Telephone books can be recycled curbside or at drop-off locations listed below.

Shredded paper can be recycled at the drop-off locations listed below. Place shredded paper loose in the office paper bin at the recycling drop-off centers listed below. 

Do NOT include shredded paper in your curbside recycle bin. The paper literally falls through the cracks in the machinery at the sorting facility, and will not be recycled

Note: These locations do not offer secure document shredding services.

Paper can be recycled 7-12 times. However, when shredded, its value is decreased and the number of times it can be recycled decreases drastically. In order to maintain the value of the paper fibers, shred only when necessary. Consider only shredding the documents (or parts of the documents) that contain sensitive information – and recycle the rest whole!

Plastic grocery bags and plastic film can be recycled at most grocery stores, big box stores, or at one of the drop-off locations listed below. Ask an associate where to find drop-off bins as these vary from location to location.

Bags and film should be clean and dry, with stickers and labels removed.

Recyclable plastic film includes grocery bags, produce, bread, dry-cleaning, Ziploc-type and newspaper bags, along with industrial shrink-wrap, air pillows, and bubble wrap. Plastic wrapping such as that around paper towels and toilet paper can also be included with plastic film. Recyclable plastic film is often labeled with a #2 (HDPE) or #4 (LDPE) in the chasing arrows.

Plastic bags SHOULD NEVER be placed in curbside recycling or be used to bag recyclable items before placing them in your bin. Plastic bags and plastic film cause major issues at recycling sorting plants, tangling in recycling equipment and causing it to jam and break. Be sure to recycle your plastic grocery bags and other plastic film, just not in curbside recycling!

The primary way to know whether a plastic can be recycled curbside or at the drop-off center is by its shape. The only plastics that can be recycled curbside in Fort Collins are plastic bottles, jugs and tubs. Bottles include soda or water bottles, and shampoo jugs. Jugs include plastic milk jugs and plastic laundry jugs. Tubs include the solid white dairy tubs like those that contain yogurt or sour cream, as well as translucent tubs commonly used in delis or for liquidy takeout like soups. When in doubt if a tub is recyclable, you can double check by looking for a #5 in the chasing arrows on the container.

Always be sure that all containers are empty and dry before recycling. Do NOT recycle motor oil, chemical, or pesticide bottles.

Due to changes in international recycling markets, local recycling guidelines do not include low-value plastic containers. These are typically the thinnest and flimsiest types of plastics, such as plastic clamshell containers (that hold berries), plastic party cups, and plastic take-out containers. These items should be thrown away. Community members may choose to avoid them by selecting reusable options and avoiding products packaged in low-value plastics. 

Paperboard can be included in your curbside recycling bin or at drop-off locations listed below.

Paperboard is single-layer cardboard, also known as chipboard. Recyclable paperboard items include cereal, food, gift, and shoe boxes, paper egg cartons, toilet paper and paper towel tubes.

The following items CANNOT be recycled:

• Frozen Food Boxes
  • Boxes designed for the freezer have plastic mixed in with the paper fibers
• Paper frozen juice containers
• Ice cream cartons
• Pet food bags
• Charcoal bags
• Paper plates, bowls, cups etc.

Paper bags can be recycled in your curbside recycling bin or at drop-off locations listed below. Bags should be flattened. Do not recycle bags that are dirty or greasy.

Glass bottles and jars (clear, brown and green glass) are accepted in curbside recycling or at drop-off locations listed below.

Metal lids are also accepted in curbside or drop-off recycling, but should be placed in the bin separate from the glass.

Do NOT include window glass, aquariums, ceramics, light bulbs, drinking glasses, or Pyrex ovenware – those items are made of different materials that contaminate glass recycling.

Cardboard can be included in curbside recycling or delivered to the drop-off locations listed below. Boxes in good shape can be reused. Consider posting boxes on Craigslist and other social media sites for reuse.

It should be flattened before recycling. For curbside recycling, large cardboard should be cut down until it will fit loosely in the curbside bin. For drop-off, very large pieces should be cut to a maximum of 4’ x 4’.

