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Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority
CONNECTICUT SOLID WASTE SYSTEM RECYCLING GUIDE
New! Expanded plastics recycling -- check for the triple-arrow recycling symbol (as seen below left) on the bottom of each item -- and recycling of large rigid plastic items.
What to recycle:
How to recycle it:

Please DON’T recycle:

Recycle No. 1 plastic

Plastic bottles, jars, tubs and buckets (up to 3 gallons in size) made of #1 and #2 plastic (as shown at left)

 

Discard screw-top caps, rinse and place containers and lids in your recycling bin.

Remove metal handles from buckets.

Redeem deposit bottles!

Automotive fluid (motor oil, antifreeze, windshield washer, etc.) containers

Medicine bottles

Toys

Foam plastics

Take-out food trays

Black plastic of any kind

Film plastics such as plastic wrap, grocery bags, dry-cleaning bags and trash bags

Plastic or plastic-coated paper plates and cups

Recycle No. 2 plastic
Examples include milk jugs, soda bottles, cooking oil bottles, water bottles, laundry detergent jugs, cat litter buckets.
Recycle No. 3 plastic
Food-grade packaging! Examples include laundry detergent jugs, shampoo bottles, dish detergent and skin cream containers. Discard screw-top caps, rinse and place containers and lids in your recycling bin.
Recycle No. 4 plastic
Food-grade packaging! Examples include squeezable condiment bottles and food storage containers. Discard screw-top caps, rinse and place containers and lids in your recycling bin.
Recycle No. 5 plastic
Food-grade packaging! Examples include yogurt, margarine, butter, sour cream, pudding and cottage cheese containers, as well as ketchup and mustard bottles. Discard screw-top caps, rinse and place containers and lids in your recycling bin.
Recycle No. 6 plastic
Food-grade packaging! Solid plastics only (no foam plastics). Discard screw-top caps, rinse and place containers and lids in your recycling bin.
Recycle No. 7 plastic
Food-grade packaging! Examples include large water bottles up to 3 gallons, heavy food containers and Tupperware. Discard screw-top caps, rinse and place containers and lids in your recycling bin.
Now! Recycle large rigid plastic items!
What to recycle:
How to recycle it:

Please DON’T recycle:

Now! Recycle large rigid plastic items
Toys, beverage crates, laundry baskets, large buckets, storage containers Remove and recycle plastic wheels and metal handles, axles, hinges, fasteners Mirror glass, black plastic, containers that held hazardous materials
What if I have single-stream recycling? Just place them in your recycling bin or barrel with your paper, cardboard, metal and glass recyclables.
And don't forget to recycle all these other materials!
What to recycle:
How to recycle it:

Please DON’T recycle:

Recycling logo

Newspaper, junk mail, catalogs, magazines, home computer paper

Place in brown paper grocery bag or tie with fiber twine into bundles, then place the bag or bundle on top of or next to your recycling bin. Dirty or contaminated material, Tyvek mailing envelopes, gift wrap, greeting cards
Now! Telephone books and hard-cover books Separate and place in the trash covers from hard-cover books. Please don't recycle more than two phone books at a time. This will keep our processing equipment running efficiently.
Corrugated recycles
Corrugated cardboard Flatten boxes and fold or cut into three-foot pieces, tie with fiber twine into bundles, then place the bundle on top of or next to your recycling bin. Dirty or contaminated material, pizza boxes, plastic- or wax-coated cardboard, cereal boxes, shoe boxes, other types of boxes
Please recycle glass
Glass bottles and jars (up to 2.5 gallons in size) Discard lids or caps, then rinse and place in your recycling bin Window glass, light bulbs, mirrors, medicine bottles, broken glass, bottles and jars larger than one gallon – REDEEM DEPOSIT BOTTLES!
Recycle aluminum
Aluminum cans, food trays and foil. Rinse and place in your recycling bin. Fold foil flat. Pots, pans, coat hangers, toys, other metal items – REDEEM DEPOSIT CANS!
Recycle steel
Steel food (up to No. 10 size) and beverage cans including aerosol cans Discard lids, rinse and place in your recycling bin Pots and pans, coat hangers, appliances, toys, other metal items
Recycling logo
Boxboard (cereal boxes, pasta boxes, shoe boxes, shirt cardboard) Discard plastic or wax-paper inner bags, remove plastic windows and flatten, then place in the same bundle or bag with your newspapers, junk mail and other mixed paper

Dirty or contaminated material.

Plastic-coated paper or cardboard materials such as plates and cups.

Pizza boxes are frequently made of this material but are not accepted.

What if I have single-stream recycling? It's easier than ever! No need to tie paper and cardboard into separate bundles -- just place them in your recycling bin or barrel with your cans, bottles and other recyclables.
Recycling logo
Aseptic packaging (milk cartons, juice boxes) up to one gallon in size Discard straws or caps, then rinse and place in your recycling bin.  

 

 




This CRRA.ORG page was last updated on February 12, 2013.
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