Tis the holiday season, and that typically means a lot more household trash and waste, especially plastic bags, wrap and film used for eCommerce.
These items should not be placed in curbside recycling buckets or recycling containers because they can jam and damage the sorting equipment used at Burlington County’s recycling center. But that doesn’t mean residents can’t dispose of these materials in a sustainable way.
The Burlington County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling has opened a new plastic bag/film/bubble wrap drop-off site at the Burlington County Resource Recovery Complex to give residents a location where they can safely dispose of these plastics in a manner that’s safe and environmentally sound.
“The holidays are a wonderful time of the year, but we know that it’s also one with a lot of waste too,” said Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Tom Pullion, the liaison to the County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling. “We’d like to keep as much plastic out of our landfill as possible, and bringing plastic bags, film and bubble wrap to the drop-off at the Resource Recovery Complex is another way residents can help repurpose plastics.”
Clean plastic packaging labeld with “2” or “4” symbols, along with plastic grocery bags, bread bags, newspaper sleeves, salt bags, dry cleaning bags, cereal bags, ice bags, bubble wrap, case over wrap, plastic shipping envelopes (including Amazon mailers), and pallet wrap will be accepted at the County drop-off.
The Resource Recovery Complex is located at 22000 Burlington-Columbus Road in Florence. It is open weekdays from 7 AM to 5 PM and on Saturdays from 7 AM to noon. Residents bringing these materials should go to the Scale House.
The County will deliver plastics from the drop-off site to Trex, a company that manufactures composite decking and railing from recycled plastics. Trex also sponsors recycling contests for schools and community groups to capture plastic bags and films.
Some towns have also created drop-off sites for plastic bags and wrap at their municipal buildings or public works yards, so residents should check with their municipality if they’re looking for a more local drop-off location.
More than 10,000 pounds of plastic bags and film has already been recycled by Burlington County groups participating in Trex challenges.
“We’re thrilled that so many Burlington County towns, schools, volunteer groups and businesses have stepped up to participate in this plastics recycling initiative,” Pullion said. “It’s environmentally sound, helps save landfill space, and reduces the tipping fees towns pay to dispose trash.”
In addition to keeping plastic packaging and wrap out of curbside recycling, Burlington County residents are reminded not to recycle foil wrapping paper or plastic gift bags, bows and ribbons, aluminum foil food trays or pie tins, Styrofoam or single-use plastic, paper or foam plates, cups and cutlery. Plastic coated holiday cards, ones with photographs or musical, battery-embedded cards should also be kept out of curbside recycling containers.
For more tips on how to recycle right this holiday, check out the Burlington County Holiday Recycling Do’s and Don’ts to properly dispose common items found during this time of year.
Residents can also easily find information about recycling -- including schedules, paper shredding days and what materials are acceptable for curbside recycling – by downloading the Burlington County Recycle Coach App from the Apple or GooglePlay app stores.
For more information about proper disposal of electronics or other materials, call 609-499-1001 or email recycle@co.burlington.nj.us