5 Tips to Rescue Recycling in Prince William County

1. Don't put glass containers or other glass items in the regular recycling container. Look for special purple bins at the Prince William County Landfill and Balls Ford Road Compost Facility for glass bottles and jars recycling/repurposing.
2. Recycle plastic bottles and jugs (#1 and #2); place all other plastic containers in the trash.
3. Determine the right items to recycle and place them in the recycling container clean, dry and loose.
4. Don't place empty plastic bags or plastic bags with recycling in regular recycling containers. Take plastic bags back to grocery stores and other participating retailers to be recycled.
5. Use the new A to Z Disposal Guide for information on how to recycle, donate or dispose of items properly in Prince William County.

Contamination standards and the closing of the Asian export markets for some plastics has resulted in increased processing cost and limited to non-existent markets for several materials that were required to be recycled in the County. In April, the Prince William County Solid Waste Division revised its requirements for materials that should be recycled. The changes were made to help sustain recycling in our community.

This change affects all recycling containers, including residential curbside recycling bins, blue recycling trailers located throughout the County, recycling bins located at County Landfill and Balls Ford Road Compost Facility and Saturday collection sites provided by the County at Evergreen Fire Station and Nokesville school.

Several items, required in the past to be recycled, are no longer accepted because the market demand for these items has diminished substantially, or processing infrastructure in our region is non-existent. The most important changes for Prince William County residents, businesses and refuse haulers are the elimination of glass bottles and jars and elimination of plastic containers, tubs and buckets (usually numbered 3-7) from recycling collection.

Even though glass and some plastics have been removed from the acceptable list, many other materials remain on the list of items that are required to be recycled. Residents and businesses should continue to recycle cardboard, paperboard, clean paper, plastic bottles and jugs (#1 and #2) and aluminum and steel cans. To avoid contamination, all materials placed in recycling containers should be empty, clean, dry and loose. Do not place items in a plastic bag and do not put plastic bags in regular recycling containers for recycling.

The County now provides purple bins at the Prince William County Landfill and the Balls Ford Road Compost Facility for residents to deposit glass bottles and jars. This glass will be sent to a glass crusher in Fairfax County and will be used in construction projects. Prince William County residents may also use the glass drop center at the Fairfax County Recycling and Disposal Center which is located at 9850 Furnace Road in Lorton.