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Sonoma County Waste Management Agency

What Would You Like to Recycle?


Single-stream blue recycling cart

Resources for the blue cart recycling

Poster for single-stream recycling (PDF: 1.4 MB)
Póster con información de reciclaje mixto (PDF: 502 kB)

Not accepted in the blue recycling cart:

Many of the items listed below can be recycled, just not through the curbside program. Use the “What would you like to recycle?” search function at the top of this web page and choose a topic.

  • Appliances
  • Asbestos
  • Batteries (except Windsor)
  • Carpet
  • CD wrapper and other crunchy plastic
  • Cellophane (e.g., Saran Wrap)
  • Ceramic dishware or glassware
  • Coat hangers
  • Disposable diapers
  • Down-filled items
  • Foil-backed or plastic-backed paper
  • Food
  • Footwear
  • Hoses
  • Household hazardous waste or chemicals
  • Items contaminated with petroleum products such as fuel or tar
  • Large items (furniture, metal, plastic, wood, etc.)
  • Leather
  • Light bulbs: incandescent and fluorescent lamps
  • Medications/Pharmaceuticals
  • Mirrors or window glass
  • Motor oil
  • Needles/Syringes
  • Nylon
  • Paint
  • Painted or glued bags
  • Photographs or blueprint paper
  • Pizza boxes
  • Plant 6-packs
  • Plastic bags labeled #3
  • Plastic bags that are dirty or have moisture
  • Plastic food wrap
  • Plastic items mixed with metal, fabric or rubber
  • Plastic labeled "Compostable" or "Biodegradable"
  • Plastic lined cartons
  • Plexiglas
  • PVC pipe
  • Pyrex
  • Rubber bands, paper clips or metal fasteners
  • Soiled paper (paper cups, plates, napkins, tissues, towels, take-out boxes and greasy pizza boxes)
  • Straws or pop tops
  • Stuffed animals
  • Styrofoam
  • Terra-cotta nursery pots
  • Vinyl siding
  • Waxed cardboard or waxed paper
  • Wood, including treated wood
  • Yard debris

Blue recycling cartSingle-stream recycling means that cans, paper, glass, plastic and cartons can be mixed together. These items are then locally processed for recycling at a materials recovery facility.






Accepted in the blue recycling cart:

PaperPaper

  • Newspaper & inserts
  • Magazines & junk mail (envelopes with windows okay)
  • Office paper
  • Shredded paper (Must be bagged separately in a paper bag or clear plastic bag)
  • Telephone, paperback books & catalogs
  • Cardboard (flatten or cut boxes to fit loosely inside cart)
  • Frozen food packaging
  • Paper bags & egg cartons
  • Wrapping paper (nonmetallic only)

PlasticPlastic containers & rigid plastics

  • Empty household plastic containers (leave screw-top lids on containers)
  • Plastic items such as 5 gallon buckets
  • Laundry baskets
  • Plastic crates
  • Plastic lids larger than 4” in diameter     
  • Plastic toys
  • Play equipment
  • Lawn furniture
  • Infant car seats (fabric covers removed)
  • Nursery pots (1 to 15 gallon)
  • Empty plastic quart-sized motor oil containers provided the containers have been drained for 48 hours (leave screw-top lids on containers)
  • Plastic jewel cases that hold CDs/DVDs provided that the front paper covers have been removed
  • HDPE black plastic irrigation pipe, including emitters, can be recycled in the blue single-stream recycling cart provided dirt is removed. Cut pieces to fit in the container. No PVC pipe.

How to prepare: Empty containers before recycling. Leave screw-top lids on containers. If lids are removed from the container, they must be larger than 4” in diameter. Leave labels on.

Plastic bagsPlastic bags — Bags made from polyethylene plastic film (HDPE #2 and LDPE #4)

  • Grocery, produce and bread bags
  • Newspaper bags
  • Retail bags
  • Bubble wrap
  • Dry-cleaning bags
  • Plastic zipper type bags

How to prepare: Remove receipts & food from plastic bags. Only clean and dry bags can be recycled. Bag your bags. Stuff clean plastic bags into a clear plastic bag. Knot the top.

Glass bottles and jarsGlass

  • Bottles
  • Jars

How to prepare: Empty containers before recycling. Leave screw-top lids on containers. If lids are removed from the container, they must be larger than 4” in diameter. Leave labels on.

CartonsCartons

  • Milk  cartons 
  • Soy/rice milk cartons & juice boxes (aseptic packaging)

How to prepare: Empty containers before recycling. Leave screw-top lids on containers. If lids are removed from the container, they must be larger than 4” in diameter. Leave labels on. Remove straws.

CansCans

  • Aluminum, tin & steel/bimetal cans & foil
  • Metal food trays
  • Aerosol cans empty & without pressure
  • Metal paint cans only if the paint residue is dry

How to prepare: How to prepare: Empty containers before recycling. Leave screw-top lids on containers. If lids are removed from the container, they must be larger than 4” in diameter. Leave labels on.

ElectronicsSmall electronics (Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol and the unincorporated area only)
Look for products with digital displays or programmable features.

  • Household electronic devices cannot be larger than 2 feet in any dimension such as home printers, cell phones, answering machines, radios & digital appliances (no glass)

How to prepare: No TVs, computer monitors or other electronic devices with screens. Remove batteries prior to recycling. Remove cords and dispose of in the garbage or drop-off for recycling.

For more options to recycle electronics, use the "What would you like to recycle?" search function at the top of this web page. Choose the topic "Electronics."

BatteriesHousehold batteries (Windsor only)

  • Household batteries (AAA, AA, C, D, 9-volt)

How to prepare: Pick up special yellow battery collection bags at Windsor Town Hall, Windsor Public Works Department or Windsor Refuse & Recycling office in Santa Rosa. • Place batteries in bag and seal firmly. • Place bag on top of blue recycling cart for pickup.

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Sonoma County Waste Management Agency ● 2300 County Center Drive, Suite B-100 ● Santa Rosa, CA 95403