By Kathleen Edman
City of Auburn Solid Waste Customer Care Specialist

Last fall, the City of Auburn did a survey of nearly 300 residential recycling carts, and found more than 70 percent contained items that were not actually recyclable. The City wanted to see what people were actually putting in their carts, so they could help inform residents better about recycling.

One of the big discoveries found was a lot of loose plastic bags in more than a third of the recycling carts surveyed. Plastic bags are recyclable, but not by placing them in curbside recycling bins. It’s understandable that people would put them in the recycling carts because the plastic bags are recyclable. But loose plastic bags are actually a big problem for the companies that process recyclable materials because they get stuck in the equipment.

Please do not put plastic bags in your recycle cart. Either reuse your plastic bags at home (to pick up pet waste, for example), or recycle them by making a bag of bags and take them to a participating retailer. Many area stores have plastic bag recycling bins where you can deposit your used bags.

Another thing the City found in the survey was that many people put their recyclables, like their cans and bottles and paper, in plastic bags before they toss them in their recycling cart. Please don’t do that. Dump your recyclables out of the bags right into your recycling cart. That makes it easier for workers at the processing plant.

A few other recycling tips:

• If you have extra recyclables that won’t fit in your recycling cart, put them in a box or can (not a plastic bag) and label it, “Recycle.” This will avoid your recyclables from being charged as extra garbage.

• Food-soiled paper such as paper towels or napkins should not go in the recycling cart. You can put those in your yard waste cart along with all food scraps.

• Take caps and lids off bottles and plastic containers before recycling. Caps and lids should be put in the garbage.

• Shredded paper should be put in large paper bags before placing in the recycling cart. Tape the bags securely to reduce litter.

Most people are trying their best to recycle, but recycling is confusing sometimes, and different cities and haulers may handle recycling differently.

For more information, visit www.auburnwa.gov/solidwaste.