What You Can and Cant Recycle. We recently got new recycling bins at the Lifehacker office, and suddenly realized no one knew all the rules about recycling. Design Of Liquid Retaining Concrete Structures Pdf Creator' title='Design Of Liquid Retaining Concrete Structures Pdf Creator' />We recently got new recycling bins at the Lifehacker office, and suddenly realized no one knew all the rules about recycling. Can you recycle plastic bags Do you. Guidelines and Standards for Tactile Graphics, 2010. Web Version February 2012. Developed as a Joint Project of the Braille Authority of North America and the. Can you recycle plastic bags Do you have to scrub out your containers What about paper towels Every major curbside recycling program takes clean paper and cardboard, metal cans, and plastic jugs and bottles. Beyond that, things get complicated. But some general rules apply. First, check your local requirements. Recycle by City has simple visual breakdowns for L. A., Chicago, Houston, Austin, Philadelphia, Flagstaff, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood. Otherwise find your citys sanitation department site. NYC and Phoenix have simple dodont guides. Dont Recycle Bubble padded envelopes. Wax paper. Dirty napkins, tissues, toilet paper, or paper towels. Glass thats not a bottle or jar. Photo paper Usually not recyclable, but it depends on the brand. Containers with a lot of food or liquid in them Empty and rinse them, but dont stress over it theyre cleaned at the facility. Do Recycle Pizza boxes Unless theyre heavily soaked in oil and solid waste, these are fine. Just throw out the wax liner, and put the tiny plastic table in the plastics bin. When in doubt, rip off the greasy part and throw it out. Paper with clear windows or staples. Recycle Somewhere Else Plastic bags They get caught in the recycling machines, and workers have to shut them off and pull out the bags. Most cities only allow rigid plastics. Instead, find a recycling center, store, or neighborhood program that accepts them. There are exceptions L. A. allows clean bags and other soft plastics. Clothing and textiles Look up drop off options. Motor oil Your city might require you to put it on the curb separately from all other trash. Batteries and electronics Take them to a donation center or a store like Best Buy. If you throw out your batteries, at least tape down the terminals to reduce the risk of fire. Appliances Best Buy accepts many of these too. Batteries with both terminals on the same side, like a 9. V or a 1. 2V battery, arent too common, Read more Read. Check Your Local Rules Including rules from the five biggest U. S. cities as examples. Glass Houston only takes glass at drop off centers. Plastics NYC and L. A. allow all rigid plastics Chicago only allows bottles. Houston has more complicated rules. Metals LA takes household metal Chicago and Houston dont. NYC, L. A., and Chicago take aluminum foil Houston and Phoenix dont address it online. Paper No dark paper in Houston. Paper cups, If theyre clean and empty, are allowed in NYC, but not L. A., Houston, or Chicago. Hardcover books Fine in L. A., but not NYC, Chicago, or Houston. Phoenix doesnt even take paperbacks. Styrofoam LA takes it Chicago, Houston, and NYC dont. Shredded paper In Chicago and Houston, youll need to find a drop off center. Alamos Game Farm California. Milk cartons In NYC, these go with other containers, not paper. Trash bags NYC takes container recycling in trash bags Chicago doesnt. Separation L. A., Houston, Phoenix, and Chicago take all residential recycling in one bin. NYC separates paper from other recyclables. Commercial recycling This is often handled differently than residential recycling, so it might come with its own rules. Ask your office manager or building manager.