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Longmont recycling reminders for National Recycling Day

Here’s what you can and can’t recycle with the city’s single-stream services
Amy Golden
Amy Golden
IMG-4819
City of Longmont recycling binMacie May

National Recycling Day is Tuesday, which brings with it some good reminders about the best ways to recycle in Longmont.

The city offers single-stream curbside recycling, meaning all your recyclables can go into one container, at no additional cost.

Longmont has one of the best recycling rates in the state at 41% in 2021, though only about 15% of all Colorado waste is recycled, according to a state report. However, one in every four recycled products nationwide is contaminated, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, increasing the cost of processing recyclables and degrading their quality.

The city hosts a Waste Wizard feature on its website where you can search items to find out the best way to recycle or dispose of it, from televisions to leaves to batteries.

Here are some helpful reminders to make sure you’re recycling right.

 

Paper and cardboard

  • Paperback books, paper egg cartons, magazines, paper bags, mail and files can all be recycled.
  • Break down cardboard boxes before recycling to reduce bulk.
  • Shredded paper or paper scraps cannot be recycled, nor can hard-back books.

 

Containers

  • Empty and rinse before recycling.
  • Clean, balled aluminum foil larger than 2 inches can be recycled, as can pie pans.
  • Aluminum, metal and aerosol cans can be recycled.
  • Paper milk and juice cartons are allowed as long as they do not have foil pouches.
  • Glass bottles can be recycled without their caps, as can loose metal jar lids and steel bottle caps.
  • You can’t recycle frozen food meal boxes or styrofoam containers.
  • No ceramics, drinking glasses or light bulbs, which can produce dangerous flaws in newly recycled materials.

 

Plastic

  • Do not put your recyclables in plastic bags.
  • Jugs, jars and bottles can be recycled with their plastic tops attached, as can sturdy No. 2 and No. 5 souvenir cups and tubs.
  • Plastic clamshell containers can now be recycled with their liners removed.
  • Prescription containers, take out containers without food, plastic crates, buckets, flower pots and hard plastic beverage holders are also okay.
  • You can take plastic bags to the Waste Diversion Center for free recycling with proof of residency.