December 16, 2024

Stop the tangle: Help Austin’s recycling efforts

By Michael Taylor

20 percent of the material that is collected in Austin’s blue recycling carts can’t be recycled curbside. Contamination occurs when we put non-recyclable materials or trash into our blue recycling carts, which can cause major issues later on at the recycling facility. One of the largest contaminants? “Tanglers

Tanglers are materials that physically cause tangling issues in the recycling process. These include items like plastic bags, trash bags, garden hoses, strings of lights, power cords, clothing, rope and other long, flexible items.

Here’s how it works: Items from your blue recycling cart are sent to a large sorting facility, where machines with gears and cogs move at high speeds to sort the materials. When tanglers, such as plastic bags or garden hoses, get mixed in, they become tangled in the gears. This leads to delays and even standstills in operations, as employees must now shut down the machinery in order to remove the items. It’s a tangled mess!

You can make a difference by keeping tanglers out of your blue recycling carts. If you see an item that is made of flexible, stretchy or long material, take a second to ask, “Could this material/item get wrapped around the gears of a machine?” If the answer is yes, don’t put it in your blue cart.

Keep these tanglers out of the blue recycling cart:

Plastic bags, trash bags, plastic film & wrap	What do I do with it? Some local retailers and stores accept these items for recycling— check our What Do I Do With tool to find a location near you.
Garden hoses	What do I do with it? Visit the Austin Reuse Directory to find a local organization that will accept these items for reuse or recycling, or place in your trash cart.
Strings of lights & electrical cords	What do I do with it? Drop these items off at the Recycle & Reuse Drop-off Center to be recycled or disposed of safely.
Clothing & Textiles	What do I do with it? Visit the Austin Reuse Directory to find a local organization that will accept these items for reuse or drop these items off at the Recycle & Reuse Drop-off Center to be recycled.
Rope	What do I do with it? Visit the Austin Reuse Directory to find a local organization that will accept these items for reuse.