New Drop Off Recycling Program For Rigid Plastic

The City of Madison has a new recycling program. Madison residents can now bring many previously unrecycled plastic items to the City's two full service drop off sites for recycling. These items, called Mixed Rigid Plastics include; Empty garbage cans Plastic Toys Plastic buckets Plastic milk/soda crates Plastic laundry baskets Plastic lawn furniture Plastic landscape trays Plastic totes Plastic drums Plastic pet carriers Plastic pallets Plastic coolers Plastic shelving Plastic closet organizers Plastic dish drainers Plastic flower pots Plastic traffic signs Plastic waste baskets 5-gallon water bottles "When we were researching markets for plastic trash cans our recycling partner Waste Management/Recycling America Alliance came to us with a proposal to take more than just the old cans," Madison recycling coordinator George Dreckmann said. "When we were assured of strong markets for these materials we were happy to develop a new program to take advantage of the opportunity." " We cannot accept these plastics in our green recycling carts," Dreckmann said. "Residents who want to recycle these items will have to bring them into our drop off sites." The drop off locations that will accept the rigid plastic for recycling are; East 4602 Sycamore Av. West 1501 W. Badger Rd. The sites are currently open seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. They are also open on Tuesday and Thursday evenings until 8 p.m. These hours will remain in effect through Sunday December 2nd. "It will be important for residents to remove all metal axles, handles, and wires from plastic items before bringing them in for recycling," Dreckmann said. "Batteries should also be removed from any plastic toys." There are some plastic items that cannot be recycled in this program including; PVC Pipe/Tubing Vinyl Siding Plastic Film (Grocery bags & Stretch film) Styrofoam Water Hoses Hazardous Material Medical Waste Chemical and Petroleum Barrels Pesticide and Herbicide Containers The program is only for City of Madison residents. Complete information on program is on the Streets Division's web site www.cityofmadison.com/streets. Residents with questions can contact the recycling office at 267-2626.

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