Recycling

Why Can't I Recycle all my plastic?

If you are confused about plastic recycling, you are not alone and we want to help.

The City of St. Louis Park has asked Eureka Recycling, your nonprofit waste reduction partner, to answer the single-most common question about your recycling program, "Why can't I recycle all my plastic?" Previous haulers in St. Louis Park collected all types of plastics, leading residents to believe that all plastics are recyclable, when in fact only plastic bottles with a #1 or #2 can be recycled here, and in most communities around the country. To learn more, please read "The Complications and Limitations of Recycling Plastic" or call Eureka Recycling's Hotline to talk to a specialist.

Additional Resources:

Fact Sheet - Recycling Plastic: Complications and Limitations
Eureka Recycling's plastics fact sheet highlights the most common questions about plastics recycling and explains the complications and limitations of recycling plastics:

• Why can't I recycle all my plastic?
• What do the arrows on plastic products really mean and why can't all plastics be recycled?
• What health risks are associated with using plastics?
• Why is producer responsibility the key to recycling a wider variety of plastics?

To see a video on plastics recycling...
The City of St. Louis Park produced an "Inside the Park" segment about your recycling program on Civic TV channel 17.  Watch the video online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_5-18spMq4&feature=channel

Plastic Recycling in the Park Perspective
A newsletter article in the May/June 2009 Park Perspective focused on plastic recycling and is available at www.stlouispark.org/publications.html.

For more information, contact Eureka Recycling
Recycling Hotline (651) 222-SORT (7678)
Email info@eurekarecycling.org
Website www.eurekarecycling.org