Keep it clean or trash it: how to recycle right

This Earth Day, commit to Recycle Right — the key to keeping recycling environmentally and economically sustainable in our community. Here’s a shortcut of what to put in your curbside container: only clean, dry and empty paper, bottles and cans.

What gets trashed instead of recycled?

Plastic bags or films (they get caught in machinery that sorts the curbside recycling but can be brought to collection points at retailers like grocery stores); plastic hangers and “tanglers,” such as Christmas tree lights, hoses or electric cords; trash anything with food residue; and keep your clean/dry empties loose — never bag your recyclables.

– Stephanie Kissinger, Waste Management