• Glass:  Clear, green, and brown jars and bottles.  Rinse clean, remove lids, and separate by color.
• Metal:  Steel (tin) cans, lids, aluminum cans, trays, and foil.  Rinse, remove labels, and flatten.
• Newspaper:  Including inserts, place newspapers inside a paper grocery bag for easy handling.  
• Plastic Bottles:  #1 (PETE) and #2 (HDPE) bottles with screw-top necks.  Rinse clean and discard caps.

Recyclables should be clean and free of contamination.  When in doubt, throw it out.  If unsure about recyclability of an item, contact your local recycling coordinator. (http://www.deq.state.mi.us/documents/deq-ess-p2-recycle-countycontacts.pdf )

Other Collected Materials

For more information about recycling the items listed below,  contact your county or local recycling coordinator .

• Boxboard:  Unwaxed, cereal, cracker, tissue, and shoeboxes are recyclable where markets and collection programs exist.
• Corrugated Cardboard:  Boxes with a wavy center are recyclable at many drop-off sites.
• Magazines:  Glassy magazines and catalogs can be recycled in many communities.
• Mixed Paper & Mail:  Collect in a paper bag, some communities collect this at drop-off sites.
• Telephone Books:  Most collections take place at the time when new phone books are delivered.  Check the information section of the phone book for a recycling collection in your community.
• Plastic Bags:  Grocery stores may collect plastic grocery bags for recycling, dry cleaners may also collect plastic dry cleaning bags.
• #6 Polystyrene:  Styrofoam™  cups, trays, plates, and packaging material are collected by  Dart Container  of Mason, Michigan.   Contact your local recycling coordinator

Durable Household Items

• Appliances:  Old appliances are recycled by scrap yards for their metal value.  Refrigerants like CFC producing Freon™ are found in appliances such as refrigerators, air conditioners, and dehumidifiers must be reclaimed before recycling.  Waste haulers often pick up used appliances for a fee, are certified to reclaim refrigerants, and recycle appropriate parts.
• Scrap Metal:  Most communities have a scrap metal yard that pays for steel, aluminum, brass and other unusable metal items for recycling.
• Clothing:  Clothing given to charity organizations, like the Salvation Army, is often sorted for domestic resale, international resale, or rag markets depending on condition.
• Electronic Equipment:  Computers, stereos and other electronic devices are a growing part of household waste.  If usable, donate these items to community organizations.  If unusable, these items may be salvaged for the value of the metal.  In some instances, even the plastic casings are recycled.  See  Michigan Community Collection Programs  for local e-waste collection programs.

Household Hazardous Waste

Pesticides, engine degreasers, oven cleaners, oil paints, and many other household cleaning fluids do not belong in the trash.  Toxic household products are hazardous to human health and if disposed of in landfills have the potential to leak into drinking water sources. 

• If you have a toxic product (check the label) you wish to dispose of consider these options:
• If still usable, consider giving it to someone who can use it up.
• If old or otherwise unusable, contact your  county or local recycling coordinator to find out if a household hazardous waste collection program is available.
• Consider choosing less toxic alternatives.

Paint:  Paint should be used up whenever possible, either as a base coat or donated to a local theatre or charity.  Latex or water-based paints are generally not hazardous in the way that oil-based paints are.  Take oil-based paints to a local household hazardous waste collection program.  Partially full cans of latex paint can be solidified using kitty litter, newspaper, or some other absorbent.  Once solid, cans (without lids) can be disposed of with regular household garbage.  Empty paint cans, with only a thin film of dried paint can be recycled with metals.

Medical Waste

• Sharps and Needles.  Home generated sharps (syringes, lancets, needles, etc.) should be disposed in a properly labeled container.  Many communities have sharps collection programs.  Contact your  local recycling or household hazardous waste program  ( http://www.deq.state.mi.us/documents/deq-ess-p2-recycle-countycontacts.pdf )  The  DEQ brochure,  " The Point Is … Needles Hurt " has more information.
• Pharmaceutical Waste.  There are very few disposal options for waste pharmaceuticals, those old unused prescription drugs that accumulate in your medicine cabinets.  Making them unusable by mixing pills with detergent in the original bottles after removing your name is a common recommendation.  Then double bag and place in your trash.  It is not recommended that you flush any medications down the toilet.  Wastewater treatment plants and septic systems cannot handle these materials.  Antibiotics and certain medications can even kill off useful bacteria causing septic systems to fail.  As our population ages, this waste is a growing concern that will have better solutions in the future.  For more information, see " A Remedy for Prescription Drug Disposal " (pdf).

Battery Recycling

• Lead Acid:  These liquid-cell batteries are used in cars, tractors, and motorcycles.  They contain acid and heavy metals which are hazardous.  Battery retailers are required to accept old batteries in trade when a new battery is purchased, metal scrap dealers may also accept these batteries.
• Alkaline:  These dry-cell household batteries commonly used in toys and flashlights may contain mercury and other heavy metals hazardous to human health.  Manufacturers are reducing the amount of heavy metals in newer batteries.  Some communities collect these batteries for recycling.  Contact your  local recycling coordinator  for locations nears you.  Keep batteries dry in storage.
• Button:  These small, flat batteries used in watches, cameras, calculators, and hearing aids, contain silver and mercury which can be recovered for continued used.  Many jewelers and pharmacies collect the batteries for recycling.
• Rechargeable:  These nickel and cadmium batteries are hazardous to the environment.  Call the National Rechargeable Battery Hotline to find a drop-off site near you, 800-8-Battery or go to their  website .  Contact your  local recycling coordinator  for battery and household hazardous waste collection information.

Yard Waste Composting

Many larger cities and towns provide curbside collection of grass, leaves, yard trimmings, and brush for residents because Michigan law prohibits the landfilling of yard clippings.  Large-scale composting operations are composting yard waste into mature compost, a nutrient rich soil amendment for landscape or horticultural use by landscapers, farmers, and residents. But it is also easy to recycle yard waste at home.  Backyard composting is an inexpensive way to turn leaves, grass, and even fruit and vegetable scraps into rich brown compost that can be used to enhance garden soil.

"Grass cycling" returns valuable nutrients to the soil, saves the time and effort of bagging, and minimizes the public expense of curbside yard waste collection.  Simply do not bag your grass clippings; leave them on the lawn to build its resistance to drought and disease.

Mulching adds nitrogen, reduces evaporation from the soil surface, and provides ideal conditions for earth worms and other soil organisms necessary for health soil.  Yard clippings spread around trees and plants contribute to healthier foliage.

For more information about yard waste collections and composting, contact your county or local recycling coordinator.  Check  Michigan composting contacts  for more information.

Buying Recycled Products

The best way to support and encourage recycling is to buy products made from recycled material.  Without a demand in the marketplace for recycled products, there is little incentive for manufacturers to utilize collected recyclables in the production of new products, and consequently, little reason to ask you to recycle your cans, bottles, and newspapers.

Recycled products have improved over the past ten years.  Paper products, clothing, plastic products, and carpeting are just some of the recycled products now readily available.

Not all products made from recycled materials are labeled "recycled."  Look for information on the package regarding the percentage of post- or pre-consumer recycled materials that have been used to make the product or its packaging.

Some recycled products are readily available in retail outlets, others may be harder to find.  Let your local retailers know that you would like them to stock more recycled products.  Many stores are also happy to accommodate customers' needs through special orders.  Buying recycled is worth the effort.