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Residential Recycling Program

Residents of single family homes or small complexes (up to 10 units) can recycle by using a purple container provided by the City.

Recyclables are collected each week on your trash collection day.

What can be recycled
These items CAN be recycled:
  These items CANNOT be recycled:

Aluminum, steel and tin cans Includes cans for soda, soup, beer, beans, fruit or vegetables or any other can that is made of aluminum, steel or tin.

Beverage containers Includes bottles for water, milk, soft drinks, wine, beer or any other bottle that is made of plastic or glass. Please include caps.

Cardboard Includes boxes used for moving and shipping or any other box made of corrugated cardboard.

Empty paint and aerosol cans Be sure these cans are empty and dry.

Film Plastic Includes bags for groceries or dry cleaning.

Glass jars Includes jars for jams or jelly, spaghetti sauce, olive oil, pickles, preserves or any other jar made of glass.

Mixed paper Includes paper used for junk mail, catalogs, cereal boxes, tissue boxes, milk cartons, telephone books, magazines, juice boxes, newspapers or paper used for computer printing.

Plastic containers (#1 through #7) Includes containers for peanut butter, mayonnaise, shampoo, yogurt, margarine, CDs or any other plastic container marked with the #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 on the bottom. Please include lids.

Clean Polystyrene (Styrofoam® ) Includes Styrofoam® cups and containers, packaging, such as Styrofoam® eggshell cartons and block packing and Styrofoam ® clamshell packaging. Styrofoam® packaging peanuts are not recyclable, but they are reusable.

Cans or bottles with poisonous contents Includes containers for pesticides and insecticides. Disposable diapers

Fast food containers Includes pizza boxes or other containers soiled with grease.

Glass in forms other than bottles or jars Includes glass used for windows, pyrex, light bulbs, mirrors, plates or cups.

Paper in thin form or soiled Includes paper used for pets, tissues, paper towels or napkins.

Polystyrene Peanuts Styrofoam ® packaging peanuts are not recyclable, but they are reusable. Many mailing and packaging stores accept donations.

Yard waste The City of Long Beach provides free composting workshops the third Saturday of every month.

Set out instructions:


Rolling Recycling Cart
FAQs

All recyclables except for motor oil and motor oil filters must be placed inside the cart for collection. (For motor oil and motor oil filter collection instructions Click HERE.) Remember to leave two feet of space between your recycling and trash carts.
How can I recycle used motor oil and filters?

Now you can recycle used oil and used oil filters in Long Beach by doing one of the following:

  • Call (800) RECYCL2, or use the ONLINE FORM to schedule a used oil pickup or to request used oil containers and filter bags.
  • Motor oil and filters will be collected only after you have requested a pickup.
  • On your scheduled used oil collection day, place the containers next to your purple recycling cart for collection.
  • Motor oil MUST be in a special container for curbside collection.
  • DO NOT LEAVE MOTOR OIL OR FILTERS OUT UNLESS YOU HAVE REQUESTED A PICKUP.

You may also take used oil in your own containers to a certified used oil collection centers.
Yard waste
  Composting
Green waste from your yard and garden accounts for approximately 25% of the refuse being hauled from your home each week. By composting, you can improve your soil for a more productive vegetable or flower garden, and help your community at the same time.
Grasscycling
Grasscycling is a simple and natural approach to lawn care that saves time, money and other resources like landfill space.

Recycling Centers

As an alternative to having your recyclables picked up, you can take them to one of these recycling centers:
 

CalMAX is a free, online materials exchange service designed to help businesses, organizations, local governments, industry, schools, and individuals find markets for nonhazardous materials that might otherwise be discarded.

To find out if CalMAX services can benefit you or your oganization, click HERE.

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb Recycling

Broken fluorescent light bulbs are hazardous waste, and should be taken to a household hazardous waste collection event, or to a HHW disposal location.

You can also recycle expired, unbroken fluorescent light bulbs at the following stores:

Phone book recycling

Here are three ways to recycle your old telephone books:

  1. If you receive residential recycling service, place old telephone books in your recycling cart.
  2. Take them to one of these drop-off locations:
    • CSULB Recycling Center, 600 Atherton Blvd
    • Long Beach Conservation Corps, 340 Nieto
    • Good Earth Recycling, 2005 Bixby Road
  3. If you're a business with 50 or more phone books, call the Conservation Corps of Long Beach at (562) 986-1249 for a free pick-up.

Holiday Schedule

Refuse and Recycling Collection
Refuse and recycling are collected on all holidays except Christmas and News Year's Day. When Christmas and News Year's Day fall on a weekday, collection for the Holiday and the remainder of that week will be delayed one day, ending Saturday.

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Beverage Containers
  Californians recycle nearly 60% of their beverage containers. But that means that more than 4 out of every 10 bottles and cans get trashed, instead of being recycled! Remember to recycle all your beverage containers.
  Buying recycled
Buying reycled-content products and items in recyclable packaging is important for sustainability.

WASTE		 E-waste
Old computers, televisions, printers and so forth may contain substances which are harmful unless disposed of correctly. The easy and free way to dispose e-waste is to bring it to one of Los Angeles County's HHW and
E-Waste Roundup Events or permanent collection centers.

 
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