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Prepare Your Recyclables

It's important to properly prepare your recyclable materials! Knowing what goes in the bin, how it should be prepared, and what NOT to put in the bin produces a better overall result at the processing/sorting facility. Mountain Waste employs a two sort system for collecting recyclables and taking them to the nearest recycling processing facility. This system of dividing the recyclables into two main groups is required by the recycling processing facility that we utilize. We do not own the facility, nor do we set the terms of accepting the recyclable materials.

Here is how the processing facility wants each of us to prepare the recyclables:

  • FIBER: newspaper, office paper, uncoated cardboard (flattened), cereal/food boxes, telephone books, magazines, & junk mail
  • CO-MINGLE (everything else that is accepted by the materials recycling facility): aluminum and steel cans, #1 — #7 plastic bottles/containers, and glass bottles

Two Sort Recycling System

Two Sort Recyclables Take a Shorter Trip, But They Still Go a LONG Way

Mountain Waste & Recycling transports about 80% of the recyclable materials that it collects to the nearest processing facility, located in Wolcott, CO and owned by the Eagle County government. This is the closest recycling Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), and is about 60 miles from Carbondale. This facility requires us to bring your materials to them sorted into two groups.

Please take a moment to prepare your recyclables for their long journey:

  1. FLATTEN ALL CARDBOARD: cardboard takes up a lot of space in the truck if you don’t break it down; please flatten your boxes.
  2. CRUSH PLASTIC BOTTLES AND CONTAINERS: put the cap back on the bottle once you have flattened the bottle—this traps keeps air out, helping the bottle maintain its smaller size, and best utilizing space in the truck.

Items That Are NOT ACCEPTABLE!

NO PLASTIC BAGS

Please, please, please, DO NOT PLACE YOUR RECYCLABLES INTO PLASTIC BAGS for collection. The plastic bags cause damage to the sorting equipment at the MRF and can contaminate the load, and an entire batch of recycling can end up in the landfill.

Plastic bags can be recycled at many retail locations such as WalMart, supermarkets, or Ace Hardware.

NO STYROFOAM

NO WINDOW GLASS

NO CERAMICS

NO DISHES

NO MIRRORS

NO PYREX DISHWARE