MEET ROBBIE
RECYCLE

What’s the problem?

Recycling Cart Contamination

Putting the wrong items in the recycling cart is called contamination. This is a big problem for the health and safety of our community, the environment, and SacGreenTeam staff. Robbie helps keep food-soiled items like greasy pizza boxes, household hazardous waste like household batteries, fluorescent light tubes and bulbs, and items like plastic bags that cause problems with recycling processing equipment out of the Recycling cart.

No plastic bags/ plastic wrap/ bubble wrap
No household hazardous waste
no tanglers
NO STYROFOAM™
No organics
No liquids

What can I do?

Start by making small changes!

Reuse bags for shopping, purchase items in bulk with less packaging, or purchase reusable items like refillable metal water bottles and metal straws.

Make sure recyclables are empty and dry before putting them loose in the recycling cart.

Do not put bagged recyclables into the Recycling Cart. Keep items loose. Bagged items are treated like garbage and go to the landfill.

Take the Binfluencers pledge!

Sort Smart and Recycle Right with the free SacGreenTeam app.

Download the app

RECYCLING Cart Items

Empty and dry, lids and labels OK.

Aluminum soda cans, steel soup and vegetable cans. Empty and dry, labels OK.

Items to leave out

Food scraps, food-soiled paper, or yard trimmings

resources

Explore the resources in this section to learn how to recycle and you can become a Binfluencer like Robbie Recycle, too!

faq

Wondering how to recycle something? We can help!

If you still have questions, please use the contact form below and we will do our best to assist.

No. If you do use a plastic bag to collect recyclables, make sure you dump the recyclables out of the plastic bag and into the Recycling cart. The plastic bag goes in the Garbage cart. Recyclables must be clean and dry, and placed loose in the Recycling cart. Bagged items are treated like garbage and go to the landfill.

No. Garden hoses go in the Garbage cart, unless they can be reused or used for something else.
“Tanglers” such as hoses, ropes, cords, wires, and chains get tangled in recycling processing equipment causing a shutdown and requiring workers to climb into dangerous equipment to remove them.

No. Greasy pizza boxes and un-coated paper to-go food containers go in the Organics cart. Coated (shiny) to-go food containers with or without food on them always go in the Garbage cart.

These items are not accepted in the Recycling cart. They go in the Garbage cart. Film plastics, like plastic bags, bubble wrap, and food wrap get tangled in the recycling processors equipment which can force a shutdown requiring workers to climb into dangerous equipment to remove material. Please reuse these items as much as possible, or drop off for recycling at local participating retailers.

These materials require special handling to protect human health and the environment.

Residents can drop off HHW at the North Area Recovery Station HHW Facility for free.

Other area HHW drop off locations include the City of Elk Grove’s Special Waste Collection Center, the Sacramento Recycling and Transfer Station HHW Facility, Kiefer Landfill Special Waste Facility, and the Western Placer Waste Management Authority. Learn more at the household hazardous waste webpage including hours and locations.