Bar Wrappers are recycled through Terracycle.

Accepted items: Foil-lined energy bar, granola bar, meal replacement bar, protein bar, and diet bar wrappers

Best practices for recycling : Please make sure all excess food remnants have been removed. Items must also be completely dry.

What happens to the waste: Wrappers are melted into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products. Learn more about the recycling process.

Batteries are recycled through Battery Solutions. 

Accepted items: Alkaline, Zinc Carbon, Nickel Cadmium (NiCd), Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH), Lithium-ion, Lithium Primary, Mercury Batteries, Silver Oxide, Button Cells, and Lead Acid – Non-Spillable

Best practices for recycling: Please take large batteries or batteries with terminals to the Customer Service/Help Desk for safe handling. Batteries with terminals need to have terminals covered with tape.

What happens to the waste: Each battery is recycled differently. Learn more about the recycling process.

Cell phones are recycled through Secure the Call. 

Accepted items: Cell phones and their chargers

Best practices for recycling: Please erase any personal information, photos, and private data from old phones and remove cases. Please include chargers with cell phone. 

What happens to the waste: Cell phones are donated to those in high risk areas who may need quick access to 911. Learn more about the recycling process.

Compost is collected by private haulers, which vary by store. More on some of these partners below: 

Veteran Compost: This veteran-owned business turns food scraps into high quality organic compost in MD, DC, and VA. They are the only vermicomposting (commercial worm composting) operation in Maryland and are 100% Wind Powered.

Kitchen Harvest: Check out their operation!

Accepted items: All food waste including eggshells, coffee grinds & plastics that say ‘compostable’ or ‘biodegradable’, plus any item from Naked Lunch (food containers, cups, napkins, and utensils)

What happens to the waste: These items become compost that’s ready for your farm, garden, lawn, and/or landscaping!

Food Squeeze Pouches are recycled through Terracycle.

Accepted items: Adult and baby food squeeze pouches and caps

Best practices for recycling: Please make sure all excess food remnants have been removed. Items must be completely dry.

What happens to the waste: Food squeeze pouches are melted into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products. More on the recycling process here and here.

Glasses are recycled by Alaffia, Lions Club, or other local charities.

What happens to the waste: Alaffia collects glasses and employs an optometrist in Togo, Africa to correctly fit and distribute them to the visually impaired. Normally, a pair of glasses can cost up to 4 months of wages. Alaffia has collected and distributed over 14,200 pairs of glasses. The Lions Recycle for Sight program has volunteers who clean, sort by prescription strength and package the glasses. Recycled glasses are then distributed to people in need in low & middle income communities.

Natural Cork is recycled through ReCORK. 

Accepted items: Natural cork only (no synthetic cork)

What happens to the waste: ReCORK grinds the cork and uses it to make new sustainable items like yoga blocks, surf traction pads, and soles for shoes. Learn more about the recycling process.

Plastic is recycled through Integrated Waste Analysts.  

Accepted items: Bubble wrap, plastic/cling wrap, and bread, cereal, English muffin, grocery, and Ziplock bags

Best practices for recycling: Please make sure all excess food remnants have been removed. Items must be completely dry.

What happens to the waste: Plastic is shipped to a plastics processing plant, where it’s broken apart and shredded into flakes or pellets. Manufacturers of plastic goods then melt them down into new products like plastic lumber, containers for non-food products, compost bins, and more!

Snack Bags are recycled through Terracycle.

Accepted items: Family-size and individual snack/chip/pretzel/savory snack bags.

Best practices for recycling: Please make sure all excess food remnants have been removed. Items must be completely dry.

What happens to the waste: Snack bags are melted into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products. Learn more about the recycling process.

We usually host our Denim Drive in the spring. Please only recycle denim during the published dates.

Accepted items: All types of denim including colored, embellished, and printed; all articles are included as well – pants, jackets, shirts, skirts, etc.

Best practices for recycling: Please only bring clean, dry denim for recycling. Stores like Madewell, H&M, and Levi’s often provide year round denim recycling.

What happens to the waste: Blue Jeans Go Green™ recycles all denim into UltraTouch™ Denim Insulation and distributes it to charitable organizations for use in community housing projects.

We host our Holiday Lights Recycling Drive in the winter. Please only recycle lights during the published dates.

Accepted items: All holiday lights, working or not-working

Best practices for recycling: Please remove lights from bags and place in designated Holiday Lights recycling bin. 

What happens to the waste: Capitol Asset Recycling collects all lights, and then breaks them down through smelting or shredding to recover raw commodities. These raw commodities are then used to create roofing and construction materials, piping, car batteries, other electronics, lead wheel weights, flatware, jewelry, and more!