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City of Bellevue, WA Utilities
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Recycle Right

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Recyclable materials

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This is an artificial-intelligence (AI) chatbot designed to provide general information about various city topics. If you are having an emergency of any kind, please call 911 immediately. The chatbot is still learning about all of our services and may occasionally provide an incorrect answer.

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    Conservation and Environment

    • Natural Yard Care
      • Build Healthy Soil
      • Plant Right for Your Site
      • Practice Smart Watering
      • Think Twice Before Using Pesticides
      • Low-Maintenance Lawns
      • Resources (natural yard care)
    • Water Conservation
      • Reduce Water Use
      • Waterwise Garden
    • Protecting Our Waterways
      • Salmon Watchers
      • Keeping Waterways Clean
      • Kelsey Creek Camera
      • New Zealand Mudsnails
      • Peamouth Minnows
      • Pet Waste
      • Stream Habitat Assessment
      • Stream Team
      • Streams, Lakes and Wetlands
    • Greener Living Classes
    • Reducing Food Waste
    • Bring Your Own Cup
    • Recycle Right
    • Environmental Services Commission
      • Environmental Services Commission Public Meeting Archive
    • Education Resources for Students and Teachers
      • Waste Reduction Assistance
      • Assemblies and Classroom Workshops
      • Events and Field Trips
    Header Image
    Recyclable materials
    Children standing by recycle cart

    Our residents continue to benefit both the environment and the economy by recycling their plastic, paper, cardboard, glass and metal cans. Recycling allows existing items to be made into new products. Making products from recycled content decreases the need to extract new materials, such as petroleum, wood, minerals and water from the environment. Keep recyclables out of the garbage to ensure they are made into new products instead of wasting away in a landfill.

    Empty, clean and dry

    One of the easiest ways to recycle right is to make sure what you're putting in the recycling bin is empty, clean and dry. Food and liquids in recyclables can allow mold to grow, which make the materials unacceptable for recycling. 

    Containers that previously contained food or liquid should be rinsed to remove food and liquid residue. Shake out excess liquid and air dry. When putting recycling in your curbside bin, make sure you don't overfill the bin and keep the lid shut tight. Overflowing bins or open lids make it more likely for rain or other water to get in and ruin the recycling.

    Clean, empty, dry recyclables

    When in doubt, find out

    Recycle only materials that are accepted. Check recycling guidelines from Republic Services, Bellevue’s solid waste provider, to ensure you're putting the right materials in your recycle cart.

    Recycling plastic bag and film waste

    Plastic bags, film and wrap waste carry heavy costs for our environment. Unfortunately, these can't go in your recycling bin, and can cause big trouble for recycling facilities. The thin, flexible plastics can get tangled in equipment, shutting down processing and making it harder and more expensive to recycle other materials. Visit https://nextrex.com/ for participating plastic bag and film drop-off locations.

    Zero Waste Public Event Guide
    Zero Waste Public Event Guide

    The City of Bellevue's goal is to achieve zero waste of resources. Follow the Zero Waste Public Event Guide to set up garbage, recycling, and composting services and avoid unnecessary waste at your event.

    Event organizers: Garbage and recycling services are required at all events, and composting services for food scraps and compostable materials are strongly encouraged for any event with food service.

    Get the guide

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    For alternate formats, interpreters, or reasonable modification requests please phone at least 48 hours in advance 425-452-6800 (voice) or email servicefirst@bellevuewa.gov. For complaints regarding modifications, contact the City of Bellevue ADA, Title VI, and Equal Opportunity Officer at ADATitleVI@bellevuewa.gov.

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