Recycling Reminder Tips

The City of Key West wants to remind the community what is recyclable and what is not in order to improve our recycling rate and reduce contamination.

Acceptable recycling items include: paper, cardboard, clear, brown, or green glass bottles, plastics number 1 or 2 (Water bottles, soap and shampoo bottles), clean aluminum foil, ferrous metals, soup cans, juice boxes, and cereal boxes. If you’re disposing of cardboard boxes, please break them down. And used pizza boxes must have the greasy bottom torn off and put in with regular trash.

Plastic bags in the recycle bin are the number one contaminant. If you package your recyclables in plastic, it not only makes them trash, but contaminates the entire bin. All of the contents of the blue bin will be disposed of as trash.

Plastic bags, when they reach the sorting plant in Pembroke Pines, are like gum in the machines. The plant must close the sorting machines for one or two hours daily to remove all plastic bags caught in the moving parts. The main causes for sorting issues and jams are also hoses, electrical cords, and metal hangers, which can cause fires. None of the items that cause machine jams are recyclable.

Other trash in the bin will also contaminate the entire load. If the bin is contaminated with food, Styrofoam or trash, it has to be picked up by the trash truck and cannot go into the recycling truck. Plastic pump bottles can be recycled but be sure they’re clean and dispose of the pump mechanism itself into regular trash.

Remembering these simple tips helps the community reach its recycling goals and keeps Key West beautiful.