As stewards of our planet, we must do everything we can to prevent waste and conserve resources. At the Co-op Recycling Center, we help you do your part by accepting a huge assortment of items that you cannot put in your curbside recycling carts and provide an option for those who do not have that service. Together we can stop making more landfills and start making something out of our waste!

If you have any questions concerning recycling at the Co-op, check the recycling office for the recycler on duty or go to Customer Service in the store.

Did you know? The natural corks that seal wine bottles are sourced from cork trees in the Mediterranean that are quickly being devastated. The Co-op is working with Cork Re-Harvest.Org to help salvage this precious resource for use in flooring tiles, building insulation, packaging materials and post consumer goods. Oregonians can take pride in the fact that Willamette Valley Vineyards was the first winery in the world to receive certification from the Rainforest Alliance for using FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) corks and for recycling them right here in Corvallis. More info at: www.corkreharvest.org

Please check this web page often for recent updates on what the Co-op accepts at the recycling center. Changes in the recycling industry happen often lately!

Commingled Container

Paper products
Mixed paper, newspapers, flattened cardboard, open junk mail (with sensitive information removed), magazines, catalogs, phone books, cereal & shoe boxes, paper bags, paper egg cartons. No toweling, tissues or waxy, plastic or food-contaminated paper, please.

Aseptic containers
Soup, juice, soy milk containers are examples of this composite material made of various layers of plastic, metal & paper. Must be clean and have all plastic removed. We do have a bin for ice cream & other freezer containers that touch food.

Metals
Clean aluminum and tin cans, pie plates, trays and foil, empty aerosol cans, pots and pans, and metal lids. Bottle caps are too small and need to go in the designated bucket on the fence.

Plastics
No PVC #3 plastics accepted. Accepted in comingled: clean plastic bottles, tubs, jugs, jars, buckets & nursury pots (no dirt). Lids must be removed.

Glass Container

All colors of glass (no need to separate different colors).
Please remove lids from the bottles and jars and place in the commingled container.

Metals
All metals are currently accepted, even if they have small amounts of plastic on them (e.g. metal appliances, irons, hangers, bottle caps, clean car parts, etc.)

If you have large metal appliances without freon (i.e. stoves, dryers, car parts), you can take the material to Scrapping For Fun, 541-990-6363 (No hazardous fluids)

Freezer Board Carts

Ice cream and freezer containers that touch food, such as fish sticks or frozen juice with metal removed. Please make sure all food and plastic is removed. Note: No paper soda cups, coffee cups or chinese take-out boxes. These products cannot be broken down.

Large White Bags    ALL PLASTICS MUST BE VERY CLEAN!

Bags for soft plastics:
Film and plastic bags are accepted but must be separated and placed in the appropriate white bags:

• Transparent plastics bag (completely transparent, i.e. NO color or tint and CLEAN)
• Non-transparent plastics bag (everything else)

Bag for hard plastics:
All plastics going in this bin do not need to have a number on them to be recycled at this time. The one number we cannot accept is #3. We can take #7, unless it is compostable. No compostable plastics in the hard plastic recycling please (it will cause problems with the machines)*! Failure to follow these guidelines may result in loss of this service for the Co-op, so please be careful.

Bag for agricultural plastics:
Colored twine, garden pots and trays. No sheets of plastic or tarps for now. All materials must be clean.

*A note on compostable containers:
We currently cannot accept compstable containers and for this reason it is important that you check the #7 plastics since some of these are compostable. It is not alsways easy to discern which ones these are. Some clues may be a green stripe towards the bottom, the brand EcNow, or other 'green' sounding names. If you have any questions, contact the recycling coordinator, Scott at 753-3115 ext. 357.

Synthetic rubber corks can be recycled in our bins for hard plastics.

Corrugated Cardboard Containers

All types of cardboard except the waxed or glossy finish kind—these go in the commingled container. Please flatten your cardboard. These three cardboard containers are located just outside the fenced area to the west.

Bring to Customer Service in Store

Printer ink cartridges:
The Co-op has a box near Customer Service at each store to leave your computer printer ink cartridges. If you want your ink cartridge to be refilled, you can fill out an envelope and drop it in the Rapid Refill Ink station at either store. They will return it to the Co-op for you to pick up.

Expanded Polystyrene   **Must be dry and clean**
(EPS or “Styrofoam”)

IMPORTANT: It MUST be very clean.

Accepted from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Accepted: Block syrofoam, wraps, LD and "egg crate" foam.
Not accepted: Packing peanuts. NOTE: OSU Campus Freight collects these for reuse. Drop them off at the east rollup door at 644 SW 13th St between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.

Note: Please make an appointment to drop off large appliances. Call Customer Service at 541-753-3115 a few hours ahead of time.

List of local recycling sources for materials not accepted by Allied Waste and the Co-op here.

Much of this page's information is also available on our Co-op Recycling Center Brochure

Allied Waste:
Provider of our local curbside recycling and host of special recycling events:
http://corvallis.disposal.com

PLC Recycling Centers:
Where we take our EPS ("Stryofoam")
www.plcrecycling.com

Plastic:
Most of our plastic goes to Agriplas in Brooks, Oregon. www.agriplasinc.com

Paper:
www.paperrecycles.org

Cardboard:
http://papertrail.com/
cardboard_recycling.htm

General recycling info and tips on reusing:
www.recycling4live.com/

Co-ops & Community
working together to keep the planet green

According to EPA research, food scraps, paper, and plastic made up 58% of the waste the United States generated in 2006. These things can all be recycled! Try these ideas instead of adding them to the landfill:

• Set up a compost bin in your yard! Allied Waste offers free bins with services.

• Stop ordering food to go, or order in and use your own containers.

• Audit your trash... how much of that stuff really can’t be recycled? Are you stuck in a routine?

• Buy in bulk & bring your own containers.

• Avoid putting produce in new plastic bags. Use your own bags from home, if you really need them.

• Get involved in the community. Help a friend or business set up their recycling systems.