Ever find yourself wondering what’s recyclable and what isn’t? Busch Systems has got you covered – the following should help with any confusion. And we’ll always keep this updated for you so check back whenever you’re completely befuddled standing awkwardly in front of your recycling bin.
- DISCLAIMER: Always check your municipality’s recycling program first, you could be throwing out recyclables or putting trash in with your recyclables – the latter being the worst scenario since it sends the rest of your recyclables to the landfill!
Paper
Yes:
- Paper (office paper, white paper, colored paper, newspaper
- Magazines
- Catalogs
- Phonebooks
- Junk mail
- Paperboard
- Tissue boxes
- Heavyweight folders
- Paper towel and toilet paper rolls
- Food packaging
- Shredded paper
- Paper milk, juice, and soy milk cartons (should be empty)
- Books: all soft cover, hardcovers should be ripped off
- Empty paper coffee cups (plastic lids removed)
No:
- Napkins
- Tissue paper
- Paper towels
- Wax paper
- Wrapping paper
- Any paper product which has the potential to be contaminated with bodily fluids
Cardboard
Yes:
- Pizza boxes (food and wax paper removed)
- Corrugated cardboard
- Brown paper bags
- Boxboard (shoeboxes, gift boxes, cereal boxes)
No:
- Cardboard lined with plastic (bubble wrap boxes)
- Waxed/waterproof cardboard
Metal
Yes (If they are clean!)
- Metal and tin beverage and food containers
- Aluminum foil
- Aluminum take-out containers
- Aluminum pie plates and trays
- Kitchen cookware: metal pots, pans, tins, and utensils
No:
- Motor oil cans
- Metal and cardboard containers
- Paint cans (some retailers will take back old paint cans, however)
Glass
Yes:
- All colors glass bottles and jars
- Clear glass
- Green glass
- Brown glass
- Blue glass
- Glass food containers
- Beer and wine bottles
No:
- Light bulbs
- Mirror glass
- Window glass
- Ceramic
- Crystal
Plastics
Yes:
- All plastics numbers 1-7 (Check your recycling program first, some plastics may not be accepted)
- Food and beverage containers (make sure they’re free of any food)
- Screw top jars
- Deli-style containers
- Clam-shell take-out containers
- Plastic cups (straws removed)
- Milk jugs
- Soap bottles
- Plastic jugs/bottles: soda bottles, laundry detergent jugs
- Coffee cup lids
No:
- Plastic bags
- Plastic tableware
- Styrofoam containers
CDs/DVDs/BluRays
- Best Buy will take old CDs/DVDs/BluRays free of charge!
Ink Cartridges
- Certain retailer and brands (Staples, HP and Epson) will take back old printer cartridges to be reused again.
Electronics
- Future Shop and Best Buy have an initiative to keep e-waste of landfills – both places will take your old electronics and recycle them free of charge.
- Apple has recently started a recycling program for their products in both Canada and the United States and they’re completely free of charge – If your old Apple product is deemed reusable, they will even give you a gift card to use towards any new Apple products! Talk about incentive.
Compact Florescent Lights (CFLs)
- These energy savers last a long time, but they eventually need to be disposed of – and properly! Retailers like Home Depot, RONA, Canadian Tire and Ikea may accept burned out CFLs (depending on your location).
Batteries
- This is also dependant on your location as well, some of the retailers mentioned before will take old batteries, check with your municipality as well since they may have a program in place.
