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:
- FLATTEN ALL CARDBOARD: cardboard takes up a lot of space in the truck if you don’t break it down; please flatten your boxes.
- 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