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

Dropoff Recycling - Materials Accepted

and how to Prepare them for Recycling

Commingled Containers Commingled Papers Cardboard/Paperboard Return to Recycling Home

NOTE: The following information is also available as a downloadable PDF Flyer or Word document.

Materials placed in plastic bags cannot be accepted at our dropoff recycling sites. Plastic bags cause loads to be contaminated. They also contribute to littering and debris, since there is no way to secure them at our recycling dropoff sites. Please reuse them or recycle them at your local grocery or retail store.

COMMINGLED CONTAINERS
Remove contents. Rinse containers. No need to remove labels.

Aluminum Cans: aluminum can

  • DO include pull tabs or tops.
  • DO NOT include foil, food trays, or pie plates/trays. These items are manufactured with different alloys and will contaminate each other.

    Glass Bottles & 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).

    Plastics #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #7 (not #6) (see the recycling triangle on the bottom of the container):
    Remove caps and lids (it is not necessary to remove neck rings). 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 any type of polystyrene product.

    Steel Cans
    Lids can be recycled with cans. steel cans

  • DO include cans that contained coffees, fruits, soups, vegetables, and aerosol cans.
  • DO NOT include cans that contained oil, paint.



    COMMINGLED PAPERS
    Must be clean and dry.

    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.; egg cartons; food contaminated materials; food wrappers; hardback/paperback books; Kraft-paper shopping bags or any 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.



    CORRUGATED CARDBOARD, CHIPBOARD/PAPERBOARD, CARRIER STOCKflattened cardboard
    Must be clean and dry. Remove contents, including liners (e.g., foil, plastic, etc.) or packing materials (e.g., plastic six-pack rings, tissue paper, etc.). These materials must be broken down and flattened in order 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 egg cartons; 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.

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    This Page Last Modified: Tuesday, 27-May-2008 13:30:18 CDT

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