Recycling & Waste Education Resources

This is a visual representation of acceptable and unacceptable items in a curbside recycling cart. The text on the page below lists the same acceptable and unacceptable items.

Recycling - Know what to throw

We know that recycling can be complicated, but it can be easier if you follow these nine tips. 

Tip 1: Only recycle plastic items labeled with a 1, 2, or 5 in your curbside recycling cart.

Tip 2: Keep plastic bags out of your recycling cart.

Tip 3: Recyclables should be clean, dry, and empty before being placed in your curbside recycling cart.

Tip 4: Treat rechargeable and lithium batteries as hazardous waste. These should be brought to the Olmsted County Hazardous Waste Facility.  

Tip 5: Shredded paper cannot be recycled in your curbside recycling cart. Shredded paper can be dropped off at the Olmsted County Recycling Center Plus.

Tip 6: Not all glass can be recycled. Glass bottles and jars can be recycled, but dishware, mason jars, and window glass cannot be recycled. Throw this glass in the garbage.  

Tip 7: Tanglers like electrical cords and holiday lights should not be recycled. Light strands and electrical cords can be dropped off at the Olmsted County Recycling Center Plus. Garden hoses and rope should go in the garbage.

Tip 8: Remove packing materials before recycling cardboard boxes. Styrofoam, bubble wrap, and packing peanuts should be thrown away in the garbage.

Tip 9: Got questions? Ask the Waste Wizard. Just type in your item and the Wizard will tell you what to do with that waste.

Environmental Resources Slogan and Waste Wizard Logo

Acceptable Items In Your Curbside Recycling Cart

  • Paper
    • Office paper
    • Newspaper
    • Magazines
    • Envelopes
    • Mail
    • Paper bags
  • Corrugated cardboard (flatten for recycling)
  • Paperboard (e.g. cereal boxes and cracker boxes)
  • Aluminum cans
  • Tin and steel cans
  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Plastic bottles and containers #1, #2, and #5 (keep caps on)
  • Milk and juice cartons (aseptic and gable-top cartons)

Never In Your Curbside Recycling Cart

(not an inclusive list)

  • Plastic Bags
  • Batteries
  • Electronics
  • "Tanglers"
    • Hoses
    • Cords
    • Wires
    • Rope
  • Shredded Paper
  • Foam Containers and Packaging
  • Ceramics, Dishware, & Window Glass
  • Food Waste
  • Hazardous Materials
  • Napkins and Paper Plates/Towels
  • Plastic Cutlery
  • Aerosol Cans 

Some of the items that are not acceptable in your curbside recycling cart can and should be recycled.

For example, rechargeable batteries are considered hazardous waste and should be brought to the Hazardous Waste Facility.

TVs, computers, and other electronic items should be brought to the Recycling Center Plus.

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The resolution listing items that should be recycled in Olmsted County was approved in March 2022. 

Educational Materials

To view the documents below, please contact Environmental Resources at 507-328-7070 or pwservice@co.olmsted.mn.us.

  • Background on recycling in Olmsted County: Lesson plans and resources for teachers
     
  • How to start a school recycling program or gain participation: a how-to guide and outside resources
     
  • How to assess a school's waste and other outside resources

Speaker Request Form

If you would like a representative from the Environmental Resources Department to speak at an event regarding garbage and recycling, please complete the request form below. Visits are limited to groups located in Olmsted County. All speaker requests are subject to approval.

Good decisions are based on knowledge. Our goal is to teach Olmsted County residents how to make the most of our resources through an understanding of how and why our Integrated Solid Waste Management System provides a proper place for waste.

Effective waste education helps us all to become stewards of our environment.