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recycle austin

About Me

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Where to go in Austin to recycle?

The purpose of this page is to (1) list the places you can go to recycle in Austin and (2) blog about recycling in Austin. I put this page together because I wasn't finding one place on the Web that included everything I needed to know about recycling in the Live Music Capital of the World. The list below is a summary about what can be taken where for recycling. The blog includes additional information as well as news items. I hope you find it useful!

The list

For less "typical" recyclables such as computers and televisions, please contact the recycling provider to verify continued service. Let me know if there is a change in status!

appliances: The City of Austin Landfill's Recycling Diversion Center

batteries:
- car batteries: The City of Austin Landfill's Recycling Diversion Center
- other batteries: Precision Camera ; IKEA

bikes and bike parts: Yellow Bike Project

brush: curbside

building materials: Habitat for Humanity RE:Store

cans:
- aluminum: curbside; Ecology Action
- steel: curbside; Ecology Action
- tin: curbside; Ecology Action
- aerosol (empty!): curbside; Ecology Action

carpet pads: Designer Floors of Texas

cellphones: Ecology Action (only during bidness hours)

clothes: Goodwill

coat hangers: Curbside; your dry cleaner , Ecology Action

computers:
- Goodwill (if in working condition)
- Axcess Technologies (in any condition)
- Dell (in any condition; if working, will donate to someone in need; will accept any brand; may pick up)

glass:
- curbside
- Ecology Action

hazardous waste (i.e. paint, pesticides, chemicals, fuels...): Household Hazardous Waste Facility

household items: Goodwill

lightbulbs:
- flourescent: Household Hazardous Waste Facility ; Home Depot; IKEA

metal: curbside, Ecology Action

motor oil: Quick Lube

paper: (read here for more about paper recycling)
- bags: curbside; Ecology Action
- books (hard and soft cover)" Ecology Action (only during bidness hours)
- catalogs: curbside; Ecology Action
- corragated cardboard: curbside; Ecology Action
- junk mail: curside; Ecology Action
- newspaper: curbside; Ecology Action
- office paper: curbside; Ecology Action
- magazines: curbside; Ecology Action
- phonebooks: Ecology Action
- pressed cardboard (i.e. cereal boxes and egg cartons): single stream curbside, Ecology Action

peanuts: Mailbox Etc.

plastic:
- #1 bottles: curbside; Ecology Action
- #2 bottles: curbside; Ecology Action
- #1 thru #7: single stream curbside, Ecology Action
- bags: your local grocery store; Ecology Action ; curbside in some parts of town (experimental...)

printer cartridges: Ecology Action , Best Buy; Office Depot

refrigerators:
- if working, City of Austin (and they'll give you $35!)
- if not working, City of Austin Landfill's Recycling Diversion Center
- the appliance shop that delivers your new fridge may take your old one and recycle it (ask!)

running shoes: RunTex

television:
- Axcess Technologies (in any condition)

tires: Sears (for a $2 fee)

yard waste: curbside

NOT recyclable:
- Pyrex
- Crystal
- waxy paper (such as milk cartons)
- food or oil/grease stained packages (such as pizza boxes, take out boxes, although it has been reported that Ecology Action will take these...)


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My Interests

I'd like to meet:

Other folks interested in recycling.

My Blog

colossal collapse

Along with (national) home prices, the stock market, consumer confidence, and the political career of (former) Guv Blagojevich, prices for recycled raw materials have tanked. As of late December, the ...
Posted by on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:32:00 GMT

city council approves zero waste plan

According to the Austin Chronicle, the city recently approved a ZeroWaste plan. The goal of the plan is to greatly reduce the amount of waste that gets landfilled. Success is achieved by reducing per ...
Posted by on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 06:46:00 GMT

waste no time taking the zero waste survey

If you want to let the City of Austin know your thoughts about recycling, please go to this page:http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/0waste.htmAnd click the graphic "Take the zero waste survey" at the top....
Posted by on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:22:00 GMT

going gaga for GAGA

My pal Lisa and her pals have been running an art gallery/gift shop in South Austin now for several months called GAGA, short for Greater Austin Garbage Arts. They are on at 2214 South 1st Street (Op...
Posted by on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 06:50:00 GMT

recycle that damn tree!

Golly, it shore is easy to recycle your xmas tree in Austin! Just set it out (tinsel, lights, and star removed, of course) with your trash, and the city will pick it up as part your yard trimmings ser...
Posted by on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:28:00 GMT

big blue bins are working

According to this week's Austin Chronicle, the bins are working. Recycled waste capture is up 18.4 percent from the same period last year with a much lower recycling materials rejection rate (6.5 perc...
Posted by on Sat, 20 Dec 2008 10:14:00 GMT

phone books

Sometimes the best way to recycle is to avoid recycling at all. Take, for example, the phone book. Who under the age of (let's say...) 45 uses a freaking phone book? Isn't that why the God-of-your-cho...
Posted by on Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:56:00 GMT

green chocolate

Out perusing the East Austin Studio Tour yesterday and happened across a local chocolatier with the greenest of hearts. The chocolate is nothing but cacao and a wee bit of sugar, and that's it. And it...
Posted by on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:06:00 GMT

bag the bags

Grinding home from the daily grind yesterday evening, I heard Austin city council member Lee Leffingwell talk about an Austin program to decrease the use of plastic bags by 50 percent. He claimed succ...
Posted by on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:26:00 GMT

so, where o where did your computer go

On 60 minutes. It pays to pay attention to who's getting your electronics... Watch CBS Videos Online
Posted by on Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:43:00 GMT