Harlem Recycling: Things you might not know about recycling in New York City
Earth Day was yesterday and we found out lots of things about recycling in New York City that we didn't know before. Here are some of the things we learned:
Can be recycled:
- Your empty milk cartons can be recycled, but they don't go with paper! They go with bottles and cans.
- Aluminum foil and other foil products can be recycled with bottles and cans as long as they are clean.
- Envelopes (even the ones with the plastic windows), junk mail, paper towel/toilet paper tubes, newspaper, magazines, and phone books can all be recycled with the mixed paper products! (Even staples are ok!)
- Cardboard egg cartons can be recycled with the mixed paper products too!
Cannot be recycled:
- The caps on your bottles cannot be recycled. They must go in the trash.
- As a general rule of thumb, any bottle where the mouth is wider than the base (for example, take-out food containers, or yogurt containers) cannot be recycled. Any bottle, like soda bottles, where the mouth is smaller than the base, can be recycled.
- Plastic hangers cannot be recycled, however metal ones can! They go with the bottles and cans.
You can also anonymously report your landlord for not recycling by calling 311 or by filing a complaint online.