Why This Event Matters

Not everything belongs in the curbside blue recycling bin nor have a home at any of our convenience centers. Materials like foam packaging and certain plasticsoften end up in the landfill simply because people don’t know where to take them.

We hope that Recycle the Unrecyclable gives Raleigh-area residents a place to responsibly dispose of these difficult materials while learning more about the realities of our recycling system.

What We Learned

Recycling systems can be hard to figure out and limited.

For example, #4 plastics were not recyclable through this event, even with help from several partners. Events like hopefully educate the community of gaps in our waste systems.

WHAT WE COLLECTED

Block Styrofoam – 30 lbs went to ReCollective

Books - 22 went to Wake County Public Libraries

X-Box 360 - 2, kept 1 to use as a DVD player :D

#5 Plastics – 100+ pieces went to ReCollective

Textiles – 64 lbs went to ReCollective

Batteries - 27 pounds or about 800+ household batteries

Laptops - 4 wiped and recycled

Random metals - 500 pounds recycled

‘Other stuff’ - 2 boxes handled by the awesome ReCollective team

#4 plastics - NOT RECYCLABLE

Partners Who Made It Possible

This event would not have been possible without our partners.

Special thanks to ReCollective, who helped provide responsible recycling pathways for some of the most difficult materials we collected.

Also thanks to Wake County Public Libraries, Wake County Justice Center and Wake County Solid Waste Services.

Community Impact

• Dozens of residents participated • Hundreds of pounds of materials diverted • Increased awareness about responsible recycling

Looking Ahead

We plan to continue expanding Recycle the Unrecyclable on an annual basis to provide more opportunities for residents to responsibly manage difficult materials.

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Community + Impact