Free Drop-off Recycling of Rigid Plastics #3, #5, #6 and #7
Now there is a way to recycle plastics #3, #5, #6 and #7 in Davis!
Davis Waste Removal now has a recycling drop-box at their Recycling Center on 2nd Street for free drop-off of rigid plastics!
Stop by 24/7 to drop off your rigid plastics!
What types of items are accepted?
- any plastic container with a #3, #5, #6 or #7 recycling symbol on them
- plastic toys
- laundry baskets
- plastic crates
- plastic buckets
- plastic flower pots
- plastic nursery trays
- plastic garbage cans
- children’s outdoor plastic toys (sandboxes, slides, play kitchens)
- CD cases
- plastic medicine bottles
- some disposable plastic utensils
- large reusable water bottles
- clean PVC pipe (no dirt)
- plastic ice chests
- plastic furniture
- and other household items
What are rigid plastics?
A rigid plastic is any plastic that is stiff, as opposed to film plastics, such as plastic bags, film and wrap.
These items are not accepted:
- expanded polystyrene (i.e. Styrofoam packing materials, polystyrene packing peanuts, grocery store meat trays)
- film plastics of any kind (i.e. grocery and garbage bags)
- plastics #4 (i.e. some squeeze bottles for honey and mustard etc.)
- hoses
- any non-plastic material (i.e. glass, wood, rubber tires, metal)
- large quantities of pipe with dirt on it
In order to produce a clean recycling product, please only clean plastics with no metal, ceramics or dirt.
Please note, these plastics are accepted for free recycling drop-off at the Recycling Center only—do not place these items in your recycling cart.
Bring your rigid plastics #3, #5, #6 and #7 to Davis Waste Removal and look for the rigid plastics bin at Davis Waste Removal!
More information
Why isn’t plastic #4 accepted for recycling?
While plastics #3, 5, 6, and 7 can be recycled in the drop-box at DWR, plastics #4 are not accepted because there are no local recyclers that will take the material for recycling. The reason that DWR is now able to accept these new plastics for recycling is that the recycling buyers have created a new category of plastics—‘rigid plastic containers’ that they will accept. If you have any plastics #3, #5, #6 or #7, you can bring them to DWR for free drop-off. Please only place plastics #1 and #2 in the recycling carts.
Why can’t these other plastics go into my recycling cart?
The plastics that can go into DWR’s recycling cart, plastics #1 and #2 (water bottles, milk jugs, detergent bottles etc.) make up the majority of the recyclable plastic containers that you will come across. Therefore, Davis Waste Removal (DWR) is already collecting the majority of recyclable plastics that are commonly used.
Another reason for not opening up this program to include recycling carts is that most of the rigid plastics that are being accepted for drop-off in the new rigid plastics drop-box would not fit into the recycling carts. There is just no way that a plastic lawn chair will fit into a recycling cart. A super-enthusiastic recycler that breaks up a plastic lawn chair to fit into the DWR recycling cart will find that 1) after the chair is placed in the cart, there will be no more room for all other recyclables and 2) the broken plastic chair may clog the cart, so the cart will not empty when it’s picked up. Neither scenario is ideal. The new drop-box for rigid plastics is the best way to recycle rigid plastics.
The astute recycler will have one further question—why can’t small plastic containers #3, #5, #6 and #7 go into the recycling carts? Ok, it is true that these small containers could fit into the recycling carts. One further problem remains: all recyclables (paper, glass, cans, bottles etc.) that are collected in the recycling carts are hand sorted by DWR. For the time being, DWR does not have the capacity to add any more sorting stations to their sorting line. Therefore, they cannot accept new materials for recycling because they have no room for them to be sorted at their recycling center. A retrofit to make collection of plastics #3-#7 may require a major renovation of the current system, which may hike disposal rates.
The material in the rigid plastic drop-box does not require hand sorting—it’s baled as is and taken for recycling. This will not require any major overhaul of the current recycling/ sorting system that is in place.
If you have any plastics #3, #5, #6 or #7, you can bring them to DWR for free drop-off. Please only place plastics #1 and #2 in our recycling cart.
What if I have a question about what material I can place in the new rigid plastic drop-off bin?
For questions about individual items that you do not find on the list above, feel free to call Davis Waste Removal at 756-4646.