What and How to Recycle at Wake County Facilities

Acceptable Plastics

Item	Preparation for Recycling
Plastic bottles, jugs and jars	Lightly rinse food residue from the items and screw any caps back on the bottles.
Plastic tubs (e.g., butter and yogurt tubs)	Lightly rinse food residue from the items. Discard flat lids in the trash.

Unacceptable Plastics

Item	Why the item is not recyclable	How to dispose
Plastic bags	Jam up the machinery at the recycling facility	Collection boxes at grocery stores
Lids found on plastic tubs (e.g., butter and yogurt tubs)	Can be accidentally sorted with paper since they are thin and flat	Discard in trash
Food trays, plates and plasticware	Can accidentally be sorted with paper since they are thin and flat	Discard in trash
Thin plastic cups (e.g., Solo cup)	Made of thin brittle plastic that shatters easily	Discard in trash
Rotisserie chicken boxes	Made from mixed plastics and not easily sorted	Discard in trash
Compostable plastics	Made from different raw materials than other plastics and can contaminate the recycling stream	Discard in trash or find industrial composting facility
Rigid plastics (e.g., plastic hangers, plastic buckets, lawn furniture, children’s toys)	Can't be sorted with plastic bottles and jars	Take to Multi-Material Recycling Facility
Plastic containers that previously contained a hazardous material (e.g., automotive fluids, pesticides, cleaning chemicals)	May contain hazardous residue	Discard in trash. If container still contains hazardous waste, take to North Wake or South Wake Hazardous Waste Facility.

Acceptable Metals

Item	Preparation for Recycling
Metal cans	Rinse off food residue. Metal lids can be recycled. Metal food can lids can have sharp edges, so please place inside the can for safety.

Unacceptable Metals

Item	Why the item is not recyclable	How to dispose
Aerosol cans	Pressurized cans may be dangerous.	Discard in trash. If aerosol can contained hazardous materials, take to North Wake or South Wake Hazardous Waste Facility.
Wire hangers	Hangers act as tanglers in recycling facility.	Place in scrap metal bins at a Wake County Convenience Center
Scrap metal	Large pieces of metal can break machines in recycling facility.	Place in scrap metal bins at a Wake County Convenience Center
Metal containers that previously contained a hazardous material	May contain hazardous residue	Discard in trash. If container still contains hazardous material, take to North Wake or South Wake Hazardous Waste Facility.
Aluminum foil	Food residue may contaminate the recycling stream.	Discard in trash
Aluminum trays and pie pans	Food residue may contaminate the recycling stream.	Discard in trash

Acceptable Glass

Item	Preparation for Recycling
Glass bottles and jars that held food or beverages	Rinse food residue from the items. Discard plastic lids or caps. Metal lids may be recycled. Broken glass containers are acceptable.

Unacceptable Glass

Item	Why the item is not recyclable	How to dispose
Non-food glass containers	May have chemicals that could cause problems in the recycling process	Discard in trash. If container contains hazardous waste, take to Household Hazardous Waste Facility.
Mirrors	Can't be recycled with glass bottles and jars	Please donate or discard in the trash
Window panes	Can't be recycled with glass bottles and jars	Discard in trash
Dishes	Can't be recycled with glass bottles and jars	Donate or discard in trash
Light bulbs	Can't be recycled with glass bottles and jars	Take fluorescent bulbs to the North Wake and South Wake Household Hazardous Waste Facilities. Other bulbs may be discarded in the trash.

Acceptable Paper

Item	Preparation for Recycling
Paper (junk mail, copy paper)	Remove paper clips. Staples are OK. Remove any plastic wrapping or sleeves.
Envelopes (including window envelopes)	Place in the recycling bin
Drink boxes (juice boxes, soup broth boxes, wine boxes) and gable top cartons (milk and juice cartons)	Rinse food residue from the items. Remove and discard caps. Remove and discard any straws.
Newspaper, magazines, catalogs, paperback books	Remove any bags or plastic wrapping
Paperboard boxes (cereal boxes)	Keep these dry and place in recycling bin
Paperboard tubes (paper towel tubes, toilet paper tubes, wrapping paper tubes)	Remove any plastic wrapping and small pieces of paper. Keep dry and place in recycling bin.

Unacceptable Paper

Item	Why the item is not recyclable	How to dispose
Paper cups	May have wax coating on the inside	Discard in trash
Paper napkins and plates	Usually have food residue and will disintegrate in recycling	Discard in trash or at a Wake County Convenience Center that provides organic waste recycling
Pizza boxes	Usually have food residue	Discard in trash or at a Wake County Convenience Center that provides organic waste recycling
Hardback books	Bound books may be difficult to sort at recycling facility.	Donate
Shredded paper	Will contaminate other recyclables	Discard in trash
Checkbooks and carbon paper	These may be printed on thermal paper.	Discard in trash