You get them ready. We get them recycled!
Putting containers that still contain liquid, food, or grease in the recycle container contaminates the other recyclables from your neighbors in the collection truck and at the sorting facility. The half-drank soda can or full tub of hummus that went bad can do a lot of damage to a load of clean cardboard and paper. But how clean do recyclables need to be? It’s easy to get your recyclables ready to be placed into your blue recycle container. There’s no need to wash — just pour out liquids, scrape out foods, and wipe out grease! Once you get your bottles, cans, and containers ready, we get them recycled without sending them overseas!
Pour out liquids — Bottles or jars that contain liquid can simply be poured out in the drain without the need to rinse them.
Scrape out foods — Containers that still have food in them should be scraped out into the compost cart. Items such as peanut butter jars can be scraped out with a spatula to remove the excess food.
Wipe out grease — Items with greasy residue such as salad dressing can be wiped out with a paper towel and the paper towel can then be placed into the compost cart. Bonus points for doing this with an already used paper towel.
Do your part by making sure your recyclable containers are free from any food or liquid. When they are Recycle Ready and you place them into your blue recycle container, you can trust your containers are being recycled. With the help of the City's contracted waste hauler, GreenWaste of Palo Alto, we have established relationships with recycling facilities in the United States and Mexico to ensure none of your bottles, cans, or plastic containers are sent overseas to be burned or buried. We all care about our recyclables. Making sure they are Recycle Ready before placing them into the recycle cart ensures they can be turned into new items. You get them ready — we get them recycled!
Find out which items are recyclable and which aren't on the What Goes Where Tools webpage.