Recycling Resources - Earth Stewards

For general recycling information, check out the website Earth911.com.  The “How to recycle” button at the top of the homepage provides guidance for a wide variety of items.  And the “Where to recycle” button helps you to find recycling centers and businesses near you.

Each jurisdiction in the DMV has different regulations regarding what types of plastics it accepts.  In general, neither Styrofoam (resin #6, polystyrene) nor plastic bags are recycled.  Eliminating as much plastic and single-use plastic as you can is the best approach. A recent article in “Science News” said that basically only #1 & #2 plastics are recycled- the others go into landfill (www.sciencenews.org/article/chemistry-recycling-plastic-landfills-trash-materials).

See links below for recycling in your area:

• DC: https://dpw.dc.gov/service/residential-recycling-collection

• Fairfax County, VA: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/publicworks/recycling-trash/plastic

• Montgomery County, MD: https://montgomerycountymd.gov/sws/programs/

Resin Types are the numbers in the recycle symbol on the container:

• 1- Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE)

• 2- High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)

• 3- Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)

• 4- Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)

• 5- Polypropylene (PP)

• 6- Polystyrene (PS)

• 7- Everything else, mixed plastic and other layers