Starting this week, the annual lid flips begin again. ACI staff wearing bright yellow vests will be opening trash bins and digging through our garbage to make sure we are sorting it correctly—recyclables in blue bins, organics in green bins, and garbage in gray bins.
These checks are required by State law to help reduce pollution generated by food waste in landfills, according to a City of Alameda Facebook post.
So what does go in each bin? The short list of no-no’s for the blue and green bins are as follows: No metal, glass, or plastic in the green bin (compost), and no personal hygiene items, Styrofoam®, or hazardous waste in the blue bin (recycling).
There’s a long color-coded list of what goes where at www.alamedasorts.com. Here are a few highlights, but please check the full list to be sure.
Green bin:
- Food waste (bread, cheese, cereal, coffee grounds, veggies, etc.)
- Facial tissue, used napkins, and paper towels
- Flowers, leaves, yard trimmings and waste
- Soiled take-out cartons and pizza boxes
Blue bin:
- Aluminum cans, foil, pans
- Beer and beverage bottles, cans, and cartons (empty)
- Bleach bottles (empty)
- Books
- Boxes (cardboard; large boxes must be flattened and cut)
- Plastic fruit baskets (labeled 1-7)
- Pots, pans, cookware (metal)
Gray bin:
- Balloons, binders, bubble wrap
- Diapers
- Dishware (bowls, plates, cups and glasses)
- Garden hoses, lightbulbs (no fluorescent)
- Mirrors
- Packing peanuts
- Pet feces
- Plastic bags (including zip-lock) and wrap
- Rugs and mats
- Sponges, straws, Styrofoam
- To-go coffee cups and food cartons (lined in plastic)
- Tupperware
These are not complete lists. Trash sorting can be a complicated process. For example, newspapers go into the blue recyclables bin—unless you spill some food or coffee on them, in which case they go in the green compost bin. Cosmetic containers with residue go in the gray trash bin, but empty aerosol hair spray cans go in the blue recyclables bin—residue or not.
Of course, after we have meticulously sorted our trash and lugged the bins out to the sidewalk for collection, people who pass by can—and sometimes do—toss anything and everything into the bins if they feel like it. Hopefully the trash inspectors keep that in mind during their checks.
“If [the garbage monitors] find bins with prohibited items (for example, if recyclables or food scraps are found in the trash, or if plastic or glass are found in the green organics bin), ACI will contact the customer so they can correct the issue going forward,” the City warned in a previous post about the process.
