Recyclers: We Need Your Help!

We know that you are enthusiastic recyclers and we appreciate that! But every now and then, we all need a few reminders.

Recycling is available to all residents in Buncombe County and in all of its cities and towns. You can recycle at the curb or drop off recyclables at one of the following locations:

• Buncombe County Landfill, 85 Panther Branch Road, Alexander - 250-5462;
• Buncombe County Transfer Station, 191 Hominy Creek Road, Asheville - 250-6205;
• Curbside Management Recycling Facility, 116 N. Woodfin Avenue, Woodfin - 252-2532.
• If you recycle at the curb using blue bags, place all of your recyclables loose into the bag, tie it shut, and place it next to your trash can.

Remember – only recyclables go into the blue bags! Here’s where we need your help. Please don’t put blue bags inside your trash can or cart. One of the biggest challenges facing the men and women working hard every day to pick up garbage and recycling at your curb is keeping the recycling separate so it goes into the correct truck. When blue bags are thrown into the trash can, their work is even harder. Sometimes these blue bags are full of trash, and other times they’re full of recyclables.

The person collecting your trash has to stop and figure out what to do with the blue bag, slowing down the route and probably resulting in recyclables going into the trash truck. So, the next time you take your items to the curb, keep that blue bag outside of the trash can and place it on the ground next to the can.

When you are filling your blue bag or preparing recyclables to be delivered to the drop-off centers, follow these simple guidelines:

• Empty all bottles, cans, and containers – lids and labels may remain on. Containers don’t need to be squeaky clean; just get most of the contents scraped out or emptied.
• Break down and flatten all corrugated cardboard. Corrugated cardboard can be placed inside your blue bag, if it fits, or underneath the blue bag at the curb, if it is larger. Only clean cardboard is accepted, so if grease soaked through or cheese stuck to a pizza box, put that into the trash.
• Secure the lid on the container or tie the blue bag shut to prevent paper from blowing out.
• Keep kitty litter out of the blue bags. Bag kitty litter in used plastic bags or kitchen trash bags and place it into the trash. We can’t recycle kitty litter and it can contaminate the other recyclables.

We can all make recycling easier and more successful when we do our part. If you have questions about recycling, or if an item can be recycled, call Solid Waste at 250-5460.