What Items Should Your Business Recycle?

The types of materials you are able to recycle will vary greatly depending on what type of commercial establishment you operate.  Knowing what materials to recycle will help you establish a successful program that can save your business money, make it more efficient, and impress your customers.

The lists below for each business type identify the greatest areas of opportunity, in descending order: (This information was derived from CalRecycle’s Business Group Waste Compositions.) As you browse these lists you will see a lot of common factors. And, you should notice how the items we encourage our residential neighbors to recycle are also those that businesses can target. 

Not sure how to get started? Take a look at this list and then give our Solid Waste Coordinator a call at (954) 828-8000.

Hotels and B&Bs

• Food, leaves and grass, prunings and trimmings, & compostable paper
• Newspaper & recyclable paper
• Glass bottles & containers
• Cardboard
• Plastic bottles & containers, tin/steel cans, & aluminum cans
• Lumber

Restaurants and Food Service Establishments

• Food & compostable paper
• Cardboard
• Newspaper & other recyclable papers
• Plastic bottles & containers, tin/steel cans, & aluminum cans
• Glass bottles and containers

Wholesale Businesses

• Lumber
• Cardboard
• Recyclable papers
• Ferrous metal
• Industrial plastic packaging film
• Gypsum board

Retail Businesses

• Food, leaves & grass, prunings & trimmings, & compostable paper
• Recyclable papers
• Lumber
• Cardboard
• Plastic bottles & containers, tin/steel cans, & aluminum cans
• Ferrous metal

Schools

• Food, leaves & grass, & prunings & trimmings
• Recyclable papers
• Plastic bottles & containers, tin/steel cans, & aluminum cans
• Glass bottles & containers

General Offices

• Recyclable papers
• Textiles, food, & leaves & grass
• Plastic bottles & containers, tin/steel cans, & aluminum cans
• Glass bottles & containers
• Lumber

Medical & Social Institutions

• Recyclable papers
• Food, leaves & grass, & composite organics
• Special waste
• Plastic bottles & containers, tin/steel cans, & aluminum cans

Transportation Providers

• Paper recyclables
• Food & composite organics
• Lumber
• Gypsum board
• Plastic bottles & containers, tin/steel cans, & aluminum cans
• Glass bottles & containers

Heavy Industry

• Recyclable materials are often produced as by-products of industrial processes.To find out more information about how these materials can be recycled, visit the U.S. EPA Industrial Materials Recycling website.