Recycling Tips

Tip: Have plastic items that can’t be placed in your curbside bin? This doesn’t necessarily mean that they can’t be recycled; it’s simply a matter of finding a recycler that will take them.

Recycle plastics without recycling numbers: Agri-plas, a recycling company based out of Brooks, Oregon, recycles agricultural plastics such as nursery pots and trays, ground cover, seed sacks, plastic binder twine, triple-rinsed pesticide containers and greenhouse film. They may also be able to take other plastic items (check to see what kinds of items they accept), and currently have drop-off locations in the Salem and Portland metro areas.

Know of other recyclers or drop spots for items that can’t usually be placed in curbside bins? Tell us about it!

Original tip from: Jennifer
Wow! There is a company in Brooks, Oregon called Agri-Plas that is turning used plastic back into oil! Check out their website to see what items they take in and how they are making a difference!

This is interesting. There is a commercial currently running on TV for the Oregon Lottery which uses this company as an example of how the “Lottery does good things”. The words and the visual give the impression (to me at least) that the recycled plastic is processed into oil which goes directly into the tank of your car. I guess the more correct way to think about would be that oil is not needed to manufacture these products so oil demand and our carbon footprint is decreased. ~Pat

This is good. I don’t think they turn the products back into oil though; it appears to be other plastic items such as; rakes, mud flaps, plastic twine, plastic lumber, jacket and sleeping bag insulation, pesticides (boo) containers, etc. Some of the items they collect, we can put in curb side recycling containers, but some, like fake twine and plant containers, are typically non-recyclable. ~Rex