The City's Sanitation Division collects recyclable material generated by residents and small businesses.  Recyclables are collected on weekdays.* You are permitted to recycle one time, every other week. Beginning May 13, 2002, recycling will be collected every other week on your regularly scheduled trash collection day.  Residents with twice-a-week trash collection will have their recyclables collected on the first trash collection day of the week.

Recyclables and trash are not permitted out before 7:00 PM the night before collection or after 7:00 AM the day of collection. Recyclables should be kept separate from trash.

Presently, a pilot program is in effect in certain areas of the city.  This program permits once-a-week recycling on your trash collection day.  The areas included in this pilot program are:

Northwest Philadelphia

• Northwestern Avenue on the west side, up to but not including Broad Street on the east side.
• Stenton Avenue, Ivy Hill Road, and Cheltenham Avenue on the north side.
• Schuylkill River, Reading Railroad, and up to but not including Hunting Park Avenue on the south side.

Center City

• From Vine Street to Bainbridge Street (Vine Street not included)
• River to River

* On holidays, recycling and trash will be one day behind schedule for the remainder of the week.

What can I recycle?
Philadelphia residents can recycle mixed paper and commingled materials.

Mixed paper includes:

• Newspapers including inserts
• Junk mail
• Envelopes with or without windows
• Telephone books
• Magazines
• Catalogs
• Cereal type boxes - like cookie, cracker, cake mix without liners and gift boxes
• Home office paper
• Stationery and other clean paper

Place mixed paper beside your recycling bin in a paper bag or tied with a string.

Commingled materials include:

• Metal cans
• Aluminum cans
• Empty aerosol cans without caps
• Empty paint cans air dried
• Paint can lids separated from the paint cans
• Glass bottles and jars

Place these items in your city recycling bucket or bin.

The City does not collect Plastic items, but provides plastic drop-off sites through the Philadelphia Partnership Recycling Program. We also provide a drop off for household hazardous waste products.

Recycling locations for other materials may be found here:

• Automotive Products Recycling Locations
• Buy Recycled Program
• Construction Materials / Land Clearing Debris

 Click here for recycling items.

How do I prepare recyclables?

• Rinse out all metal, aluminum and glass containers.
• Please do not place recyclables in plastic bags - rain or shine.
• You can crush your cans to save space.
• Put your mixed paper in a bag or tied with a string and place next to your recycling bin or bucket.
• Please do not put plastics or trash in recycling containers.

When do I recycle?
Click here for recycling calendar.