Residential Recycling Guide

• Cans
• Cartons
• Glass
• Plastics
• Plastic Bags
• Paper
• Polystyrene
• Scrap Metals
• Textiles

illustration of residential recycling set out for collection

To order your free City of San José Recycling
Guide in English, Spanish or Vietnamese, use the online
form on this website.

To locate a recycler for unusual items not found
within this list, try www.recyclestuff.org.
Or visit Santa Clara County’s Household
Hazardous Waste website to find out what to do with hazardous
materials.

See Santa Clara County’s Recycling
Guide for CRTs and Electronics (Excel file, 116 KB) for a current
list of electronics recyclers for each city in Santa Clara County.

Cans: empty and rinse cans.	Recycle	Garbage
Aerosol cans (empty)	Yes	No
Beverage cans	Yes	No
Can lids	Yes	No
Food cans	Yes	No
Paint cans (remove excess paint, let residue dry)	Yes	No
Pet food cans	Yes	No

Cartons: empty, rinse and flatten cartons.	Recycle	Garbage
Foil-wrapped beverage pouches	No	Yes
Frozen food packaging	No	Yes
Frozen juice cartons (cardboard portion)	No	Yes
Juice boxes and cartons	Yes	No
Milk and cream cartons	Yes	No
Plastic straws	No	Yes

Glass: empty and rinse bottles and jars. Lead wrapping and corks from wine bottles are garbage.	Recycle	Garbage
Blue glass bottles	No	Yes
Brown, clear and green glass bottles and jars (e.g., beverage bottles, food jars, wine bottles)	Yes	No
Ceramics	No	Yes
Coffee mugs	No	Yes
Cookware (e.g., PyrexTM)	No	Yes
Dishware	No	Yes
Fluorescent lights	Hazardous Waste
Glass art	No	Yes
Glasses, drinking	No	Yes
Light bulbs	No	Yes
Mirrors	No	Yes
Windows	No	Yes

Plastics: recycle all plastic labeled on or near the bottom with the numbers 1 through 7 inside a triangle or the "chasing arrows" symbol . Empty and rinse them first.	Recycle	Garbage
Baby wipe containers	Yes	No
Beverage bottles (e.g., soda, water)	Yes	No
Bleach and detergent bottles	Yes	No
Bubble wrap	No	Yes
Buckets (remove handles)	Yes	No
Credit cards	No	Yes
Disposable razors	No	Yes
Flower pots	Yes	No
Food containers (e.g., cottage cheese and margarine tubs, yogurt cups)	Yes	No
Hoses (e.g., car, garden, appliance)	No	Yes
Household cleaner bottles (empty)	Yes	No
Ointment and toothpaste tubes	No	Yes
Plastic WITHOUT numbers 1 — 7	No	Yes
Prescription bottles	Yes	No
PVC pipes or tubing	No	Yes
Shampoo bottles	Yes	No
Shoes	No	Yes
Straws	No	Yes
Swimming pools	No	Yes
Syringes, sharps	Hazardous Waste
Take-out and other food containers (polystyrene and plastic)	Yes	No
Tarps	No	Yes
Toys	No	Yes
Utensils	No	Yes
Webbing from lawn furniture	No	Yes

Plastic Bags: bundle plastic bags inside a plastic bag and knot the top.	Recycle	Garbage
Bread bags	Yes	No
Cellophane food bags (e.g., pasta, bagged salad, candy, cookies)	No	Yes
Dry cleaning bags	Yes	No
Frozen-food bags or pouches	No	Yes
Grocery bags	Yes	No
Newspaper bags	Yes	No
Plastic or wax liners from food packaging	No	Yes
Plastic wrap	No	Yes
Produce bags	Yes	No
Shopping bags	Yes	No

Paper: flatten all boxes and cartons. Tie shredded paper in a plastic bag. Staples, tape and plastic windows in envelopes can be recycled.	Recycle	Garbage
Blueprint paper	No	Yes
Books (no hardcovers)	Yes	No
Carbon paper	No	Yes
Carbonless paper (e.g., receipts)	Yes	No
Cardboard	Yes	No
Catalogs	Yes	No
Cereal and cracker boxes (remove liners)	Yes	No
Colored paper	Yes	No
Computer paper	Yes	No
Construction paper	Yes	No
Coupons	Yes	No
Egg cartons	Yes	No
Envelopes (plastic windows OK)	Yes	No
Envelopes (padded, plastic, Tyvek®)	No	Yes
Frozen food packaging	No	Yes
Gift wrap (no metallic/foil)	Yes	No
Junk mail	Yes	No
Magazines	Yes	No
Napkins and paper towels	No	Yes
Newspaper	Yes	No
Newspaper (dirtied with paint, pet waste, or food/grease)	No	Yes
Newspaper inserts and advertisements (glossy OK)	Yes	No
Paper bags	Yes	No
Personal hygiene products	No	Yes
Photographs, photo paper	No	Yes
Pizza boxes	No	Yes
Plastic or wax liners from food packages	No	Yes
Rubber bands	No	Yes
Shoe boxes	Yes	No
Shopping bags (remove handles)	Yes	No
Stickers (in sheets or rolls)	No	Yes
Take-out containers (paper)	No	Yes
Telephone books	Yes	No
Thermal fax paper	No	Yes
Tissue paper (e.g., gift wrap, dry cleaning)	Yes	No
Tissues	No	Yes
White office paper	Yes	No

Polystyrene (StyrofoamTM): empty and rinse foam containers. Tie foam packing peanuts in a plastic bag.	Recycle	Garbage
Cups and plates	Yes	No
Egg cartons	Yes	No
Foam packing (e.g., hard foam packing around computers or stereos)	Yes	No
Meat trays	Yes	No
Packing "peanuts"	Yes	No
Take-out and other food containers (polystyrene and plastic)	Yes	No

Scrap Metals: clean and dry small household appliances or pans. Call 535-3515 for information about recycling car parts and other metals.	Recycle	Garbage
Aerosol cans (empty)	Yes	No
Aluminum foil (clean)	Yes	No
Aluminum furniture (plastic webbing removed)	Yes	No
Aluminum pie pans	Yes	No
Appliances, small metal	Yes	No
Cast iron pans	Yes	No
Fuel tanks (e.g., helium, propane, gas tanks)	Hazardous Waste
Hangers (e.g., metal, wood, plastic)	No	Yes
Hoses (e.g., car, garden, appliance)	No	Yes
Keys	No	Yes
Metal lids and caps from glass bottles	Yes	No
Nails, screws, nuts and bolts	No	Yes
Paint cans (remove excess paint, let residue dry)	Yes	No
Pots and pans, metal	Yes	No

Textiles: If possible, donate textiles to charity. To recycle, tie fabrics in a clear plastic bag. Buttons and zippers can stay on clothing. No rags or textiles soiled with chemicals, oil, or paint.	Recycle	Garbage
Clean cotton, linen, polyester, rayon and wool fabrics (e.g., blankets, clothes, cloth diapers, rags, sheets)	Yes	No
Boots and shoes	No	Yes
Carpet and rugs	No	Yes
Disposable diapers	No	Yes
Down-filled items	No	Yes
Leather	No	Yes
Non-cloth accessories (e.g., earrings, belts)	No	Yes
Nylon	No	Yes
Pillows	No	Yes
Rubber	No	Yes
Stuffed animals	No	Yes
Vinyl	No	Yes