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Frequently Asked Questions about Commingled Containers
If a product has the three arrows symbol on it, doesn't that mean it's recyclable?
A. No. The three arrows symbol is not an indication that an item can be recycled. The recycling symbol is unregulated, meaning that no authority controls who places the symbol on what product, be it recyclable or not.
The plastics industry uses the recycling symbol as an “in house” coding system to identify resin types. If you ask the plastics industry, they’ll tell you that the coding system isn’t intended for consumer use or to indicate recyclability.
 Of course, good recyclers are trained to look for the recycling symbol so it leads to confusion, but unfortunately you cannot use the symbol to determine whether or not a material is recyclable. Instead, you need to follow the guidelines for your community, not the labeling on the product. Technically, almost everything manufactured could be recyclable if there was a reliable end-buyer for the material. The existence of a recycling market is typically dependent upon a manufacturer buying the product back for remanufacture. When an industry distributes a product and then uses virgin materials to manufacture new products, it creates a glut of material without a recycling market. Therefore, for a material to be recyclable, there has to be a demand for it on the market, and that’s what determines what can and cannot be accepted.
On a related note: When you see a recycling symbol on a product to indicate that it is MADE from recycled content, you can trust that it was (though again, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is RECYCLABLE). We strongly encourage you to buy products with recycled content to further stimulate the market for recycled materials.
Additional Questions
Plastics
If I can recycle a #1 soda bottle, why can’t I recycle everything with a #1?
A. The number on the bottom identifies only the type of plastic resin—it tells you nothing about how the product was made. Different manufacturing processes are used to make plastic bottles, tubs, and soccer balls, and these manufacturing processes give the plastics different properties such as melting points. It is not simply the number that determines whether the plastic is recyclable, but rather your community guidelines. Our community can recycle all plastic bottles, tubs and screw-top jars numbered #1-7 in your curbside recycling bin (no plastic lids or caps; no plastic bags; no foam; no #7 PLA bottles or containers.) Learn more about the plastics recycling program, including pictures of what can and cannot be recycled.
Do I need to take the caps and lids off plastic containers before I recycle them? Can the caps be recycled as well? 
A. Remove the caps and lids from all plastic bottles and jugs (and tubs) before recycling the containers. Plastic caps have a different melting point than other recyclable plastics and will contaminate the load. Throw away or find a creative way to reuse plastic caps—they make great paint or glue holders for small projects.
Do I need to remove the plastic ring that is left around the neck of a plastic bottle when I remove the cap?
A. No, you do not need to remove it. The recycling center is allowed a minimal amount of “contamination” in our materials to account for things like the plastic ring and the label on the product.
What plastics are recycled at the curb?
A. You can recycle all plastic bottles, tubs and screw-top jars numbered #1-7 in your curbside recycling bin. There are a few exceptions: no plastic lids; no plastic bags; no foam; no #7 PLA bottles or containers. Learn more about the plastics recycling program, including pictures of what can and cannot be recycled.
Can I recycle yogurt containers and dairy/deli tubs?
A. Yes. These containers are a tub shape and are accepted through curbside recycling. Drop-off center guidelines have not changed so only tubs with a #2 or #5 on the bottom are accepted at drop-off centers and only at the Boulder and Longmont Drop-off Centers. Please remove and throw away lids in all cases.
While these plastics are now recyclable, Eco-Cycle encourages recyclers to avoid plastics and all other packaging as much as possible. To help reduce waste, buy yogurt in large containers and use Tupperware for small, portable servings. When you buy plastics, know that not all plastics are created equal; some are far more problematic than others, both in manufacture and in use. Learn which plastics to avoid in our "Pocket Guide to Plastics."
Can prescription or vitamin bottles be recycled?
A. Yes, we can accept prescription and vitamin bottles in curbside recycling. Please remove the lids and any personal information from the label.
Additional Questions
Glass
Can I recycle drinking glasses, window glass, dinner plates, porcelain mugs, mirror glass, canning jars, and Pyrex?
