Recyclable & Reusable Items

Recyclable Items

Items allowed for pickup include:

• Aluminum cans (washed out)
• Cardboard
• Glass bottles and jugs
• Metal food cans (washed out)
• Newspapers and magazines
• Plastic bottles and jugs

Non-Recyclables

• Styrofoam
• Clothing
• Toys plastic or otherwise
• Garden hoses
• Food
• Hard Cover Books
• Grass, Dirt, Rocks 
• Oil, Anti-Freeze (Can drop these at most garages)
• Paint (dried cans of paint can be picked of, just leave beside collection cans)
• NO PLASTIC GROCERY BAGS

Reusable Items

Most of us have heard about the three "R"s - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. There's a reason they are listed in that order - it's the hierarchy of handling solid waste. It's much better to reduce the amount of waste we generate in the first place as then we don't have to reuse it and there is no cost at all involved in either recycling it or disposing of it. Next, of course, it's better to find a way to reuse the item in some way than it is to have to incur costs to collect, transport and re-manufacture the product into a new item (recycle it). Take a few minutes and review examples of reusable items to see it there are some ways you can reuse the them, before they hit the recycling bin:

• Batteries - Use rechargeable batteries. Use alternating current (AC) adapters
• Building materials - Habitat for Humanity has a great restore you need to check out
• Cardboard boxes - reuse durable cardboard boxes for storage or for mailing items to others
• Cars - Donate your old car to the National Kidney Foundation or UNC-TV; Contact the National Kidney Foundation at  800-488-2277
• Christmas trees - Buy a living Christmas tree and plant it after the holidays
• Computers - Donate older computers to schools or non-profit organizations
• Gift boxes, wraps and ribbons - Reuse them
• Glass - Reuse glass jars for storing nuts and bolts, buttons, leftovers, etc.
• Hangers from dry cleaners - Return extra dry-cleaning hangers.
• Kitchen remains - Eat leftovers; compost the rest
• Lumber scraps - Make birdhouses, mailboxes, compost bins, donate to the restore, etc
• Magazines and catalogs -Donate to schools, libraries, doctor's offices, rest homes
• Major appliances - Appliances in working order can be sold or donated to the ReStore, Ebeneezer's Attic, or Wilkes Cares
• Motor oil - Purchase recycled oil
• Newspapers - Use as packing material; share with others
• Office paper - Cut paper used on only one side into scratch paper
• Paperboard - Reuse for craft projects. Donate to school art classes and daycare facilities
• Plastic bottles - Use jug bottoms for seedlings. Purchase refillable bottles
• Plastic shopping bags - Take the bags from your last trip back and reuse them
• Steel cans - Clean, decorate and reuse as containers for item storage
• Textiles - Donate to friends or charities; cut up for cleaning cloths, patchwork or to make doll clothes
• Wood furniture - Donate to others or to the ReStore, Ebeneezer's Attic, or Wilkes Cares
• Yard debris - Grass clippings, leaves and branches can be great in a compost pile