Your Mixed Recycling Cart

 
 
 

View the video at the left to learn more about how to recycle right at your apartment complex.

 

“When in doubt, throw it out!”

Knowing what to put in your blue mixed recycling cart can be confusing. Over the years, rules have changed. If you have lived in another city, your recycling hauler may have allowed some items that are not allowed in our recycling stream. The simple rule of thumb, “Paper, Plastic, Glass, and Metal,” no longer accounts for all the exceptions to the rule. Our best advice in avoiding contamination of your blue mixed recycling cart (and contamination fees) is:
“If it’s not on this list, don’t put it in the cart!”

Read below for helpful examples of what should and should not go in your mixed recycling cart and what to do with items that are recyclable elsewhere.

 

What Goes in the Cart?

Before you put anything in the blue mixed recycling cart, here’s what you should know:

Every item in your blue mixed recycling cart should be Empty, Clean & Dry. If you can’t get sticky cheese or food gunk off your recyclables, put them in the trash. Recyclable materials should never be bagged (with ONE exception):

  • The ONE exception is shredded paper. Shredded paper can be recycled if placed in a clear plastic bag (tied at the top) or a paper grocery bag, stapled at the top, and marked outside “shredded paper”.

Paper

Cardboard (flattened), newspaper, magazines, paper packaging, phone books, books, office paper, junk mail, and shredded paper (read instructions above). No paper plates, paper towels, toilet paper, or napkins.

 

Plastic (#1, 2 & 5)

Empty, Clean & Dry! Plastic bottles, containers and lids (numbers 1, 2 & 5), rigid plastics such as buckets, crates, plastic plant pots, etc. No plastic bags, plastic wrap, bubble wrap, or shipping/mailing pouches. 

 

Glass

Empty, Clean & Dry! Glass bottles and jars (lids separate, ok to recycle). No drinking glasses, mirrors, ceramic plates or cups, or broken window glass.

 

Metal

Empty, Clean & Dry! Metal food cans and lids, beverage cans, clean aluminum foil, and empty aerosol cans. You don’t need to remove the labels from the cans.

 

Put These in the Trash

These items are not recyclable and belong in the trash:
Snack bags, aluminum containers that can’t be cleaned, strapping tape and plastic hoses (these items jam our recycling equipment), greasy cardboard boxes, napkins, paper towels, or toilet paper, pet waste, plastic film, plastic wrap, plastic bags, beverage boxes and cartons, juice boxes, drink pouches, paper plates, plastic utensils, face masks, gloves, hair nets, infant or adult diapers, plastic to-go containers (other than #1, 2 5), to-go coffee cups and their lids, and all polystyrene (Styrofoam).

 

Yes, recycle these, but not in your blue cart!

 
 

Donate Clothing, Shoes & Linens

Clothes, shoes, and household linens (sheets & towels) are recyclable. They should not go in your trash cart because, when landfilled, they create the greenhouse gas known as methane when they break down. Do not put clothing or linens in the blue mixed recycling cart. We can’t recycle them.

Even if your clothing item is not in perfect condition (stained shirts or socks with holes), it can still be recycled! Donation centers sort through your items to determine where they should be sent. When you recycle clothing, shoes, and fabrics through donation, they may end up at a resale shop or be sent to the textile recycling marketplace. Do them a favor: Separate your good quality clothing from the bad quality clothing. Mark the bag with the unusable items as a “rag bag.”
Click here to learn more about what happens to unwanted clothes.

Best Practices:

Reduce Your Consumption
Don’t forget to apply the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” principle to purchasing clothing and household essentials. Use a one-in-one-out policy when making purchases. Make sure your purchase is based on a need to replace an item that no longer serves you. Ask yourself, “How many sets of sheets, towels, brown shoes, raincoats, throw pillows, etc. do I really need?”

Below are some ideas about where to donate or what you can do with your unwanted clothes, shoes, towels, and sheets.

Help Animals in Need
Contact a local vet, animal rescue, or animal shelter to ask if they need towels, top sheets, and small blankets to care for the pets they serve. In Monterey County, you can contact South County Animal Rescue (SCAR), Hitchcock Road Animal Services, and the SPCA Monterey County.

Donate & Recycle
Non-profit clothing donation and recycling centers can be found throughout Monterey County. Check online for drop-off locations for Goodwill Services and the Salvation Army. Salinas Valley Recycles has clothing and shoe recycling containers and bins at Johnson Canyon Landfill in Gonzales and the Recycling Center at Madison Lane in Salinas.

 

Hazardous Waste

Medical waste includes sharps, needles, and medications. Visit the Salinas Valley Recycles website for more information on proper medical waste disposal.
Never flush medical waste or medication down the toilet!

FREE Sharps Disposal Locations in Gonzales, Greenfield & Soledad:
Gonzales Pharmacy: 18 Fourth Street
Greenfield Police Department: 599 El Camino Real (civic center lobby)
Soledad Pharmacy: 537 Front Street

FREE Prescription & Non-prescription Medication Disposal Kiosk Locations in Gonzales, Greenfield, and Soledad:
Gonzales Police Department: 109 Fourth Street
Greenfield Police Department: 599 El Camino Real (civic center lobby)
Soledad Pharmacy: 537 Front Street

The following locations accept the items listed below for recycling:
Johnson Canyon Landfill: 31400 Johnson Canyon Rd., Gonzales
Jolon Transfer Station, 52654 Jolon Rd., King City
HHW & Recycling Center at Madison Lane: 1104 Madison Lane, Salinas (residential & commercial services)