A. No. These are all different types of glass with different melting points. Just one of these items could contaminate an entire load of recyclable glass. Only glass bottles and jars are acceptable. (Metal bottle caps and lids are also recyclable; please remove the metal caps from the containers and recycle them loose in the bin.)
Aluminum/Steel (tin)
How clean does foil need to be so it can be recycled?
A. Clean. Small (really small) amounts of food are allowed, but cheese and other oily foods are a problem and should be completely removed. Food left on foil will spoil between recycling collection and reuse, turning a bale of recycled foil into a stinking mess.
What is the proper way to recycle aluminum foil?
A. Foil should be balled to at least two inches in size or larger. Smaller pieces get caught in with the paper products and may end up as trash.
Should I crush my aluminum cans?
A. No. The Boulder County Recycling Center uses a series of magnets and blown air to separate the commingled containers.
Workers at the Boulder County Recycling Center hand-pick crushed aluminum cans from the sorting line. The Boulder County Recycling Center uses a blower to separate lightweight containers from glass. Crushed cans are not lifted out by the blower and must be sorted out by hand.
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Automated sorting equipment blows light materials (aluminum cans/clean aluminum foil, plastic containers, and paper milk/soy cartons/drink boxes) off the top, sending them to a separate conveyer belt. Crushing aluminum cans makes them too dense to get blown off. Instead, they sink down with the glass and end up on the wrong conveyer belt. Workers must then handpick the crushed aluminum cans off the glass line and carry them over to the aluminum/plastics line, making the sorting inefficient.
Are all metal caps okay, even if they have plastic or rubber on them?
A. All metal caps can be recycled in with the commingled containers, even if they have plastic or rubber on them. Please remove the metal caps from their containers and recycle them loose in your bin (unattached from the glass bottle or jar). They will be pulled out by magnets when processed.
If I can recycle steel cans and aluminum, why can’t I just throw all metal objects in with my single-stream recycling?
A. Single-stream recycling is processed through conveyer belts and equipment specifically designed for containers. When a piece of metal comes through in the wrong shape, it has the potential to jam the equipment, possibly ripping the conveyer belts and causing very expensive damage. Even though these metal products may be made of the same material as commingled containers, they are not going to the same market. That means if your scrap metal does somehow make it through the commingled system without causing damage, it’s coming through at the wrong place and will need to be picked out by hand and taken to the other side of the facility—not exactly the most cost-efficient method.
Paper Cartons/Drink Boxes
Can I recycle milk and juice cartons? What about soy milk and drink boxes?
A. Yes, paper milk and juice cartons go in the commingled container bin. This includes soy milk and juice cartons found in the refrigerated section. Cartons should not be recycled as paperboard. There is no need to remove the plastic spouts.
Milk and juice cartons refer to the paper containers which are found in the refrigerated section and must be kept refrigerated. These are not the same as non-refrigerated aseptic containers used for packaging soups, soy milk, etc. See below.
Can I recycle cartons with a foil lining?
A. Yes. Many non-refrigerated juice and beverage cartons have a foil lining on the inside, a plastic polymer lining on the outside, and paper on the inside. These layers are challenging to separate for recycling but we are accepting them. These aseptic cartons are designed such that the products do not have to be refrigerated until the container is opened, which saves energy by avoiding refrigerated transportation and makes these products an environmental plus.
Can I recycle frozen food containers such as frozen TV dinner boxes and ice cream cartons?
A. No. Frozen food containers (such as frozen TV dinner boxes, etc.) appear the same as juice or milk boxes but they are not. Frozen food containers are sprayed with a plastic coating that protects the contents against freezer burn. Paperboard is recycled by mixing it with water in a giant blender to create a pulp. But fiber sprayed with a plastic polymer won’t pulp up, and instead it becomes a contaminant that needs to be fished out and thrown away. However, paperboard boxes for products designed to go in the refrigerator, like paperboard butter boxes, can be recycled.
Additional Questions
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