Recycling in Winston-Salem

The Recycle Today program provides weekly recycling collection to single-family households, multi-family households and some small businesses. Curbside collection is performed by a private contractor, Waste Management. 

Materials collected consist of newspaper, magazines, telephone books, junk mail/office paper, chipboard, corrugated cardboard, glass jars and bottles, all plastic bottles, aluminum beverage cans, steel food and beverage cans, and aerosol cans. Refer to Preparing Materials. Paper products must be separated from commingled (or co-mixed) glass, plastic, steel, and aluminum products. Bins must be at the curb by 6:00 a.m. on collection day.

The collection trucks have two compartments: one for paper items; the other for commingled items. The recyclable materials are transported to Recycle America, a Materials Recovery Facility, where they are separated, baled, and prepared for market. Ultimately, those recyclables will come back in the form of new products.

The City also provides an opportunity for residents to drop-off recyclable materials at the Hanes Mill Road Landfill, at no charge. Additionally, nine (9) drop-off sites for corrugated cardboard are provided using select Fire Stations throughout the city. Through a contract with Forsyth County, the City manages the two (2) Forsyth County Drop-off Recycling Centers.

Recycling is the right economic and environmental choice. Recycling provides these benefits: INCREASES the life span of landfills; SAVES money, natural resources and energy; REDUCES air and water pollution; CREATES jobs and market demand for recyclable products. Any way that you look at it, recycling is the right thing to do!

Definitions of Recycling Terms

CHIPBOARD - paperboard packaging for food and other miscellaneous products, such as cereal, cracker, pasta and other food packages; paper towel and toilet tissue rolls; detergent, facial tissue, shoe boxes, etc. Chipboard is usually brown or gray on the inside and does not include boxes with waxed, aluminum or plastic coatings, such as milk, juice, frozen food cartons.

COMMINGLED PRODUCTS - co-mixed items; recyclable items that are mixed inside the recycling container consisting of plastic, glass, steel, and aluminum containers.

CONTAMINATION - occurs when an unacceptable item is placed into a recycling container. Contamination hinders and sometimes ruins otherwise good recyclables, costs money, and must be transported to the landfill.

MULTI-FAMILY HOUSEHOLD - a building containing more than one dwelling unit, such as apartments, condominiums, and town houses.

PAPER PRODUCTS - recyclable items consisting of newspaper, magazines, junk mail and office paper, telephone books, chipboard, and corrugated cardboard.

RECYCLABLE - means that the used item can be used as a raw material to make new things. It does not mean that the item was made from recycled materials or can be recycled in your community.

RECYCLED - means that new products or packaging have been made from used materials.