04/04/2026
Happy Earth Month 🌎Practicing the 3 Rs is a is a simple way to make a difference—and recycling the right way makes an even bigger impact.
As we count down to Earth Day, we’re putting a twist on the game red light, green light 🚦 Starting with some serious red light items… from bad to worse.
🚨The Bad: there are some items that should not go in your curbside recycling in Monroe County, such as foam egg cartons, plastic berry containers, and any items made from black plastic.
🚨🚨Even Worse: Tanglers like clothing, hoses, and plastic bags wrap around sorting equipment at the recycling center, causing equipment failure. Food and liquids can ruin a good batch of recyclables, attract vectors to recycling facilities, and are just gross for workers to handle.
🚨🚨🚨The Ugly: Vapes, sharps and needles, propane tanks, rechargeable and lithium batteries pose serious fire and environmental hazards if not properly disposed. These items are downright dangerous and should NEVER be put in trash or recycling.
To find a complete list of proper disposal outlets throughout the county including the Monroe County WM ecopark, visit monroecounty.gov/ecopark.
