Curbside recycling makes it easy to recycle by having a collection truck pick up recyclable materials directly from your home. This service is available in many of the local municipalities of Westmoreland County. State law requires larger, more densely populated municipalities to provide recycling programs, and even, many of the smaller, not mandated municipalities provide recycling opportunities for their residents.
In most municipalities, the company that collects household trash also provides curbside recycling service. Some municipalities contract with a single hauler to serve all residents, while others allow residents to choose their own waste and recycling company through a private subscription. As a result, several different haulers operate throughout Westmoreland County. Because each hauler may deliver collected materials to different recycling facilities, the list of accepted recyclable materials and collection guidelines can vary by company. If you are confused as to what can be recycled within you municipality please check our Westmoreland County Recycling Guide, email us, or call us at 724-879-4020.
The following applies to the majority of the programs within the county. These are guidelines only. Contact your hauler for information specific to your program.
Accepted material
- Aluminum and bimetal cans
- Paper and Cardboard
- Magazines
- Office Paper (all colors)
- Newspaper (B&W, color and shiny inserts)
- Paperboard (cereal boxes, aka chipboard)
- Corrugated cardboard (boxes)
- Aseptic cartons (milk cartons/juice/broth)
- Junk mail (including window envelopes)
- Telephone books
- Plastics #1 and #2 (a good rule of thumb is to sort by shape- ONLY jar, jug, bottle, and tub shapes)
- The acceptance of glass bottles and jars depends greatly on the hauler.
Properly Prepare your Recyclables
- No need to sort
- With Single Stream Recycling, ALL acceptable recyclables are combined into one recycling container.
- Keep recyclables loose in a recycling bin. DO NOT place them in trash bags
- Rinse containers of any food residue
- Put plastic caps back on plastic bottles.
- No need to remove paper or plastic labels or plastic rings
- No need to remove staples, paper clips or plastic windows from office paper
- Keep shredded paper in paper bags
- Shape matters. Besides the cardboard, include only, bottles, jars, jugs, tubs and cans.
- Plastic bags, clothing hangers, batteries, kids toys, furniture, automotive or construction waste, etc. is the wrong shape and can’t be sorted correctly or safely at recycling processing plants.
- Size matters. Nothing smaller that a credit card.
- Straws, pop/water bottle lids and other small pieces can jam up the sorting machines.
“When in Doubt, Throw It Out”
Putting the wrong items in your recycling bin – often called “wishcycling” – can create problems at recycling facilities and reduce the effectiveness of the recycling program. Recycling the wrong materials can contaminate other recyclables, damage sorting equipment, and increase processing costs. If you’re unsure whether an item is recyclable, it’s usually best to place it in the trash or check with your recycling hauler or Westmoreland Cleanways before recycling it.
Just because an item isn’t accepted in your curbside recycling bin doesn’t mean it can’t be recycled. Many materials can be recycled through other programs or collection sites. For example, Westmoreland Cleanways Recycling Center accepts items such as plastic bags and polystyrene (Styrofoam®), while many grocery stores offer plastic bag recycling, and scrap yards accept many types of metal. The best way to reduce waste, however, is to reduce what you use and reuse items whenever you can. Recycling is an important final step – but it is not the first one.
What Happens Next
After your recyclables are collected, they are delivered to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF), where they are sorted into different material types. At the MRF, a combination of machinery and trained workers separates paper, cardboard, plastics, glass, and metals. Conveyor belts carry materials through the facility while screens separate flat materials like paper from containers. Magnets remove steel cans, eddy current separators pull out aluminum cans, optical scanners identify different types of plastics, and workers remove items that don’t belong in the recycling stream. Contaminants such as plastic bags, food waste, hoses, and other non-recyclable items can slow the sorting process, damage equipment, and reduce the quality of recyclable materials.
Once the materials have been sorted, they are compressed into large bales and shipped to manufacturers that use them to make new products. Paper and cardboard are turned into new boxes, paper products, and packaging. Plastic bottles and containers are processed into pellets that can become new bottles, clothing, carpeting or other plastic products. Aluminum and steel cans are melted down and made into new cans and other metal products, while glass is crushed, cleaned, and remanufactured into new bottles, jars, fiberglass insulation, or construction materials. By purchasing products made from recycled materials, consumers help create demand for these recovered resources, completing the recycling process and supporting a circular economy.
