Recycling Services, Inc.
365 Elm Street Pottstown, PA 19465
Phone: (610)323-8545
Fax: (610)323-3962
Open Hours for Public Collection:
Tuesdays & Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
E-mail: info@recyclingservices.org
Materials Accepted for Recycling
Please note: Collection of materials does not in any way imply
endorsement. Just because something is recyclable doesn't
mean it is the best choice. Recycling is the last "R" in the cycle -
Reduce, Re-use, Recycle. The best choice is to reduce your impact -
buy products with minimal or no packaging. Next, re-use (and choose
re-usable products like rechargeable batteries and cloth shopping bags)
whenever possible. Re-using an item only once cuts its environmental
impact in half, and choosing and re-using durable goods many times can have
an enormous positive environmental impact. The Recycling Center should
be the last stop - the final option when an item has worn out beyond use.
Notice: Clean your plastic and polycoated
paperboard deposits please - better yet, use durable products instead.
PAPER
- Newspapers, including all inserts.
- Magazines, catalogs, mail, fax paper, wrapping
paper (put with cardboard
during the holidays),
telephone books, paperback books, hardcover books (remove covers
and put with cardboard).
- Corrugated cardboard, brown Kraft bags and
paperboard.
- Business-grade white ledger paper.
- White polycoated boxes such as juice
boxes, cream cheese boxes, frozen food boxes,
and milk cartons. The mill WILL take the cartons with plastic pouring
spouts still attached.
Notes: Tape or staples may remain
on boxes. No wax or carbon paper. No waxed cardboard.
GLASS
- Clean, clear glass bottles and jars with lids
removed.
- Clean, brown glass bottles and jars with lids
removed.
- Clean, green glass bottles and jars with lids
removed.
Notes: Pyrex, window, and mirror
glass are unacceptable. Blue glass goes with green.
PLASTICS
- Code1 - PETE - Look for a dot on the bottom of
soda and liquor bottles. Some food containers and trays are now being made
from this material. All colors are accepted.
- Code2 - HDPE - Frosted (milk & water bottles)
and Colored (liquid detergent, food containers). Note: We do accept empty
engine oil bottles - please drain them well first.
- Code3 - PVC - Used for some types of bottles &
food containers. Clear variety has a blue tint and a white crease that
appears when folded and creased - used for many "bubble-pack" retail
items.
- Code4 - LDPE - Used for squeezable bottles for
mustard and other food products. We bale Code 2 and 4 materials together.
- Code5 - PP - This material (soft "tub grade") is
also used to package a variety of food items such as yogurt. We separate
these from a "bottle grade" used as containers for items like pancake
syrup. We also separate a "hard cap grade" that is used for making most
screw-off bottle caps.
- Code6 - PS - There is a wide variety of items
made from Polystyrene, and we separate them into the following categories:
Rigid Food Service - includes things like sour cream containers and
crinkle cookie trays; Foam Food Service - includes styrofoam meat trays,
fast food containers, coffee cups and egg cartons; Solid Packaging
Material - shipping material used to crate TVs, computers, etc.; Styrofoam
Packaging Peanuts - used for shipping smaller items.
- Code7 - Other - Some of this material is
compatible with other Codes, but much of it is not. We can recycle some
material if we can tell what it is. We suggest you avoid purchasing items
packaged in this material.
METAL
- Clean steel cans, flattened and ends removed
where possible. All metal caps and lids accepted.
- Aluminum and bi-metal beverage cans.
- Clean aluminum foil, pie plates, and trays.
- Brass, copper, stainless steel, lead, steel and
iron must be checked with staff first.
Notes: Foil mixes such as potato chip
bags and coffee bags are unacceptable.
CAPS & LIDS
- No pump-style lids.
- Screwcaps go in the big box marked "Screw Caps."
- Soft lids from coffee cans, etc. go in the Code
4 bin.
- Fast food soda lids that crinkle go with Code 6.
- Plastic straws have a separate collection box.
- Plastic 6-pack connector rings have a separate
box.
- Metal lids go with steel cans.
Note: These can be very
confusing. Please ask for help.
CLEAN CLOTHING AND FABRIC
- Clean, reasonably worn clothing and shoes (no
high heels or rubber work boots).
- Old, worn out clothing, curtains, drapes,
towels, sheets and fabric are recycled into new cloth. Notes: All must be
clean, dry, and bagged.
MISCELLANEOUS
- Batteries (silver oxide, mercury, nickel
cadmium), no automotive batteries.
- Tires, inner tubes, fan belts, and rubber hoses
(a per-tire charge is necessary, variable according to the size of the
tire).
- Eye glasses. No broken lenses.
- Tyvek envelopes.
- Phonograph records, tapes, CDs, and old floppy
disks (videos are collected for reuse).
- Candles.
- Fishing line.
- Silverware.
- Vegetable oil.
- Coat hangers with paper removed.
- Clean clay flower pots. Check with staff
about plastic pots.
- Computers and parts (for repair and
redistribution).
- All household electronics except radioactive smoke detectors (these have to be sent back to the manufacturer) and mercury bearing thermostats (Honeywell will accept these). This then includes working and non-working telephones, answering machines, VCR's, DVD players, radio's, TV's, computers, printers, monitors, copy machines, etc. For TV's, Computer Monitors and copy machines we ask a min $5.00 donation in addition to the regular gate donation. Please make a larger donation for larger units as the donation is to help with shipping costs. Also if you know something about the unit, such as working, non-working, etc. please add a note.
Many more items are recyclable. Keep checking and
watching for updates.
To recycle large quantities of any one item, check with staff members.
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