Recycling

Weekly Curbside Collection Provided by Haulers

Recycling at the Curb

Recycling in Fort Collins is collected by your trash hauler. The City of Fort Collins requires haulers to provide weekly unlimited recycling services for each single-family and two-family residential trash customer as part of their basic trash collection service.

How Do I Get Service Started?

The following haulers provide residential curbside trash and recycling service in the City of Fort Collins. Prices and types of recycling containers will vary. Call for more information or to begin service.

• Dick's Trash Hauling Service (970-482-1674)
• Gallegos Sanitation, Inc. (970-484-5556)
• Ram Waste Systems, Inc. (970-226-3396)
• Waste Management (970-482-6319)

The curbside recycling program is designed to help you lower your cost of trash disposal. Just sort your recyclable materials according to your trash hauler's guidelines, and set out your bin(s) provided by your hauler by 7:00 a.m.on your regular trash collection day. Please don't set your recyclables out in inclement weather; wait and set them out the following week.

What Can I Recycle at the Curb?

Download and print the one page Curbside Recycling Guide (pdf) for quick reference to what can be recycled at the curb in Fort Collins and how to prepare those materials.

All haulers are providing a two-sort system, and are required by the City of Fort Collins to collect the following items:

Commingled Containers

In one bin or cart, all of the following items may be mixed together:

• Glass bottles and jars of any color (Please avoid breaking glass. Remove and recycle metal lids.)
• Aluminum cans (Don't crush or flatten cans.)
• Steel (tin) cans
• Metal jar lids (Please remove from glass containers.)
• Metal bottle caps
• Empty aerosol cans (no caps)
• All plastic bottles (click here to read how "Recycling Just Got Easier - Now You Can Recycle All Plastic Bottles" in pdf format)

Click here for more information on guidelines for preparing your commingled containers.

Paper

The following paper items may all be mixed together into one bin or brown paper bag:

• Office paper (including computer, copier and plain fax paper; pastel colored paper; please, NO neon or other bright paper)
• Newspapers and newspaper inserts (NO PLASTIC BAGS)
• Magazines and catalogs
• Opened mail (please open your mail to remove any promotional stickers, credit cards, membership cards, or other non-paper items)

Click here for more information on preparation guidelines for mixed paper.

Cardboard and paperboard (beginning in January 2006)

• Corrugated cardboard (packing boxes and pizza boxes)
• Brown paper grocery bags
• Paperboard (cereal boxes, clothing boxes, egg cartons)

Click here for more information on preparation guidelines for cardboard.

Missed pick-ups? Call your hauler.

Tips for curbside recycling:

• Be sure to put your materials out by 7am on your regular trash day.
• Please prepare materials correctly and only include items accepted through our program. Including additional materials jeopardizes recycling markets and makes processing more costly.
• Many items not collected at the curb can be taken to Drop-off Centers.
• With unpredictable winds, weigh papers down with a rock.
• Step on it! Please flatten plastic gallon jugs and plastic bottles 1 liter or larger. This increases truck capacity, and helps prevent glass breakage.
• Please avoid breaking glass! Glass shards are difficult to sort by color, and even more difficult to market.

More Information:

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Preparing Recyclables for Curbside Collection
• Prevent Contamination When Recycling Glass Bottles (pdf)
• Stop Junk Mail (pdf)
• Stop Unwanted Telemarketing Phone Calls (pdf)
• Things You Can Do at Home and the Office to Reduce Waste (pdf)

EPA's Consumer Handbook for Reducing Solid Waste or by section for easy printing (pdf):

REDUCE
Tip 1: Reduce the amount of unnecessary packaging.
Tip 2: Adopt practices that reduce waste.

REUSE
Tip 3: Consider reusable products.
Tip 4: Maintain and repair durable products.
Tip 5: Reuse bags, containers, and other items.
Tip 6: Borrow, rent, or share items used infrequently.
Tip 7: Sell or donate goods instead of throwing them out.

RECYCLE
Tip 8: Choose recyclable products and containers and recycle them.
Tip 9: Select products made from recycled materials.
Tip 10: Compost yard trimmings and some food scraps.