Soon you can recycle more in your blue roll cart. Here is what is allowed in Lexington

The city of Lexington has been awarded a $1.8 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to expand its recycling program, the city announced Tuesday.

The grant will go towards upgrading equipment, which will expand the list of acceptable plastics to recycle. Currently the recycling center only accepts #1 and #2 plastic bottles, jars and jugs, but soonitems like yogurt containers, butter tubs and other similar plastics will be recyclable.

“With the new equipment, we will be able to recycle polypropylene, the second most widely produced commodity plastic,” Mayor Linda Gorton said in a press release. “There are solid resale markets for these materials. This is really good news in a city like ours that believes in the importance of recycling.”

The recycling center won’t be able to accept polypropylene products until 2026.

The grant is part of a $2.4 million award from the EPA aimed towards expanding the recycling infrastructure and waste management systems across Kentucky. The grant will also provide funding towards equipment to better sort approved plastics, which will lead to a higher market rate when the bales of plastic are sold, the city said.

“The federal funding allows us to purchase additional equipment, including a duel eject optical sorter, a robotic arm, conveyors, and a compressor,” Waste Management Director Tracey Thurman said in the release. “Overall, the grant funding is a great boost to recycling in Central Kentucky.”

The city will provide $100,000 toward staff time, a consulting firm to develop equipment specifications, construction oversight, and electrical contractors.

What items can I recycle in my blue roll cart in Lexington?

According to lexingtonky.gov/recycle, the items below are currently being accepted for recycling. And remember, never bag recycling. Items and materials should be put in the resident’s blue roll cart or recycling bin clean, dry and loose.

• Aluminum cans: soda and beer cans

• Steel cans, lids and canisters: canned food (labels can stay on); lids from spaghetti sauce, salsa and other glass food jars (lid separate from jar); metal canisters for coffee, tea or cookies

• Plastic screw top bottles, jugs and jars (caps on): soda and water bottles; milk jugs; liquid laundry detergent jugs; peanut butter jars

• Dry cardboard with packing material removed: moving boxes; shipping boxes; carry out/delivery pizza boxes (please throw away parts of the box with food residue or grease)

• Box board: gift boxes; shoe boxes; cereal boxes; toilet paper rolls; paper towel rolls; wrapping paper rolls; soda or beer boxes; tissue boxes; frozen food boxes; paper egg cartons; clean, paper takeout containers (plastic takeout containers are NOT accepted)

• Paper: office paper; magazines; catalogs; envelopes; newspaper; packing paper

• Cartons: milk; cream; juice; broth; wine (bladder removed); soup

• Brown paper: paper grocery bags; packing paper; kraft paper

• Glass bottles and jars, colored and clear: soda, beer and wine bottles; pasta sauce jars; salsa jars

In April 2022, Lexington reintroduced curbside paper recycling back into its recycling program after a three-year hiatus. Earlier this year Waste Management invested in a new baler to provide improved reliability and more efficient processing of bales, the city said.

Items you should never recycle in Lexington

The following items and materials are unwanted because they pose a risk to recycling plant workers and their equipment:

• Plastic bags, wrap and film (Several stores accept plastic bags for recycling.)

• Air pockets (often used for shipping)

• Hoses

• Bungee cords

• Batteries (Batteries can be recycled at the Electronic Recycling Center.)

• Electronics like TVs, computers, phones and more (These items can be recycled at the Electronic Recycling Center.)

• Compressed gas canisters (Return to the purchase location or hold for the next Household Hazardous Waste Event.)

• Shredded paper (Throw in green trash cart or bring to the next Paper Shred event.)

• Clothes (Several charities will accept clothing and other cloth items for reuse.)

• Chains (There is a special metal recycling dumpster located at the Recycling Center. Chains should not be put in curbside recycling carts or recycling dumpsters.)

• Medical waste (Place used needles and other sharp objects inside a sharps container (like a coffee can), seal it so it won’t come open and then dispose of the can with your household trash. Urine bags and medical tubing can be put in green trash carts after they are secured in garbage bags. Empty urine bags first.)

• Pyrex or plate glass

• Ceramics

• String lights (String lights can be recycled at the Electronic Recycling Center[ARP5] .)

• Styrofoam containers

• Clam shell packaging

• Disposable cups, hot or cold

• Aluminum foil, pie tins and baking tins

• K-Cup type pods

• Plastic yogurt cups, sour cream containers and other similar containers

• Wrapping and tissue paper