2009.

    Citizens' Service Bureau
    Phone 314.622.4800
    Submit Service Request Online http://stlouis.missouri.org/government/csb.html.

    This cost-sharing program is funded by the St. Louis- Jefferson Solid Waste Management District and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

    What Else Can I Do?

    Recycling at home is the first step towards reducing household waste - how can your family make the most of this opportunity? Acting as an informed consumer can go a long way saving valuable resources from the landfill. Buy in bulk and choose products with less packaging. Once you are familiar with the materials that can be recycled through the curbside recycling service, select goods packaged in these types of containers.

    Glass, aluminum, and steel are easy to identify and are 100% recyclable. These materials can be infinitely recycled and processed into new goods. Plastics come in many varieties and each type has unique chemical and physical qualities, requiring manufacturers to be careful to use plastic types that can provide the desired characteristics of their product. Many recycling programs accept limited types of plastic based on available markets and cost of transportation to those markets. To ensure your plastics can be recycled, purchase items sold in plastics marked with a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 7. To determine what number your plastic is, look inside the triangular symbol located on or near the bottom of the container.

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    This Page Last Modified: 12/28/09