What is Recycling?

Recycling is the reprocessing of materials into new products.  For example, instead of throwing away aluminum cans, reprocess them to make new aluminum cans.  Instead of throwing away paper, reprocess it to make new paper products.

People leave recyclable materials out to be collected by their city's recycling vehicle, and can take recyclable materials to their city's collections points.  Many schools, churches, and cities have recycling bins for paper, cans, and bottles.  People also can take certain materials to businesses that accept recyclables.

Why should we recycle?

1. Help protect the environment and your health.  Electronic items have toxic materials in them, and if they are dumped in a landfill, the toxic materials can leak and pollute our land, our water, and our air -- the water that you drink and the air that you breathe.
2. Recycling saves money.  Removing trash costs more than removing recyclables.  Therefore, throwing recyclables into the trash is like throwing money into a landfill.  So the more we recycle, the more money we save.
3. Recycling creates more jobs than using a landfill.
4. Recycling saves energy.  For example, recycling aluminum uses 95% less energy than producing aluminum from ore.  Recycling plastic saves 70% of the energy used in creating new plastic.  And recycling paper saves 40% of the energy required to make a new product.
5. Recycling reduces waste.  Instead of throwing away useful materials, recycle them, which reduces consumption of finite resources, reduces energy usage, and reduces pollution.
6. You can get paid for recycling certain materials: metal, aluminum, electronics, etc.

General information about recycling in the Dallas - Fort Worth area

1. All cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have recycling programs.
2. All cities recycle the same basic things: newspaper, paper, plastic containers, glass (all colors), cardboard, metal, aluminum cans.
3. Cities do NOT accept food, Styrofoam, light bulbs, batteries, electronics (TVs, computers, cell phones), chemicals, prescription drugs, clothes, plastic wrap, paper towels, napkins.
4. Some items can NOT be recycled in one city, but CAN be recycled in another city.  For example, shredded paper cannot be recycled in Dallas (because it jams machinery), but it CAN be recycled in Fort Worth and Richardson.
5. Some businesses, apartment complexes, and retirement homes have recycling programs, but items are picked up by private contractors, not by city trucks.
6. Most cities have multiple places where people can drop off recyclable items.  These places are spread out all through the city.  For example, Dallas has 135 drop-off locations.
7. Some things that can NOT be recycled by the city CAN be recycled for FREE at different companies.  For example, recycle light bulbs at Home Depot and at Lowe's; recycle batteries and electronic items at Best Buy; recycle cell phones and ink cartridges at Target stores.

Click below for information about a city's recycling program.

Addison   Allen   Arlington   Carrollton   Cedar Hill   Coppell   Dallas   Denton
Desoto  Duncanville  Farmers Branch   Flower Mound   Fort Worth   Frisco
Garland   Irving   Lancaster   Lewisville   Mesquite  Plano   Richardson  

Click here to see other locations where you can recycle and what you can recycle.

Styrofoam

• City of Frisco, available to everybody (including non-residents), click here for details
• City of Fort Worth, click here for details
• DART Container Facility, click here for details

Styrofoam Peanuts

• PakMail website  7517 Campbell Road #607 (at Coit Road, NW corner), Dallas, in Pavilion North Shopping Center, next to Pavilion Chiropractic, 972 661 1994 - packing peanuts or straight pieces
• The Mailroom website  2701 West 15th Street (just east of Independence), Plano, 972 867 6330 - packing peanuts or straight pieces

Hazardous Waste

Home Chemical Collection Center   website
11234 Plano Road, Dallas, one mile north of I-635 (LBJ Freeway), 214 553 1765, Accepts household, pool and yard chemicals, batteries, paint, fluorescent light tubes, home computers and equipment, cell phones. No TVs. Tuesday 9:00-7:30, Wednesday and Thursday 8:30-5:00, 2nd and 4th Saturday 9:00-3:00; closed Monday and Friday

Shoes

Nike recycles worn-out sneakers, submitted pre-washed for odor removal, into Nike Grind, a material used to create athletic and playground surfaces, and more.  Click here for locations.

Mattresses

Here is a blog detailing your options to dispose of a mattress. Scroll down for recycling information.

Cell Phones

Donate old cell phones to charities here and here.

Electronics

North Texas recycling   website
Electronics can be dropped off at their Garland or Rockwall locations Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.  All electronics are accepted.  There is no fee for CRTs provided they are dropped off with other material and not in large quantities.  Generally speaking, if it runs on electricity or has metal parts on it, then it can be recycled.

United Electronic Recycling  website
They accept any equipment that plugs into an electrical outlet, uses batteries, or plugs into another piece of equipment; batteries, CDs and DVDs, etc.  There is a fee for CRT TVs and CRT monitors.  Items are refurbished or recycled.

• 2025 Midway Suite A, Carrollton, Monday - Friday, 8:00 - 4:30
• First Saturday of every month,  9:00 a.m. – noon, First United Methodist Church,  3160 E. Spring Creek Parkway (east of Jupiter Road)
• Second Saturday of every month, 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 5801 W. Plano Parkway (east of the Dallas North Parkway)
• Third Saturday of every month, 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., Christ United Methodist Church, 3101 Coit Rd. @ Parker, SW corner

eRecycler   website
2747 Oakland Ave., Garland, 972 487 6800, Monday-Friday 10:00-4:00; accepts any electronic item, cables, scrap metal, etc.; there is a charge for CRT monitors and CRT TVs; no charge for anything else

Richardson Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association (RCPAAA) has a FREE electronics recycling and document shredding event twice a year:  April and October.  Check the City of Richardson's website and enter "recycle" in the search box for dates and locations.

Other

earth911.org  website - find locations near you for recycling, re-using, or disposing electronics, household items, paint, batteries, and more