The Ultimate “Can I Recycle That?” Recycling List

Ever find yourself wondering what’s recyclable and what isn’t? Busch Systems has got you covered – the following should help with any confusion.

DISCLAIMER: Always check your municipality’s recycling program first, you could be throwing out recyclables or putting trash in with your recyclables – the latter being the worst scenario since it sends the rest of your recyclables to the Landfill! This list is generic and not specific to Canada or US.

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Paper

Yes	No
Newspaper	Used Napkins
Magazines	Grease stained Paper Board
Office Paper	Contaminated Paper (Food or Grease)
Paper Board	Wax Coating (Coffee Cups)
Paper Cardboard (Juice Cartons)	Hardcover Book Covers
Mixed Paper (Junk Mail)	Paper Towel
Phone Book	Tissue Paper
Shredded Paper (Not Ideal)	Wrapping Paper

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Cardboard

Yes	No
Corrugated Board	Pizza Boxes (Grease Contamination)
Brown Paper Bags	Cardboard lined with Plastic
Boxboard (Shoeboxes)	Waterproof Cardboard

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Metal

Yes	No
Aluminum Cans	Radioactive Metal
Cleaned Aluminum Foil and Aluminum Bake Ware	Lead Products
Steel and Tin Cans	Anything Containing Mercury
Scrap Metals	Oil and Paint Cans

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Glass

Yes	No
Clear Glass	Ceramics (Plates)
Brown Glass	Heat Resistant Glass
Green Glass	Mirror Glass
Blue Glass	Broken Glass
Beer and Wine Bottles	Contaminated Glass (Food, grease or rocks)
Glass Jars	Crystal
	Light Bulbs

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Plastics

Yes	No
All plastics numbers 1-7 (Check your recycling program first, some plastics may not be accepted)	#7 is less likely to be recyclable
Food and beverage containers (make sure they’re free of any food)	Plastic Bags
Screw top Jars	#5 cups (Yogurt cups - less likely to be recycled)
Plastic Cups and lids	Plastic Tableware
Bottles, Jars and Jugs	Styrofoam Containers

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Ink Cartridges

Yes
Certain retailer and brands (Staples, HP and Epson) will take back old printer cartridges to be reused again.

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Electronics

Yes	No
TVs	Microwaves
PCs	Fire Alarms
Small Electronics (Radios)	Refrigerators
Phones	Batteries Made Before 1997 (Contain Mercury)
Batteries, Car Batteries	Button Batteries (Specialty Recycling- Contain varieties of toxins)

Best Buy has an initiative to keep e-waste out of landfills – they will take your old electronics and recycle them free of charge.

You are probably familiar with Apple's recycling program. Their recycling program is for their products in both Canada and the United States  and they’re completely free of charge. If your old Apple product is deemed reusable, they'll even give you a gift card to use towards new Apple products! Talk about incentive.

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Compact Florescent Lights (CFLs)

These energy savers last a long time, but they eventually need to be disposed of – and properly! Retailers like Home Depot, RONA, Canadian Tire and Ikea may accept burned out CFLs (depending on your location).

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So now you're all up to speed on generic items that are recyclable! Remember, check your municipalities recycling program before recycling the listed items. Togeter, we can Recycle Better!