Recycling

**UNACCEPTABLE ITEMS**

KEEP OUT OF RECYCLING CART

  • Paint Recycling - Paint and stain products may now be recycled at the transfer station without a permit. Photo ID required. Recyclable paint items include interior and exterior architectural paints, deck coatings, floor paints (including elastomeric), primers, sealers, undercoaters, stains, shellacs, lacquers, varnishes, urethanes (single component), waterproofing concrete/masonry/wood sealers and repellents (not tar or bitumen-based), metal coatings, rust preventatives and field and lawn paints. Paint may not be placed in your blue single stream barrel.
     
  • Yard Waste Recycling - Twigs, leaves, and grass clippings may be mixed together in biodegradable yard waste bags (available at most hardware stores) and dropped off at the transfer station without a permit. Photo ID required. The yard waste may not contain garbage, soil, or rocks. Loose yard waste and yard waste in plastic bags will not be accepted. Large branches and brush are considered bulky waste and require a Bulky Waste Permit. Yard waste may not be placed in your blue single stream barrel.
     
  • Textile Recycling - Textiles, including clothing, shoes, household linens, belts, bags, and even stuffed animals may now be dropped off at the transfer station with or without a permit. Photo ID required. Textiles may not be placed in your blue single stream barrel. 
     
  • Mattress Recycling - Mattresses and box springs may now be dropped off at the transfer station with or without a permit. Photo ID required. Mattresses may also be picked up curbside by scheduling an appointment.
  • NO regular household trash: The green carts provided to households 1-6 family are for regular household trash. The blue recycling cart should not contain any regular trash.
     
  • NO dangerous or toxic or hazardous items: Motor oil, electronics, antifreeze, paint cans can be delivered to the transfer station for FREE. Needles/sharps must be placed in milk jugs, tightly taped and tossed in the regular trash.
     
  • NO big items: Toys of any kind, laundry baskets, plastic storage containers, 5 gallon buckets all go into the regular trash.
     
  • NO bulky waste: No furniture, no rugs, appliances, recreational equipment, household kitchen items are to be placed in the blue cart. East Hartford has a bulky waste collection program. It offers appointments for curbside collection and allows self-delivery to the transfer station. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FLYER.
     
  • NO items that tangle: Plastic bags including bubble wrap and other plastic wrap, garden hoses, strings of holiday lights, twine all tangle the sorting equipment and shut down the conveyer belts at the recycling center. Clean and dry plastic bags and wrap are accepted at grocery and department stores. Click HERE link for more information. In addition, please do not use plastic bags to collect recyclables. Just place them loose in the blue cart.
     
  • NO leaves or yard debris:  Organic materials never belong in the recycling cart. Leaves can be delivered to the transfer station in brown bags for FREE and while a bulky permit is required for delivery of other types of yard debris.
     
  • NO clothing or textiles: Unfortunately the curbside pink bag program is no longer available to East Hartford residents. However, textile recycling boxes are available for FREE recycling 24/7 at Public Works, 1 ecology Drive, just outside the gate and at the transfer station. The Salvation Army and Goodwill also continue to accept donations.
  • NO styrofoam: Residents should separate styrofoam from cardboard packaging. Styrofoam goes in the trash green cart and the cardboard box, flattened or cut, goes in the blue cart.

In addition, all recyclables should be properly rinsed and clean with no food contents.

Resolving to keep contaminants out of the blue recycling carts starting now assures the Town will continue to recycle at a considerably lower cost than disposing of the same materials with the municipal solid waste stream and reach its recycling diversion goals.