Per a 2013 City ordinance, it is illegal to throw cardboard in the trash in Fort Collins. Non-recyclable cardboard is excluded from this requirement, such as waxed cardboard (used to ship bulk produce), or food-contaminated cardboard (such as heavily soiled/greasy pizza boxes). The non-recyclable cardboard should be composted or landfilled.

Aluminium cans, foil, and food containers accepted. 

Office paper, colored paper, magazines, newspapers, junk mail, and other mixed paper can be included in your curbside recycling bin, or taken to drop-off locations listed below and placed in the mixed paper bin. 

Paper should be left flat in order to be properly sorted at the recycling plant.

Items ok to include in mixed paper:

• Staples
• Paperclips (although is better to remove them for reuse)
• Plastic windows in envelopes
• Stamps and other adhesive labels attached to the paper
• Construction paper
• Blueprints

Items NOT recyclable with mixed paper:

• Items smaller than a standard sticky note or business card
  • They will fall through the cracks at the sorting facility and not be recycled
• Sheets of unused labels on their plastic-coated paper
• Plastic-coated paper used for label backing
• Carbon paper
• Cartons for milk, juice

Plastic peanut butter jars are accepted in curbside recycling or at the drop-off locations listed below.

Jars should be empty and dry.  Jars do not need to be spotless, but the majority of food should be cleaned from the jar.  Soaking the jar in water is a good way to loosen stuck-on food. 

Cartons are accepted in curbside recycling or at drop-off locations listed below.

Recyclable cartons include juice boxes, milk cartons, soup cartons, soy milk cartons, etc. Cartons from refrigerated foods as well as shelf-stable foods can be recycled. Foil-lined cartons are ok to recycle.

Cartons must be empty and dry. To be properly sorted at the recycling plant, they should not be crushed or flattened. Plastic spouts on cartons do not need to be removed before recycling.

Ice cream cartons are lined with a different type of plastic can CANNOT be recycled.

Paper towel and toilet paper tubes can be recycled in your curbside recycling bin or at drop-off locations listed below. Tubes should be empty, without any other materials still stuck to them.

Thicker, rigid cardboard tubes – like carpet roll tubes – should be reused or disposed of in the trash.

Empty aerosol cans are accepted in curbside recycling or at the drop-off locations listed below.

Cans should be completely empty of all contents. Cans should not be crushed or flattened. Unused hazardous products such as spray paint or chemicals should not be in the trash or recycling; they should be disposed of at the Larimer County Hazardous Waste Facility.

Gently used books can be donated to used bookstores or libraries. Paperback books can also be recycled in your curbside recycling bin or at drop-off locations listed below.

Hard cover books can be donated or recycled at these locations.

Blueprints are accepted in curbside recycling or at drop-off locations listed below.

Aluminium cans, foil, and food containers accepted. 

Signs made of paperboard can be separated from their metal wicket and paced in your curbside recycling bin or at drop-off locations listed below.

The metal wickets can be recycled as scrap metal at local scrap metal recyclers.

Aluminium cans, foil, and food containers accepted. 

Aluminium cans, foil, and food containers accepted. 

Brown crinkle paper, like that used for packing and gifts, 

Place shredded paper loose in the paper bins at the recycling drop-off centers listed below. 

Do NOT include shredded crinkle paper in your curbside recycle bin. The paper literally falls through the cracks in the machinery at the sorting facility, and will not be recycled

Construction paper can be included in your curbside recycling bin, or in the mixed paper bin at the drop-off locations listed below.  No glitter or excessive amounts of non-paper materials should be attached to the construction paper.

Paper should be left flat in order to be properly sorted at the recycling plant.

Scraps of paper smaller than a business card or standard post-it note are unlikely to get recycled and should be thrown away in the trash. They will fall through the sorting equipment at the recycling sorting facility.

Metal caps and lids, such as those that come on glass bottles and jars, can be recycled in your curbside recycling bin and at the drop-off locations listed below. 

When placed in a curbside recycling bin, be sure to separate the lid from the glass bottle or jar and put it into the bin loose. That ensures that the magnets at the recycling plant can collect them. 

