Curbside Recycling

For curbside pick-up, use the 96-gallon recycling cart with the yellow lid to place all your standard recyclables together, no sorting or bagging. Please rinse cans, bottles and containers. Only clean paper products are recyclable.

Guidelines

Please follow these guidelines to ensure proper recycling. Failure to comply can result in landfilling loads of recyclable materials. The yellow-lid cart is for recycling only and should not be used for trash, food waste, plastic bags or yard waste.

  • DO NOT bag recyclables. Leave them loose.
  • No plastic bags or films.
  • Only place acceptable items in your cart. See full list below. 
  • Only clean paper. No food stains or grease. 
  • Empty and rinse containers and cans. Replace caps as applicable. 

When in doubt, throw it out! 

Acceptable Materials

Recycle only these items. All others are contaminants that harm the recycling process.

 ✓ Cans
Aluminum, tin or steel cans.
 ✓ Cartons
Milk, juice and soup containers.
 ✓ Cardboard
Boxes, paperboard and tubes. Flatten boxes to fit in curbside cart. If cardboard is too large, please schedule a bulk pickup.
 ✓ Paper
Office paper, phone books, mail, newspaper, paper bags and magazines. Clean paper only. No pizza boxes, paper towels or food stained materials.
✓ Glass
Bottles and jars.
✓ Plastic Containers #1-5 & 7
Bottles, tubs and jars. Empty, rinse and keep caps on. Rigid containers only. No plastic bags or film. No solo cups.

Unacceptable Materials

Anything that isn’t on the Acceptable Materials list, including these items, cannot go in the recycling cart. Seek other recycling opportunities or throw them in the trash.

✕  Plastic bags, films and case wrap
Do not place grocery bags, trash bags or any other type of stretchy film in your curbside recycling cart. Any clean, dry and stretchy film (plastic) other than frozen food bags can recycled at grocery stores. Examples: newspaper sleeves, bread bags, bubble wrap, shrink wrap. Download our Plastic Film Recycling(PDF, 2MB).
 ✕ Clothing, linens and home goods
Consider donating clean, usable items to charitable organizations. Download our Donation Guide(PDF, 289KB).
 ✕ Pizza boxes
Throw out pizza boxes or other to-go containers with food residue. If the pizza box top is clean, you may tear it off and recycle it.
 ✕ Chip bags, candy wrappers and food pouches
Flexible packaging must be thrown away. Only recycle rigid containers marked 1-5.
 ✕ Styrofoam
Do not throw Styrofoam in your recycling cart. Block packaging may be recycled at the Montgomery County Precinct 3 Recycling Facility. Learn more from our Recycle More Guide(PDF, 198KB).
✕  Electronics and batteries
Do not put electronics (phones, tablets, tvs, etc.) or batteries into your recycling cart. Check out the Recycle More(PDF, 198KB) for disposable options.
✕  Shredded paper
Plain, non-glossy, shredded paper may be evenly mixed with leaves and placed in a certified compostable bag to be included with your yard trimmings. Learn more about disposing of yard trimmings.
 ✕ Yard trimmings
Do not place leaves, twigs, grass trimmings or other yard waste in your recycling cart. Learn more about disposing of yard trimmings.
 ✕ Chemicals, paints and hazardous waste
Never put chemicals, paint or hazardous waste into your recycling cart. Check out the Recycle More(PDF, 198KB) for disposable options.

Clothing & Textiles

Clothing and textiles should not go into your curbside recycling cart; however, you should consider donating gently used clothing rather than throwing into your trash cart. The average American throws away 70 pounds of clothing and other textiles every year; only 15 percent are donated (EPA). For The Woodlands that amounts to 3,300 tons annually. That is seven percent of our municipal waste. In an effort to help this growing problem, Residents are encouraged to donate clothing and housewares that are in good condition to a local charity. Check the Donation Guide(PDF, 289KB) for a list of charities in The Woodlands and surrounding areas that accept donations.

Recycling Guides

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