Common Recycling Contaminants

The following are common items that sometimes end up in the wrong place at the Lebanon Solid Waste Facility. The reason it matters to get the items into the correct bins is that the companies we offload our recyclables to do not accept contaminated recycling. You can help us maintain our relationships with our vendors and also expand the life of our landfill by taking a few moments to make sure your items end up where they should be. 

Please review the following categories below to see which items we commonly find in the wrong recycling bins at the Solid Waste Facility. Also, review our What Goes Where page to better understand which items are accepted at our facility as well as their proper disposal location. Thank you for helping us keep our recycling clean!

Not for the Paper Recycling Bin

These are items we have found in our paper recycling bay. While they are all recyclable at our facility, it is important to make sure they end up in the right bin or they will contaminate the items we are trying to recycle. 

• Cardboard boxes, boxboard, brown paper bags, brown packing paper, cardboard egg cartons - these are all recyclable, they just need to go in the cardboard bay. 
• Aluminum Cans – these are recyclable, they just need to go in the aluminum bay.

These are Plastic but NOT Recyclable at our Facility

These are items we have found in our plastics recycling bay. These items are all plastic but we cannot recycle them at our facility. If you cannot find an outside recycling vendor for these items, you will need to dispose of them in the landfill.

• Large tubs, storage containers, trash cans – These are not recyclable and need to be placed in the trash. 
• Bubble wrap, packing pouches – These are not recyclable at our facility, but most supermarkets have drop-off bins for all film plastics.
• Packing foam, styrofoam – Even though this product is labeled as #1 type recyclable plastic it is not recyclable and needs to be placed in the trash.
• Plastic bags – These are not recyclable at our facility, but most supermarkets have drop-off bins for all film plastics.
• Black plastics – Plastics that are colored black cannot be sorted by the facility that recycles our plastics, they need to be placed in the trash.
• Assorted home goods made of plastic, such as dish racks – These are not recyclable and need to be placed in the trash.

Items hiding in your cardboard boxes

These are items we have found in our cardboard recycling bay. These are common packing items found in cardboard boxes and must be emptied and disposed of before throwing your cardboard into our recycling bays. If you cannot find an outside recycling vendor for these items, you will need to dispose of them in the landfill.

• Styrofoam blocks and packing peanuts – These are not recyclable and need to be placed in the trash.
• Plastic bags and shipping pouches – These are not recyclable at our facility, but most supermarkets have drop-off bins for all film plastics.

Found in our Aluminum Recycling Bay

These are items we have found in our aluminum recycling bay. Please review the following information and always feel free to ask an attendant if you are not sure if something belongs in any of our bins. We are happy to help you! You can also refer to the signage we have installed above the recycling bays for more help.

• Steel Cans – These are recyclable, they just need to go in the steel can bay.
• Larger aluminum objects like baking trays – These are recyclable at our facility, they just need to be taken past the scale house to the scrap metal dumpster.
• Cardboard boxes – These are recyclable, they just need to go in the cardboard bay.
• Coffee bags, potato chip bags, ventilation pipe – While these objects are indeed shiny they are made out of multilayered plastic and mylar material, not aluminum. They need to be placed in the trash.