Thirteen Items You Can’t Recycle in Austin

Mae Stone

Hi, y’all! One of the most important climate-conscious mantras is “reduce, reuse, recycle”. But many of the items you think are recyclable actually aren’t. Putting non-recyclable items in the recycling bin could potentially break and contaminate machines and harm workers. Here are 13 common items that don’t belong in your recycling bin in Austin. 

DON’T recycle these items
Paper

• Pizza boxes (any grease-covered paper)
• Coffee cups (like Starbucks cups)
• Ice cream cups/pints
• Padded envelopes
• Biodegradable/compostable products

Plastic

• Ziploc and plastic shopping bags

• Styrofoam/bubble wrap
• Instant coffee pods
• Chip bags

Metal

• Clothing hangers (most dry cleaners will take them)
• Large objects (like pots and pans)
• Batteries (recycle those here)
• Electronics 

If you’re not sure what to do with an item search here.