Recycling: Answering your questions about plastics, bulk waste collection & more
We have received a lot of calls and emails recently with a variety of questions about recycling. Below are some of the answers.
Q: Can I recycle photographs?
A: Photographs cannot be recycled in Centre County’s recycling program. If you do have photographs, they may be thrown out with your regular trash.
Q: When is COG’s Fall Bulk Waste Collection week?
A: Fall Bulk Waste Collection week for the townships of Benner, College, Ferguson, Harris and Patton, originally scheduled for Oct. 18-22, has been postponed until further notice. Visit www.crcog.net for more information.
Q. Where can I recycle Styrofoam?
A: We do not accept Styrofoam in our recycling program. Styrofoam should be discarded with your trash. If you do have packing peanuts, check with your local UPS Store as they may accept them for reuse in packaging.
Q: I have a glass bottle/jar with a metal lid. How do I recycle that?
A: You may leave the metal lid on the glass bottle/jar and place in either your curbside recycling bin or in one of the many recycling drop off containers located throughout the county.
Q: Do you offer tours of your facility?
A: We do offer tours of our facility. If you are comfortable with an in-person tour, we can accommodate your group or organization, although limits may apply. If you would like a virtual tour, we can offer a virtual tour via Zoom. To schedule an in-person or virtual tour of the Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority, send an email to aschirf@centrecountyrecycles.org or call 814-238-7005 and we will get it on the books.
Q: The recycling drop off container is full. Should I just leave my items outside of the container?
A: This is a hard “no.” Do not leave items outside of our recycling containers. Give us a quick call to let us know it is full and we will empty it as soon as we can. Please check our website for a list of all recycling drop off locations.
Q: I have heard that my plastic is not being recycled after all. Is this true?
A: I can promise you that the plastic you recycle with us is being recycled, if it is an acceptable product in our program. Acceptable plastic includes plastic bottles, jugs and jars. We also accept items like yogurt containers, sour cream containers, blueberry/strawberry containers but only in our Miscellaneous Plastics Drop Off Program. A full list of acceptable miscellaneous plastics can be found at www.centrecountyrecycles.org. Do not deposit miscellaneous plastics in other drop off locations. Please be assured that we do have end-use markets for all of the plastics we collect. None of the plastics that we collect for recycling are discarded or sent to the landfill unless someone has deposited a type of plastic that we do not collect. In that case, we do hand sort out the contaminated material so we can recycle the rest.
I do hope this column answers some of your questions about recycling. Please contact me if you have other recycling questions: aschirf@centrecountyrecycles.org or 814-238-7005.