Plastic recycling in SLO County
Most plastic items that we use in our daily lives, from food packaging to plastic bags, are not recyclable -- less than 9% of plastic is recycled in the United States today. However, there are some plastic items that can and should be recycled to avoid adding more plastic to sit in landfills for hundreds of years!
When in doubt, just remember…. Hard yes for # 1 and # 2!
Look at the number inside the chasing arrows symbol to find out if it is recyclable in SLO County.
ONLY plastics #1 and and plastic #2 if they are rigid plastic bottles with a neck, such as milk jugs and plastic bottles can be recycled in SLO County.
Many people understandably think that if an item has the chasing arrows symbol on it, that it is recyclable. Unfortunately, that is not the case and it is a tactic that the plastic industry has used to confuse the public for years.
YES:
Plastic bottles #1
Clean out bottles before recycling
Plastics #2
Did you know that plastics #2 can be recycled into plastic furniture, flower pots, buckets, fencing and buckets?!
Cleaning product plastic bottles
They must be empty!
Milk jugs
Why not the tetra-pak ones? Those are made of composite material, meaning a mix of plastic and paper, which makes it really hard to separate and recycle. Those belong in the trash.
NO:
Plastics #3, #4, #5, #6, #7
Plastic bags
Plastic take-out containers
Bubble wrap
Coffee pods
Frozen food bags
Plastic bottle caps
Plastic utensils
Plastic produce bags
Styrofoam
Ziploc bags
You might be wondering, why can’t so many plastic items that we use in our daily lives be recycled?
It is important to remember that recycling is a business -- if it isn’t profitable and if the market demand isn’t there, then items won’t be recycled. Making virgin plastic is often cheaper than recycling plastic, which unfortunately results in more new plastic being made and less being recycled - not so great for the environment!
NO mixed materials: Mixed materials, meaning items made of a combination of materials such as paper, plastic and aluminum, are not very recyclable. Those to-go coffee cups, milk cartons and nutrition bar packaging, all cannot be recycled because it is very difficult to separate materials from each other. These items should go in the trash.
NO small, flimsy pieces of plastic: Small or flimsy plastics often break under the weight of the materials and machinery at the recycling facility, so they cannot be recycled. Items such as bubble wrap, bottle caps and plastic take-out containers should go in the trash.
NO plastic bags: Have you ever tried to pull a bunch of hair out of your vacuum that got caught in the spinning suction roller? That is similar to what happens with plastic bags at the recycling facilities -- they get tangled up in the machinery and people have to hand pull them out! Please do not put plastic bags into the recycling bin, they belong in the trash.
The plastic items that can be successfully recycled are pure, rigid plastics #1 and #2.
Since a very small amount of plastic is actually recycled and plastic lasts for hundreds of years in landfills, the best option is to opt out of single-use plastic items! Glass and aluminum can be endlessly recycled without losing their quality, making them much more environmentally-friendly options.
Better yet, reusable containers, water bottles, coffee cups and utensils are the best options for reducing the amount of plastic waste produced. Every time you opt out of single use plastic and use a reusable item, that is one less piece of trash that gets sent to the landfill. Thanks for reducing, reusing, and recycling!
Print out this awesome poster and put it by your waste bins to remind yourself what goes in the trash and what goes in the recycle bin!
More questions? Visit the IWMA.com to find out how to dispose of all your waste. Use their awesome search feature that allows you to type in any item (balloons, batteries, aluminum cans…) to find out how to properly dispose of it in SLO County!