Recycling Tips from Orange County Solid Waste Management
Indulge in the Zero-Waste Move-out
If You Are Moving:
You may have items you don’t want but are still usable by others, too hazardous to throw out, or are readily recyclable. The Orange County landfill is not the place for them either. Wearable clothing, used but usable furniture, old cell phones, blown televisions, obsolete computers, books, bicycles, class notes, even bug spray and dead batteries can all be diverted, recycled or reused!
Recycle all cans, bottles and clean dry paper including newspapers, phonebooks, glossy magazines, envelopes, notes, junk mail, cereal boxes. Townhomes and most apartment complexes have recycling available. If you are moving out, leave recyclables behind in the blue carts, not in trash bags. Make sure not to put them in plastic bags.
Recycle #2 or #5 plastics that are not bottles at dropoff sites in the big purple dumpsters.
Corrugated Cardboard Boxes: Except for pizza boxes, corrugated cardboard (the kind with a wavy inner layer) is banned from dumpsters in Orange County.Guidelines for Recyclers: Do not put recyclables in plastic bags or any trash in the recycling containers. No ceramics, mirrors, plates or window glass with glass bottles. If the recycling carts at your apartment complex are full, take properly sorted recyclables to one of the eleven recycling drop-off sites located around the county. Site locations and what they accept are on our web site: www.orange.nc.us/recycling.
Usable items such as clothes, furniture, books, and building materials, including shelving boards, are needed by our various local charitable organizations. Clean, wearable clothing and small working household appliances can be donated to the PTA’s at one of their drop-off locations: Jones Ferry Road in Carrboro and at the South Elliott Road store in Village Plaza in Chapel Hill, 8:30 am to 6:00pm, (Wed-Sat.); Club Nova Thrift Shop at 103 W. Main Street, Carrboro 9am to 5pm M-F; or Orange Congregations in Mission at 300 Millstone Drive off Old NC 86 in Hillsborough, M-F 9am to 4:30pm and Saturday from 9am to 1pm. Unwanted but usable household items but not clothing can also be left at the “Salvage Sheds” at the Eubanks Road, High Rock Road, Walnut Grove Road and Ferguson Road convenience centers.
To donate reusable large furniture, household items and fixtures call Habitat-for-Humanity’s Hand-Me-Ups Store in Durham at 403-8668 for pickup possibilities.
The Interfaith Council for Social Services needs canned or dry foodstuffs and personal care items. Contact them at 929-6380 x16. Drop off is at 110 West Main St., Carrboro Monday - Friday 9am-4pm.
Help your community save landfill space, reduce the toxicity of our waste stream and reduce your aggravation and expense when you move out or clean up! Call or email our office 968-2788, recycling@co.orange.nc.us.