RECYCLING

Vail Valley Waste Recycling Program.

In order for Vail Valley Waste to maintain the most efficient processing facility AND keep recycling programs available, it is important for our customers to know what is acceptable and what is NOT. One example of what is NOT acceptable would be ANY metal other than Aluminum and Tin cans.Vail Valley Wastes  does NOT accept steel items such as a horseshoe, fencing, or other steel items.

Here is a complete list of acceptable items that can be mixed “Altogether” in one container:
* Newspaper (including inserts) * Corrugated Cardboard (FLATTENED) * Office Paper
* Mixed Paper * Chipboard (Cereal and Tissue Boxes) * Brown Paper Bags
* Aluminum (do not crush) * Tin Cans – No “other” steel * Plastic Milk Jugs
* Empty Aerosol Cans * Detergent Bottles (Tide) * Bulk or Junk Mail
* Magazines
* Aseptic Packaging (Milk and Orange Juice Cartons)
* Mixed Rigid Plastics (large lawn furniture or large children’s play toys, waste or laundry basket)
* Plastic (#1 – #7) Plastic Bottles or Tubs – NO PLASTICS MARKED “PLA”
* StyrofoamTM IS accepted.
You No Longer Have to Sort – To prepare your items to be recycled, please rinse out containers to remove as much of the food residue as possible. No need to discard plastic lids and caps (leave them on the bottle) on plastic bottles but do discard pumps on bottles. In addition, please make sure there are NO PLASTIC BAGS mixed in your recyclables.

Here are some more helpful hints when deciding whether you can recycle the item:
• Plastic — Only recycle plastic bottles and tubs. This is typically a #1 through #7 plastic and only pertains to the bottles and tubs. Please do not add clamshell containers or #7 PLA compostable plastics. No need to remove the screw tops on the bottles. In addition we accept the larger what are known as “mixed rigid plastics.” These are the larger toys and buckets.

Here are some examples of plastics that are okay to recycle:
* Soda, water, and juice bottles
* Liquid detergent and other cleaning supply bottles
* Condiment bottles (ketchup, mustard, etc)
* Milk jugs and orange juice jugs
* Shampoo bottles and liquid soap dispensers
* Peanut butter jars (please rinse out)
* Butter and Yogurt tubs
* Large toys (no metal or wheels)
* Plastic Lawn furniture
* Plastic buckets (with metal handles removed)
* StyrofoamTM

Plastic Items NOT accepted:
* NO PLASTIC BAGS
* NO clamshell or “to go” plastic containers
* NO plastic plates, forks, spoons or knives
* NO #7 PLA compostable containers
* NO six pack holders
* NO plastic syringes (NEEDLES)
• Aluminum or Tin Cans ONLY – Please make sure any aerosol cans are totally empty. This would include containers such as shaving cream and hairspray cans. Labels are okay.

NO OTHER STEEL ITEMS.
* Cardboard – Make sure to flatten cardboard. No wax-lined cardboard is accepted in the
recycling mix. Wax-lined cardboard can be composted in a different service.
* Brown paper bags – NO PLASTIC BAGS.
* Chip or Paperboard – This type of material includes items such as:
* Cereal boxes
* Soda carrier boxes
* Tissue holders
* Other food boxes such as popcorn or microwave food boxes (not the cooking sleeves)
* Newspaper – We accept the entire newspaper including the inserts and ads
* Office Paper – All types of office paper are accepted. If you can tear it, we can take it. All colors are fine as well. Don’t worry about paperclips, staples, tape, and sticky notes. These are all okay in the mix. NO TYVEK (polyethylene fiber) plastic, over-night mailing folders. NO SHREDDED PAPER.
* Bulk or Junk Mail – This material is okay as well. Do not worry about any stamps or staples or sticky notes in this material, either. Remember, if you can tear it, we can take it. Again, NO TYVEK (polyethylene fiber) plastic, over-night mailing folders.
• Magazines & Catalogs — Please discard plastic bags around these items and items such as CDs and magnets. Everything else is okay.

WE DO NOT ACCEPT ANY HAZARDOUS OR BIO-HAZARDOUS WASTE PRODUCTS
SUCH AS NEEDLES AND SYRINGES (NO!) AS WELL AS USED MOTOR OIL PLASTIC
BOTTLES or PESTICIDE PLASTIC BOTTLES.
WE DO NOT ACCEPT USED PAPERTOWELS AND NAPKINS.
WE DO NOT ACCEPT ANY CERAMICS OR PYREX CONTAINERS ALONG WITH NO
WINDSHIELD GLASS OR WINDOW GLASS