Building a circular economy, one bale at a time

“Accepted recyclable materials vary depending on your location. The best way to know which items can be recycled, is to refer to your local recycling program. We gathered this handy list of Recycling Resources by Location you can reference if you live in one of our existing locations. You can also see accepted items at-a-glance by clicking on the “Locations” tab at the top of the page.

Otherwise, you can simply search “recycling” + “[your city”] and you should be able to locate which items are accepted. Your municipality’s website may also have a page with information on recycling best practices, including a list of accepted items.

Commonly accepted materials include:

*Cardboard
*Paper (office paper, newspaper, cardstock, etc.)
*Plastic bottles and containers
*Aluminum cans “

All the material you place in your recycling bin is picked up by your local collection service and dropped off at one of our Materials Recovery Facilities (MRF). We use a combination of machinery, technology, and manual sorting to separate recyclables by commodity type (for example, cardboard, paper, plastic, and aluminum). Once the material is properly separated, we bale it to prepare it for shipment and send it off to secondary processors or manufacturers, who use it to make new products.

Typically, each material type either returns to its original form or becomes a new version of that commodity. Cardboard becomes a new cardboard box, and paper becomes a new form of paper such as tissue. Glass is used to make new bottles, fiberglass, or even material for construction (learn more about our Glass Aggregate {link to glass aggregate page}!). Aluminum can be used to make more aluminum cans, but also bike parts, gutters, and more! Plastics will become different products based on their resin type. Some examples include new bottles and containers, buckets, park benches, car parts, even fabrics!

Most recycling programs DO NOT accept bagged recyclables. Since recycling varies by location, it’s important that you check with your local recycling program. In most cases, all recycling material should be placed loose (bagless), clean and dry in the recycling container.

If you are required to bag your recycling, please use a clear plastic bag.

MRF Stands for Material Recovery Facility. As the name suggests, a MRF is a highly specialized facility that takes in recyclables and separates them according to their commodity type. Imagine having a fruit salad and separating it by fruit type as cleanly as possible – that is what happens at a MRF except with recyclable materials!

MRFs are at the center of the recycling process, receiving the collected recyclables and preparing them for shipment to secondary processors, who will develop them into new products and return them to the shopping shelves.

Please remove food, liquids, and oil from containers before recycling. A quick rinse or wipe down of the container is all you need! There is no need to run your recyclable containers through the dishwasher.