Curbside recycling collection in the City of Pittsburgh currently does not accept plastic in shapes other than bottles and jars. Other plastic items such as yogurt tubs, food storage boxes, lids from jars or tubs, blister packs, and frozen-food plates cannot be placed in curbside recycling. (They are considered contaminants, so if too many such items are in a load, the whole load has to be recycled because it is too time-consuming to hand-separate the recyclable from non-recyclable items.)
Reimagined Recycling has stepped in to close this gap by collecting items of any shape made from polypropylene, the plastic with “5 PP” in the triangular symbol on the bottom. They also accept containers made from high-density polyethylene with symbol “2 HDPE”. The plastic containers will be shredded and made into new products and artwork.
Reimagined Recycling holds collection events every few months. Follow them on Instagram or Facebook to stay informed!
Learn more about what can and can’t go in Pittsburgh curbside recycling, and where to recycle things that can’t, at Recycle This Pittsburgh!