One of the most frequently asked questions we receive from Denver residents is “What type of plastics can I recycling in my purple cart?”  The answer is simple, but the explanation of why is a little more complicated.

All plastic bottles are accepted for recycling in the Denver Recycles program.  Don't worry about the numbers inside the recycling arrows on the containers.  Simply, check the neck. Bottles have a neck or opening smaller than the base of the container. Most bottles and jars also have a screw-on top (for example: milk, juice, soft drink, detergent bottles and peanut butter jars).  If you are unsure whether an item is a bottle, the screw top is a good rule of thumb and generally a good indicator that it is a bottle.  For example the big, bulk laundry detergent bottles that are square are considered bottles because they have a small screw top opening.  Remember to crush your plastic bottles to make more room in your cart for other recyclables.  Please, no plastic bags, cups, lids, tubs, trays or clear clamshell containers.

Unfortunately, all plastics are not created equally. Plastics vary greatly by their resin types and how they are manufactured.  There are also two common manufacturing processes: plastic bottles are “blow molded,” whereas, most plastic tubs are “injection molded.”  As a result of the different resin types, the different manufacturing processes, and the different mixes of chemical additives (dyes, plasticizers, UV inhibitors, softeners, adhesives and more) plastics melt at different temperatures, have different physical properties and as such need to be recycled differently. 

Once plastics are separated into their varying categories they must then be shipped to a recycler.  The distance to these plastic markets can be large and the cost to ship certain types of plastic to distant processing facilities may simply be more expensive than the material’s value.  Some markets are very limited and are overstocked with plastics for recycling. 

In Denver, we have access to reliable and stable markets for plastic bottles only.  While there are markets for some plastic tubs, they are currently unreliable and often expensive.  When you recycle the correct items in your Denver Recycles cart we guarantee that your materials will be recycled.  If we were to accept additional plastic containers like tubs, we can not be confident at this time in our ability to consistently recycle them.  As such, a decision was made not to add these items to our list of acceptable recyclables until the markets become more stable and we can guarantee that they get recycled.