(Oneida, Herkimer Counties, NY) By choosing to recycle, the residents and businesses of Oneida and Herkimer Counties continue to give trash a new life. The two-County region currently recycles over 50 percent of the solid waste generated in the two Counties. Recycling not only protects the environment by conserving energy and natural resources, but benefits our economy and preserves space in our region’s landfill.
Still, there are a few important recycling facts you should keep in mind:
- Putting non-recyclable items in the recycling bin does not mean that they will get recycled. Non-recyclable items actually contaminate other recyclables and can jam, break or even ruin the sorting equipment at the Recycling Center. When in doubt, throw it out.
- The numbers found on plastic items are identification codes for the type of plastic used to make them. The numbers do not tell you whether the item can be recycled. You can recycle all plastic bottles, cups and containers (with and without number codes) excluding Styrofoam, motor oil bottles and prescription medicine bottles. If the plastic item is not a bottle, cup or container, it does NOT belong in your recycling bin.
- Plastic shopping bags cannot be placed in the curbside recycling bin. Plastic bags and other film plastic can cause operational issues with the sorting equipment at the Recycling Center. Plastic shopping bags can be returned to the grocery store for recycling, reused or discarded as trash.
- Styrofoam is not recyclable and should be placed with regular trash. This includes foam coffee cups and foam packaging peanuts/blocks. Make sure packaging Styrofoam is removed from cardboard boxes before recycling!
- Make sure all containers are empty and rinsed before recycling! The cleaner an item is when it is placed in the recycling bin, the more valuable it will be as a recycled material. When you recycle plastic, metal and glass containers, you can leave the caps on. The caps can be recycled, but only if they are left on the container. Do not place caps and lids in the recycling bin loosely.
- Cardboard boxes that are stored in the freezer are not acceptable for recycling. Items such as frozen pizza boxes, ice cream cartons and microwavable dinner boxes are trash items.
- The Authority does accept items such as electronics, rechargeable batteries and bulky rigid plastics for recycling, however, they must be delivered to the Authority’s Utica or Rome Convenience Stations. These items are drop-off items only, they should not be placed in your curbside recycling bin.
- Materials such as wood, bricks, clothing and textiles, string/rope/twine do not belong in your recycling bin. These items interfere with the recycling process and are very damaging to sorting equipment at the Recycling Center.
For more information on recycling and waste disposal in Oneida and Herkimer Counties, please visit www.ohswa.org. For further questions or recycling tips, please contact Authority Recycling Coordinator Jamie Tuttle at 733-1224 ext. 2300.