Co-Mingled Recyclables

We DO NOT accept recyclables that are in BLACK OR WHITE PLASTIC BAGS. In fact, avoid the use of plastic bags completely! Collect your clean recyclables in brown paper shopping bags, or cardboard boxes.

San Juan County shifted away from sorting recyclables a decade ago, as the industry shifted to co-mingled recycling, where you just throw everything (paper, plastic, steel, aluminum, glass) into one can. This reflected the move towards better and better “MRFs” or Materials Recovery Facilities—that use all kinds of high-tech machinery for sorting out all the recyclables. We currently ship our comingled recycling to a facility in Woodinville where our materials are sorted mechanically and by hand.

Here’s a complete list of what we will (and will not) accept: