WSWMD Single-Stream Recycling
In the Windham Solid Waste Management District, most of our single-stream recycling (also known as “Zero-Sort”) goes to the Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) in Rutland. The sorting plant is owned and operated by Casella Waste Systems. General guidelines for what is accepted in Zero-Sort is:
Paper: Cardboard, boxboard, junk mail, periodicals, & office paper
Plastic: Plastic bottles, jugs, tubs, & lids from the kitchen, laundry, and bath
Metal: Aluminum and steel cans, & foil
Glass: Glass food and beverage bottles and jars
For more information, see:
Casella’s “Recycle Better” Website
Hey, where are the “numbers”? They have left them out. That’s because those numbers are often difficult to read, and they lead to confusion. Manufacturers can put them on anything they want, regardless of the recyclability of the item. If we follow the guidelines above, the mix will include very little material that they can’t recycle. If you have any questions regarding recycling, please reach out and we’ll answer your question directly!
We know that in Windham County, inquiring minds want the nitty-gritty details. So we visited the MRF to get this item-by-item list of what is currently being recycled at the plant. In a few cases, what is technically “accepted” above is not recycled at the plant. That is okay because this material is a very tiny portion of the mix. Close to 90% of all the material that Vermonters put in the bin ends up being re-manufactured into new goods. And most of the 10% that ends up going to the landfill is what shouldn’t have gone into the bins in the first place (e.g. plastic bags, Styrofoam, rope, dirt, food, etc.).
This is the #1 rule for all recycling:
The List of Odd Items for Inquiring Minds
Metal items |
Recycled? |
Notes |
| Aluminum spray cans, e.g. cooking oil |
No | Because aluminum is dumped into vats without further processing, explosions can occur resulting in $250,000 in damages |
| Steel spray cans, e.g. shaving cream |
Yes | Steel is more forgiving, the metal shredders take care of them before they go to melting and refining |
| Foil, rinsed and balled up | Yes | Must be at least 2” by 2” or it will fall through sorters. Think of making it the size and shape of a crushed soda can, and the machinery will be able to handle it well |
| Roasting pans | Yes | Because they are too large for the machinery, they get pulled off in the beginning, and they will go to scrap metal |
| Metal caps & lids | Yes | Get pulled off by magnets and recycled with steel cans |
| Metal lids with a plastic seal | Yes | The small amount of plastic is not a problem |
Plastic items |
Recycled? |
Notes |
| Caps & Lids >2” | Yes | Can be loose in the bin |
| Caps & Lids <2” | Yes if on bottle |
Put them back on the bottle, and the plastic recycler downstream will separate and recycle them |
Clear food service “clamshells” |
#1 only | #1 clear PETE only (no colors, must show #1 symbol) |
Plastic bottle spray-tops & pump-tops  |
Yes | Put them back on the bottle, and the plastic recycler downstream will separate and recycle them |
| All plastic bags | No | Please do not put bagged recyclables in the bins (Plastic bags can be recycled at some grocery stores)VERMONT: Hannaford Price Chopper Kohl’s Shaw’s Aldi |
| Chinese takeout tubs and lids | No | No current market to recycle this plastic |
| Black plastic anything | No | Recyclers don’t want it because you can’t make it another color |
| #3, #4 | No | Mostly unrecyclable trays, wrappings, and bags |
| #5 PP (yogurt tubs, pill bottles) | Yes | There is currently a good market and Vermont recycling facilities are investing in sorting equipment |
| #6, #7 | No | Styrofoam, toys, unrecyclable multi-layer bottles |
Rigid plastic items |
Recycled? |
Notes |
| #2 5-gal buckets | No and Yes | Not “accepted” because they are difficult to handle, but they do get recycled as a low value plastic if they come in. NO buckets that contained OIL of any kind – must be trashed |
| Plant Pots | No | NOT accepted. Please. |
| Toys | No | They are made of too many different materials |
| Water Cooler 5-gal jugs | No and Yes | Not “accepted” because they are difficult to handle, but do get recycled as a low-value plastic if they come in. |
Paper items |
Recycled? |
Notes |
| Shredded paper | Yes | Please put in clear plastic bags (the one exception!) They get pulled off for separate handling. |
| Paperback books | Yes | Can go in with mixed paper |
| Hardcover books | No and Yes | Too much glue, strings, canvas, and other materials in the cover and spine. If removed, the cover is trash, and paper pages can go into paper recycling |