Recycle better through proper prep

May 23, 2025
| Posted in  
Recycling
Two bottles sit on either side of a kitchen sink. The bottle on the left still has a visible amount of sauce inside and is crossed out with a "NO" sign. The bottle on the right is mostly clean and clear and checked with a green "YES" checkmark.

Properly preparing your recyclables is just as important as putting the right materials in your bin. To recycle better, follow these simple practices:

No plastic bags

Top of the list: Do not put plastic bags in your recycling bin. Plastic bags are not recyclable curbside or at recycling centers because material recovery facilities (MRFs) – where all our recyclables go for processing – are not set up to accept them. When bags do end up at the MRF, they clog the machinery and cause frequent shutdowns. 

An example of what NOT to do: Recyclables are bagged up inside of an overflowing curbside recycling bin.

It's also important to know that haulers automatically assume anything in a bag is trash. So, if you bag your recyclables, you’re just throwing them away. In the Kansas City region, we have single-stream (aka co-mingled) recycling, which means you can mix all recyclable materials together in your bin. Separation happens at the MRFs. 

Recycle your plastic bags at local participating grocery and big box stores. For a full list and map of where to take these items, visit RecycleSpot.org. (Find more locations by entering your zip code!)

Pizza and water representing food and liquid with a big "NO" sign through them

No food, no liquids

Never put any food or liquids in your bin, they are arch enemies of recycling. They can ruin paper and cardboard recyclables that they come into contact with. In high enough quantities, and especially if any of the liquids are hazardous, foods and liquids can cause an entire load of recyclables to be taken to the landfill. 

Break down boxes, but don't flatten other containers

Boxes take up a lot of room in the bin and in the recycling truck. Always break them down before recycling.

Don’t crush or flatten plastic and metal recyclable containers, such as pop cans or milk cartons. Unlike paper and boxes, MRFs sort these containers based on three dimensions.

Flattened cardboard boxes on a gritty garage floor.
Two bottles sit on either side of a kitchen sink. The bottle on the left still has a visible amount of sauce inside and is crossed out with a "NO" sign. The bottle on the right is mostly clean and clear and checked with a green "YES" checkmark.

Rinse containers

Rinse all recyclable containers. Just a quick swish of water is all it takes. You don’t want to see the bottle on the left in your bin. The bottle on the right isn’t perfectly clean, but it’s now recyclable. The only recyclable you may want to run through the dishwasher with a load of dishes is a peanut butter jar. 
 

Replace plastic caps and lids

Plastic caps and lids are recyclable. The problem is, they’re considered “smalls” by the recycling industry. Smalls are items that are too small to be processed at the MRF and end up being disposed of as waste. The workaround is to place plastic caps and lids back on bottles and containers. This helps ensure they make it through the recycling process.
 

Hands holding a plastic water bottle replace the plastic cap back on the plastic bottle near a recycling bin.
A hand using pliers to crimp shut a tin can with examples of metal bottlecaps resting next to it

Round up your metal caps

Metal lids and caps are also recyclable and considered "smalls", so the chances of them getting recycled loose in your bin are pretty slim. The workaround here is to place them into a single tin can and crimp it shut (but do not completely flatten!)
 

Remove shrink sleeves

Some plastic bottles are wrapped entirely in a label known as a shrink sleeve. The sleeve could be made of a plastic that is different from the bottle, and it can cause a bottle to be misidentified by the MRF’s optical sorting equipment. Toss the sleeve in the trash and the bottle in your recycling bin.

A pair of hands peeling away a plastic outer coating of a coffee creamer bottle with a butter knife.

Some manufacturers are using shrink sleeves that are compatible with current sorting technologies and don’t require removal. These sleeves will often have a How2Recycle label indicating they don't need to be removed. If there is no clear guidance on the bottle, however, we suggest that you go ahead and remove the sleeve before recycling the bottle.

A labeled vegetable can, a window mailer, a taped up cardboard box, a pile of paperclips and staples

Leave 'em on

Conscientious recyclers worry about leaving these items on recyclables:

  • Staples
  • Paper clips
  • Tape
  • Labels on cans and bottles
  • Plastic see-through windows in envelopes and pasta boxes

...Leave them on! They will be removed during the recycling process and will not affect the recyclability of the item in question.

No tanglers

The recycling industry classifies any materials that are long and stringy as “tanglers.”  Tanglers include garden hoses, electrical cords, shower curtains and plastic bags – basically anything that can wrap around recycling machinery and cause frequent shutdowns. Never put these items in your recycling bin.

An extension cord, a garden hose, a wire clothing hanger, a shower curtain and some white plastic shopping bags.

Garden hoses have all types of great reuse options. Electrical cords can be recycled with electronic waste. And plastic bags can be recycled at many big-box and grocery stores. For the nearest locations, search RecycleSpot.

Images of two recycling flyers with a download status bar

Post our flyers

Don’t forget to post our Recycle Better and Recycle Plastics Better flyers on your fridge or kitchen cabinet. They’re available in multiple sizes and in Spanish on our Resources page. 

All Posts