LANCASTER, Pa. — Tomorrow is Earth Day, and officials are reminding people of the correct way to recycle.
According to Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority, these are the Big Four things that can go inside your recycling bin:
- Corrugated cardboard
- Plastic bottles and jugs with necks
- Metal food and beverage bins
- Glass jars and bottles
Things that should not go inside your curbside recycling bin are:
- Bottle caps
- Aluminum Foil
- Styrofoam
- Plastic grocery bags
- Greasy pizza boxes
- If the top is not contaminated, you can rip just that part off and put it inside the recycling bin. The greasy bottom portion should go in your garbage can.
- Newspaper
Cereal boxes, newspaper and plastic grocery bags can be dropped off at participating facilities, or you click here to see where you can bring specific recyclable items.
“We always say ‘when in doubt, throw it out’ because we have waste to energy in Lancaster County, so we will combust the waste and turn it into renewable energy, and that energy powers one in five homes in the county,” said Karen Gross, communications manager at LCSWMA.
Any kind of e-waste is considered hazardous waste and should not be put in curbside bins. It could be brought to the LCSWMA Household Hazardous Waste Facility. These are items like computers, televisions, cell phones, batteries and household chemicals.
There are chemicals in rechargeable batteries that can cause a reaction if the battery is damaged. When they end up at the garbage trucks and waste processing facilities, officials say they’re causing fires. At LCSWMA, there have been about one or two fires a week within the region.
“We also recommend taking batteries to places like Home Depot, Lowes or Staples or places that have recycling programs as well,” said Gross.
If you have any questions on where you can recycle batteries in your county, click here.