November 24, 2025
Recent assessments of City of Houston curbside recycling have reported a contamination rate in the range of 40%. This largely has to do with many residents not understanding what is accepted for curbside recycling, or 'bagging' items inappropriately. Curbside recycling could be more efficient and cost effective if more citizens understood what items should and should NOT be put in curbside collections. When inappropriate items are included in curbside pickups, it increases the sorting and separation required; this means additional time and money. The City can actually earn income from recycling collections, but NOT when the contamination rate is so excessive.
The City of Houston has produced flyers (see below) and updated their website information to better inform citizens on how to "recycle right" for curbside collections. Some basic rules for curbside carts: no plastic bags or plastic film, no plastic #6, no styrofoam or similar plastic foam, no yard waste or trash, no batteries or electronics, no shredded paper, and no food or liquids. Do NOT bag items in plastic bags and put into the cart, keep all items loose to facilitate sorting.
Tips on loading the recycling cart: Do not overfill your recycling cart so that the lid doesn't fully close. If rainwater gets into the cart, it can spoil and contaminate cardboard and paper. Also, fully flatten cardboard boxes to conserve space in the recycling trucks. Flattening boxes completely conserves more space than 'crushing' or 'smashing' boxes. This allows the collection trucks to carry more material per trip.
Please see the links below that explain what should and should not be put in curbside collections.
Flyer on what NOT to put in City of Houston curbside recycling: no_contamination (houstontx.gov)
City of Houston curbside recycling website: Curbside Recycling (houstontx.gov)
Comprehensive Services Guide for City of Houston curbside recycling, yard waste, recycling drop offs, etc.: trashfacts.pdf (houstontx.gov)
There are other options for recycling items such as electronics, batteries, etc., such as store drop off sites. One search tool for drop off sites is Recycling Center Search - Earth911.com
Plastic bags and plastic film recycling:
Plastic bags and plastic film are typically NOT allowed in City of Houston curbside recycling, but CAN be recycled at some store drop off sites. Plastic bag types that are commonly accepted are #2 HDPE, #4 LDPE, regular grocery sacks, bread bags, and zip lock bags. Make sure that bags are dry, clean, and completely free of food residue. Check the websites below for further details on proper plastic bag recycling and drop off locations.
This site has a search engine for plastic bag/film drop off locations: Recycling Center Search - Earth911.com
The City of Houston also has an "All Plastics" program, but this requires dropping off at designated sites, and the Sierra Club has concerns about this process and program: City of Houston eGovernment Center
For this "All Plastics" collection, we recommend that you NOT include the plastic types that can be recycled in the curbside collections. Just use this for the plastics such as #4, #6, #7, foam, and plastic films, that cannot be recycled in curbside collection.
For questions on recycling/solid waste matters, contact Frank Blake at frankblake@juno.com