Dakota County Newsletter - Fall/Winter 2024 - Go Green

Recycling made easy

Reducing landfill waste made simpler

Dakota County residents can feel confident that recycling works and is worth it. Items like cardboard, paper, bottles and cans can all be placed in your home recycling cart, so they can be turned into new products rather than be thrown away.

Recycling represents about 55 percent of municipal solid waste generated in the county. In 2023, that included more than 75,000 tons of paper, 14,000 tons of glass and 4,800 tons of plastic.

All haulers servicing Dakota County are required to accept a basic list of recyclables from their customers. This makes recycling consistent and easy for you. It is important to recycle right because it is illegal for haulers to take items in your recycling cart to a landfill or incinerator.

Recycling doesn’t stop at the curb. Once picked up, these materials go to a local sorting facility where they are sorted by people and machines. They are brought to various places to be turned into new products:

• Paper and cardboard: Paper mills, including one in St. Paul, mix paper and water to make a pulp. It is then flattened, dried and rolled into new boxboard. The boxboard is used to make cereal and cracker boxes.

• Cartons: Milk and juice cartons are sent across the border to Wisconsin to make material for new paper products.

• Metal cans: Recycled cans are made into new products like wire, beams and parts for cars and appliances. These are transported to foundries and steel mills throughout the Midwest.

• Glass bottles and jars: Clear glass is sent in-state to make new food and beverage bottles. Colored bottles and jars are sorted at a Twin Cities company. They supply recycled glass to product manufacturers across the country.

• Plastic bottles, containers and jugs: Plastics are sorted, shredded and melted into pellets and sold to make a variety of goods. Milk jugs and detergent bottles are turned into decking, fencing and landscaping products in Minnesota. Plastics like drink bottles and produce containers get made into new bottles throughout the Midwest.

If you’re wondering about a specific item, use the online Recycling Guide at www.dakotacounty.us, search recycling guide.

Follow these easy rules to ensure your recycling gets recycled:

• Do not use plastic bags. Place recyclables loose in your recycling cart or in a paper bag.

• Empty and dry bottles, jars and containers. They don't have to be perfect — just free of most residue.

• Leave caps on containers.

• Empty and flatten boxes.

Recycle right and place these items in your recycling bins:

Paper

• Newspaper and inserts

• Magazines and catalogs

• Mail and office papers

Cardboard

• Corrugated cardboard

• Paperboard like cracker boxes

Cartons

• Milk and juice cartons

• Soup, broth and wine cartons

Metal cans

• Aluminum, tin and steel cans

Glass bottles and jars

Plastic bottles, containers, jugs

• Containers numbered 1, 2 or 5

• Soda, juice and water bottles

• Milk and juice jugs

• Margarine, cottage cheese, cream cheese and other tubs and lids

• Laundry detergent bottles and jugs

• Clear berry and produce containers

Helping you clean and declutter

Getting rid of unwanted household items can seem daunting, especially when you don’t know what to do with mattresses, microwaves and furniture. Getting rid of those things and more than 400 other household items doesn’t have to be a chore. Our online Recycling Guide can help take the stress out of decluttering.

The Recycling Guide allows people to search for items and learn how to dispose of them properly. Each search tells you if items can go in your home recycling cart or trash. You’ll also get information on donation opportunities, drop-off recycling locations and pickup services for larger, bulkier items such as mattresses.

The Recycling Guide also showcases local recycling events happening in your area, like document shredding events. With such a convenient resource at your fingertips, getting rid of your unwanted stuff in an environmentally friendly way has never been easier.

To view the Recycling Guide, visit www.dakotacounty.us and search Recycling Guide.