Recycling Cart Notices
We try our very best to make recycling easy and convenient for you. Follow the guidelines on your cart's lid, and the expanded information here, and your cart should be serviced weekly without interruption. We know that everyone makes mistakes from time to time. Working within their safety guidelines, our collection vendor's drivers will service your cart if at all possible. However, there may be times when it is simply impossible, or when they notice something that should be corrected prior to your next collection day. In such a case, you may receive a notice on your cart.
UH-OH NOTICES
An “Uh Oh” notice is just a friendly reminder to follow recycling guidelines. If you received this notice, it means that our collection driver noticed that there was something about your cart contents or placement that needs to be changed. Please review the information on the notice, as well as the instructions on your cart and here on this website, and try to follow them as closely as possible. If you still have questions, feel free to call our 24-hour Customer Service. We are always happy to teach our neighbors how to recycle more and better, and we can advise you on disposal of other waste items.
CONTAMINATION NOTICES
Many people do not know this, but contaminated recyclables can be rejected by the materials processing facility. In fact, one “bad cart” can spoil the whole truckload! That means that we need to send those materials to a garbage disposal site and pay for them to be burned or buried. What is more, if the load is contaminated with hazardous waste (HHW), we may need to expend additional labor and dollars to clean those out before the waste can be handled. That is why we take proper recycling so seriously. It’s a matter of safety and of keeping your disposal costs low. Diverting loads from recycling also means missed opportunities to do the right thing for the environment. So, we try to give you a lot of chances and a lot of assistance, but eventually we may need to pull your blue cart from service.
We utilize a four-stage communication process to correct contamination.
- First Contamination: You likely received an “Uh Oh” notice. (Please see the information above.)
- Second Contamination: A notice will be placed on the cart handle. The cart will not be serviced. Please remove the contents, sort appropriately, and set out your carts the following pick-up day. Please pay special attention to what goes into your blue cart in the future. Recyclables only, please.
- Third Contamination: Same as above. In addition, a representative of the Sustainability Division will contact you to provide additional instruction, up to and perhaps including an on-site visit
- Fourth Contamination: The blue cart will be removed from your property. Recycling service will not be provided to your household. You may contact Customer Service for more information.
If you received a Recycling Cart Contamination notice, please take immediate action to correct what you are placing in your blue recycling cart. Garbage goes in the black carts only. Yard waste and other plant material goes in the green cart only. eWaste and HHW requires special handling. Bulk waste should be set curbside according to your neighborhood’s schedule. Specific instructions for handling all of these items are on this website. If after reviewing those you still have questions, feel free to call us. We are always happy to teach our neighbors how to recycle more and better, and we can advise you on disposal of other waste items.