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RECYCLING IN UTAH
February 24, 2016
Recycling in Utah wasn’t always easy. It wasn’t too long ago that Utah was one of the worst states in the nation when it came to recycling. We’re still not the top recycling state, but we’ve come a long way at improving our recycling rate. Curbside recycling has made recycling much more convenient in recent years. Additionally, now more and more recyclable items are being accepted.
These days you can recycle just about anything in the blue bin, including:
- paper
- cardboard
- aluminum
- steel food cans
- PET plastic (soda and water bottles labeled #1)
- HDPE natural plastic (milk jugs)
- HDPE colored plastic (detergent bottles)
- mixed plastic (#3-7)
- styrofoam blocks and food containers
There are some things that the current recycling center is not fully equipped to handle and that includes the following:
- shredded paper – the problem with shredded paper is that it falls through the system and ends up in a landfill. It’s better to reuse shredded paper as little box material for pets, packaging material or compost material.
- plastic grocery bags – they get caught in the machinery and blow around flying out of the trucks, again ending up in the landfill. You can return these to the grocery store to recycle. Consider using reusable grocery bags to reduce the use and production of these difficult to recycle products.
- pizza boxes – greasy pizza boxes are not recyclable but if the top of the box is not greasy you can rip it off and put in the bin. Throw the bottom, greasy part of the box in the trash.
- glass – glass recycling has a $7 a month fee and us optional at this time. If you choose to recycle glass you will be provided with a special bin just for glass. Call Momentum Recycling at 801-355-0334 to learn more and sign up.
What about electronics and other items? Can they be recycled?
Only the items listed above can be recycled in the curbside bin, but you can still recycle items like batteries, electronics, ink cartridges, and other hard to recycle products at Recycle Utah. Call 435-649-9698 to learn more about hard to recycle items. Click here for a full list of acceptable items for recycling.
