Pierce County recycling program will no longer accept shredded paper, milk and juice cartons and plastic plant pots.
Those items are known to contaminate the recycling stream which prevents them from being made into something new.
The change affects both curbside and drop-off recycling locations. Tacoma, Ruston and Joint Base Lewis-McChord are not included in the Pierce County solid waste system although they are in the county.
“Our tips for keeping contamination out of your recycling cart are to recycle the right things," Ryan Dicks, Pierce County Planning and Public Works sustainable resources administrator said. "Don’t put things in the cart hoping they’ll be recycled."
The change comes after China stopped accepting most categories of recyclables in 2017. The United State had previously exported most of its recyclables to China for almost 20 years.
Now, recycling programs must manage the higher costs associated with processing and shipping recyclables to re-manufacturers in the U.S. and Canada.
Learn more about the changes at www.piercecountywa.gov/recycle.