The City of Austin Solid Waste Services offers curbside recycling pick-up of paper, plastic, glass, and metal. But not all paper, plastic, glass, and metal qualifies for curbside pick-up. Use the chart on this page to decipher what can and cannot go in those blue bins or other curbside recycling containers in Austin.
The NO list is much longer than the YES list. While some of the items in the NO list are indeed recyclable, the city currently only has facilities for handling certain types of recyclable materals. Putting inappropriate materials into your recycling bin causes extra expense for YOU by requiring that the city devote additional manpower to sorting out the inappropriate materials. It can also pose a health and safety hazard to workers and the facilities when broken glass, pesticide containers, and other dangerous items are mixed with valid recycling materials. Learn to recycle right.
YES Paper Like This:
- Junk or direct mail such as brochures, fliers
- White/light envelopes, windows OK.
- Newspapers
- Magazines
- Catalogs
- Newspaper inserts
- Computer paper
- Corrugated cardboard (wavy middle)1
NO Paper Like This:
- Greeting cards/envelopes
- Dark-colored envelopes, folders
- Product samples, plastic, foil packaging
- Wet or soiled paper
- Pizza boxes
- Boxboard such as cereal boxes, shoe boxes
- Phone books
- Disposable paper plates and cups
- Wrapping paper
YES Plastic Like This:
- Number 1 and Number 2 bottles such as milk jugs, water and juice bottles, laundry detergent bottles, shampoo bottles -- (look for the triangle of arrows recycling symbol and the number inside the symbol - it must be a 1 or a 2)2
NO Plastic Like This:
- Plastic bottles other than Number 1 or Number 2
- Plastic wrapping, packaging
- Plastic containers such as margarine tubs or yogurt containers with recycling symbols other than #1 or #2
- Disposable plastic plates, cups, cutlery
- Any container (even #1 or #2) that does or did contain hazardous materials including motor oil, pesticides, paints, or solvents
- Plastic lids
YES Glass Like This:
- Food and beverage containers, labels OK
NO Glass Like This:
- Lids from glass containers
- Broken glass
- Mirrors
- Window panes
- Glass dishes
- Glass ornaments
YES Metal Like This:
- Aluminum cans such as soda and beer cans
- Tin and steel cans such as tuna or canned vegetables, labels OK3
NO Metal Like This:
- Aersol cans
- Paint and solvent cans
- Scrap metal such as gutters, pipes, nails, screws, metal window frames, and wiring
NOTES:
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1 Flatten corrugated cardboard into to 3 feet by 3 feet sections and tie bundles with string
2 Remove lids, rinse, flatten plastic bottles, place with glass and metal recycling
3 Rinse cans, place with plastic and glass recycling
When in doubt about how to properly recycle or dispose of anything from your home, refer to the City's A-Z How to Dispose of Directory for help.