If you are collecting material to take to a scrap metal dealer, you can collect metal bottle caps in a metal can before dropping off. Dropping off metal caps and lids to a scrap metal dealer is a more direct route to be recycled, as they do not need to be sorted out from other mixed recyclables before going to their final destination for recycling.  

Paper egg cartons can be recycled in your curbside recycling bin or at drop-off locations listed below.

Styrofoam egg cartons are not locally recyclable and should be disposed of in the trash.

Paper envelopes can be recycled in your curbside recycling bin or at drop-off locations listed below.

Details:

• Clear plastic windows are ok to recycle – no need to remove them
• Colored envelopes are ok to recycle
• Labels and stamps are ok to leave on envelopes
• Envelopes with metallic or glittery lining cannot be recycled
• Envelopes with bubble wrap lining can be reused but not recycled

See other listings for Tyvek envelopes 

Pizza boxes that are not significantly soiled with food waste can be recycled in your curbside recycling bin or at the drop-off locations listed below.

Pizza boxes that are greasy or have food on them should be thrown away. If there is a large amount of grease on the bottom of the pizza box, tear off the greasy section to throw away or compost and then recycle the clean portion.

While Fort Collins municipal code bans the landfill disposal of cardboard, items that can’t be recycled, such as greasy pizza boxes, are excluded. Dirty or soiled cardboard should be composted or thrown in the trash.

Plastic caps & lids can be recycled, if attached to their empty plastic bottle or tub.

Caps not attached to their plastic containers should be disposed of in the trash.  Plastic caps by themselves are too small to be properly sorted at the recycling plant.

Be sure that the plastic bottle or tub is empty and dry before recycling.

Plastic jugs, including plastic milk jugs, laundry detergent, and juice jugs are accepted in curbside recycling or at drop-off locations listed below.

Jugs must be empty and dry. Plastic caps can be left on empty jugs.

Plastic tubs, including yogurt tubs and sour cream tubs, are accepted in curbside recycling or at drop-off locations listed below. Tubs must be empty and dry. 

Tin or steel cans can be recycled curbside or at drop-off locations listed below.

Cans should be empty and dry. They should not be crushed or flattened, and it’s ok to leave their labels on.  

Tissue wrapping paper can be recycled curbside or at the drop-off locations listed below.

Do not include any glitter, ribbons, or bows.

Plastic containers that hold disinfectant wipes are accepted in curbside recycling or at drop-ff locations listed below if empty. Lids should be kept on before recycling.

Disinfectant wipes are NOT recyclable and should be thrown away in the trash.

Plastic vitamin and prescription bottles are accepted in curbside recycling or at drop-off locations listed below. Bottles must be empty.

Wrapping paper can be recycled in your curbside recycle bin or at drop-off locations listed below.

Do not recycle any glittery or metallic wrapping paper, ribbons, or bows.

Consider wrapping gifts in newspaper, maps, cloth bags, reusable gift bags, or reusable gift boxes as alternatives to wrapping paper.

Magazines can be included in your curbside recycling bin or at drop-off locations listed below.

Aluminium cans, foil, and food containers accepted. 

Spiral bound notebooks can be recycled in your curbside recycle bin or at the drop-off locations listed below. Remove the cover & back of the notebook (paperboard covers can be recycled at these locations). The spiral does NOT need to be removed.

 Both metal and plastic bound spiral notebooks are accepted.

Receipt Paper can be recycled in curbside recycling bins or at the drop-off locations listed below as long as it is larger than a business card.

Items smaller than a business card fall through the cracks of the sorting equipment and do not get recycled. Receipts and other pieces of scrap paper smaller than a business card should be thrown away in the trash.

White office paper can be included in your curbside recycling bin, or taken to drop-off locations listed below. 

Paper should be left flat in order to be properly sorted at the recycling plant. Colored ink on the paper is ok. Please remove paper and binder clips before recycling. Staples are ok to include. 

Paper insulation included in Sun Basket meal kit boxes are recyclable in your curbside recycling bin, or taken to drop-off locations listed below and placed into the mixed paper bin.

Insulation should be left whole.

Molded paper packaging (similar to paper egg cartons), can be recycled in your curbside recycling bin or at drop-off locations listed below.