Dear LAist: How Do I Recycle?

Recycling can be simply throwing away things you don’t need in the blue bin.

But sometimes, it feels less simple. How do you know what’s recyclable? And do you have to clean recyclables beforehand? These are just some of the questions that an LAist reader wrote to us:

We get into that and more in this guide, which covers the city of L.A. and unincorporated L.A. County.

Who takes my recyclables?

First, a quick primer: Both the city of L.A. and unincorporated L.A. County use private partnerships with waste hauling companies to get your trash taken away every week, but who does that for you can vary.

This matters because each of these companies may have little nuances in how they process recyclables and what they would like you to do.

The L.A. department of sanitation does have its own waste haulers, but the city is also split up into 11 zones where other waste companies serve. These zones and haulers are:

• Downtown (DT): NASA Services
• East Downtown (EDT): Athens
• Harbor (HB): Athens
• North Central (NC): Athens
• Northeast (NE): Universal Waste Systems
• Northeast Valley (NEV): Consolidated Disposal Service (also known as Republic Services)
• South L.A. (SLA): Consolidated Disposal Service
• Southeast (SE): Ware Disposal
• Southeast Valley (SEV): Waste Management
• West L.A. (WLV): Athens
• West Valley (WV): Waste Management

In unincorporated L.A. County, it’s a little more complicated. They have garbage disposal districts, which is a designated area where a specific private hauler picks up your trash. But communities can opt out of using these haulers and choose others — though it can be more costly. The county has seven districts, which are listed below with their designated hauler:

• Athens/Woodcrest/Olivita: Consolidated Disposal Service
• Belvedere: Consolidated Disposal Service
• Firestone: Allied Waste Services
• Lennox: Ware Disposal
• Malibu: Universal Waste Systems
• Mesa Heights: Universal Waste Systems
• Walnut Park: Consolidated Disposal Service

If you’re not sure who picks up your garbage, you can put your address into this county lookup system to find out.

More of the county’s 88 cities may use these haulers too, and or others that may have slightly different directions on how to care for your recyclables. You can check your utility bill for their name or keep an eye out for what’s on your garbage pickup truck. Then, call them to get more information.

What’s recyclable?

Did you know that certain plastic products that say they’re recyclable might not actually be recyclable yet?

To figure this out, there’s a numbering system that can help you decipher what to do. Look around the bottom of your packaging. There should be a recycle symbol embossed or marked with a single number from one to seven in the center.

Most places, including in the city of L.A., only accept numbers one, two and five. For example, number one plastics are things like water bottles, detergent containers, and peanut butter jars. Twos include gallon milk jugs and shampoo bottles. Fives are things like yogurt cups and clouded plastic containers — think baby bottles.

Any plastics outside of that get sorted into the trash after your hauler gets your waste.

Listen • 12:50

Transcript

Listen • 12:50

So... What CAN I Recycle In LA?

#24: As humans, we produce a LOT of trash and only recycle about a third of it. Some new changes to California's recycling laws could help boost recycling rates, which, you know, could be good for the planet. HTLA host Brian De Los Santos gets the 411 on those changes and gets a first hand look at how L.A. County recycles its garbage.

Transcript

The city and county have lists of what’s recyclable and what’s not. Consolidated Disposal Service also has a list here. In general, it follows these categories:

• Aluminum and metal containers
• Most types of clean paper
• Plastics one, two and five
• Unbroken glass
• Unsoiled folded up cardboard

There is a caveat for shredded paper because you can either recycle or compost it. But if you do need to recycle it, place it in a paper bag marked “shredded paper” so sorting staff know not to toss it. Never place loose shredded paper in your recycle bin, or in a plastic bag (most kitchen bags aren’t recyclable!).

For anything that’s not recyclable, you will either put it with your trash or take it to a dedicated disposal site for that particular item (e.g. an old laptop battery would be taken to a hazardous waste site).

General tips

We have some good rules of thumb for you to make recycling easier:

While things don’t have to be pristine, rinsing recyclables is welcomed. Countries that take our recyclables have a strict contamination limit of .5%, so the cleaner it is the better. That being said, there’s no requirement to wash your recyclables, and using water to do that can come with its own drawbacks on our environment.

Empty your containers, and if it’s soiled, trash or compost it. This includes things like pizza boxes (though you can just rip that section off) and greasy storage containers. For example, your empty plastic cooking oil bottle could end up in the garbage — even if it’s a number two plastic — because it’s just too soiled. There’s not a hard and fast way to determine if something’s too soiled, so use your judgment or contact your waste service to ask.

Keep items together. If your bottle has a cap, make sure it’s screwed on so it doesn’t get lost. With that in mind, if you want to dispose of smaller pieces of paper, like sticky notes, stick it to a firm surface that’s getting recycled.

No, you don’t need to bag or sort recyclables. You should not bag them before putting them in your bin — loose is encouraged. Why? Again, most kitchen bags are not recyclable. Another thing to keep in mind is that some spots in unincorporated L.A. County may collect recyclables together with your other trash, so they’ll take care of the sorting for you.