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What material can you recycle in single-stream?
- All containers should be empty of food or liquid. Food containers should be rinsed.
- Caps or lids should be put back on containers after rinsing.
- Ideally, your recycling is placed clean and loose in your recycling toter. A liner is not necessary and is not recyclable so if you use a bag to line your indoor receptacle it is best to dump recyclables out of the bag into the outside bin and re-use the bag to line your indoor recycling or trash bin.
- Containers don’t need to be crushed.
- No Styrofoam of any kind. Â
Acceptable Recycling Materials
Paper
Clean, dry, and unsoiled.
- Paper Bags
- All boxes, paperboard, waxed board (like cereal or tissue boxes)
- Corrugated cardboard boxes
- Cereal boxes
- Computer and office paper, all kinds
- Egg cartons (no Styrofoam)
- Envelopes (transparent windows OK)
- Juice or milk containers, with plastic caps and rings
- Mail, magazines, catalogs
- Newspapers
- Office paper, file folders
- Packing or craft paper
- Phone books
- Sticky notes
- Shredded paper
Metal
- Aerosal spray cans (must be empty)
- Aluminum cans
- Aluminum foil
- Paint cans (must be empty or dry)
- Pie pans, trays, to-go containers
- Scrap metal (any size as long as it fits in bin)
- Steel (tin) cans
Glass
Must be empty, light rinse only. No Pyrex, ceramics or mirrors.
- Bottles and jars (metal caps and lids are OK left on)
- Drinking cups
- Jars
Plastics
Solid plastics can be recycled.
- Antifreeze bottles (empty)
- Buckets (metal handle OK)
- Cups, lids and plates (no Styrofoam)
- Containers, clamshells and to-go packaging
- Garden/flower pots and trays
- Hazardous chemical containers (only if empty)
- Laundry detergent bottles
- Motor oil bottles (only if empty)
- Toys (no electronics, metal or batteries)
- Tubs, trays and lids (like yogurt containers and Tupperware)
- Utensils
See the Recyclopedia if you have any questions about any of the above.
Unacceptable Recycling Materials
Items marked in green are accepted at the Community Compost Program.
- Batteries
- Books/DVDs
- Clothing, linens and rags
- Construction debris
- Corks
- Electronics
- Food scraps
- Hazardous materials or chemicals
- Light bulbs: incandescent, LEDs and fluorescent
- Ink or toner cartridges
- Major appliances
- Medical waste or medicines
- Mirrors
- Plates and vases
- Plastic bags and wrapping
- Soiled paper napkins, tissues, towels
- Styrofoam
- Thin film plastic
- Tiles
- Trash
- Window panes
- Wire hangers
- Wood
- Wrappers: all plastic lining bags and wraps
- Yard waste, leaves, trimmings
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Now that plastic bags are no longer accepted in single stream recycling, what should we do with them?
- Reuse them!
- Then bring clean and dry bags to the Bedford Recycling Center
- OR put bags in the trash to be taken to the Peekskill incinerator and burned to make energy.
For information on how to dispose of non-recyclable items safely and legally, visit our Recyclopedia.