SouthSide Recycling, Independence KS
Recycling Guidelines:

Individual recycling centers have their own guidelines. The following guidelines are for Southside Recycling in Independence, Kansas and should be viewed only as a general guide for other centers. Check with your center to be sure what is acceptable and what is not.

It is important to follow these guidelines, since the wrong material may totally contaminate a large batch. The batch then must be disposed, defeating the purpose of recycling! Sort materials by items, as follows:

• Corrugated Cardboard
• Includes packing boxes. Remove all packing materials and flatten.
• Boxes that may have been slightly wet are OK, but no boxes that are very dirty or have been contaminated with oil.
• Cardboard egg cartons may also be recycled, but not Styrofoam or plastic cartons.
• Paper sacks may be recycled with cardboard
  
• Glass
• Any color bottles and jars but not window glass or ceramics.
• Remove lids.
• Paper labels OK.
• Broken glass is OK as long as it is wrapped or boxed so that people handling it will not be cut
  
• Metal
• Sort metal into aluminum and tin/steel. It may be helpful to note that steel will attract a magnet but aluminum will not.
• Aluminum beverage cans only
• No need to remove labels.
  
• Mixed paper
• Includes office paper, junk mail, slick paper (glossy ads), catalogs, magazines.
• Helpful to separate out glossy ads, catalogs, and magazines from the other paper. Please separate magazines and catalogs. Magazines are stapled; catalogs have glued bindings.
• Envelopes with plastic windows OK.
• Staples are OK but please remove paper clips, metal clips, and rubber bands.
• No paper that has been wet or is very dirty.
• No colored construction paper
  
• Newspapers
• Helpful to remove glossy ads and place with mixed paper above, but not required
• No newspaper that has been wet. If newspaper was/is wet, it must be thrown away.
• Remove rubber bands or plastic holders.
  
• Plastic numbered 1 or 2
• The recycling number is usually stamped on the bottom of the container.
• Remove lids and rinse containers.
• No solid dark colored plastic (black, brown, or green). Example: black food trays.
• No cooking oil or motor oil containers. Oil cannot be removed from these containers and they must be thrown away.
• Helpful if plastic is flattened as much as possible.
• Also helpful if plastic is sorted as follows:
1. Clear and semi-transparent plastic labeled #1. This includes any color that you can see through. Example: water bottles, some vitamin bottles and some liquid soap bottles.
2. Semi-translucent plastic labeled #2. Example: milk jugs, vinegar bottles.
3. Solid color plastic labeled #1 or #2. This plastic cannot be seen through at all. Example: detergent bottles.
• No plastic with any number other than 1 or 2. Example: Arizona plastic tea bottles are numbered 7