With expanding markets for recycled material there are ever increasing items Minnesotans can recycle. A material is recyclable when there is someone who will collect it, someone who makes it into something useful again, and someone to buy the recycled product. It is important to check with your city or county to find out what exactly is recyclable in your community. You can do so by clicking on our “How Do I Recycle” page.

Items which are typically recycled in Minnesota include…

-food and beverage cans
-food and beverage bottles and jars
-plastic bottles and jugs
-newspapers and inserts
-magazines and catalogues
-junk mail
-mail, office and school papers
-cardboard boxes
-Computer Monitors and TV’s

• This list is not correct for all communities in MN, see “How do I recycle?” page for most accurate information in your community.

Other Items Recycled in Minnesota…
-Scrap metal
-Cereal, cake mix, pasta shoe, pasta, and cracker boxes,
-Cardboard boxes
-Boxes from toothpaste, medications, and other toiletries
-Shredded paper
-Batteries
-Plastic shopping bags
-Shingles
-Shoes & clothes
-Mattresses
-Carpet
-Plastic garden pots
-Compact fluorescent bulbs and fluorescent bulbs
-Appliances
-Electronic items like computers, pda’s, cell phones
-Ink and toner cartridges
-Motor Oil and filters

What do the recycling symbols and recycled content material symbols mean?

The recycling symbol of three arrows in a triangle is generically used…
• By itself, the symbol does not provide information about a product’s “recyclability” or give you details about a particular type or amount of recycled content in a product. Look for more substantial claims about what the symbol means on a product or its packaging.
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offers a substantial amount of guidance to manufacturers, retailers and marketers on environmental advertising and marketing practices.
• Consumers can get a better handle on understanding the terms by reading Sorting Out “Green” Advertising Claims, written by the FTC and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
source: Recycled Paper News

In 1988, the Society of the Plastics Industry introduced a coding system for plastics, the SPI Resin Identification Code. This code was intended to help consumers and recyclers identify the six main types of plastic resins that are found in products and packaging.

Although the symbol they chose incorporates the “chasing arrows,” this symbol does not mean that a package or product is “recyclable” or made with recycled content.

There is a lot of consumer confusion about what kinds of plastics are recyclable. The best guidance you can get is finding out what is accepted for recycling by your recycling program, they will be able to explain what they collect. A material isn’t really “recyclable” unless there is someone who will collect it, and a party who can use it to make something from the collected material.
Source: MPCA, http://www.pca.state.mn.us/oea/rpdir/symbols.cfm