NewTerra Recycling provides 96 gallon totes serviced once a week. Please contact customerservice@newterracompost.com for a commercial quote.
Recycling Do's and Don'ts
**Don't dispose of your Recyclables in Blue, Clear, or Black bags. All material should be loose in the container and clean.**
Plastic Recycling Symbols & Their Meanings in Chattanooga
PET or PETE
Polyethylene Terephthalate
Plastic water bottles and soda bottles, salad dressing bottles, peanut butter containers and vegetable oil containers.
We accept all clean #1 PET & PETE plastic bottles and containers with lids attached. The item must be larger than 4"x4" square to be accepted.
HDPE
High-Density Polyethylene
Plastic grocery bags, milk jugs and shampoo bottles, butter and yogurt tubs.
We do NOT accept plastic bags. Please visit your local grocery stores for drop off options. We do accept clean #2 HDPE Bottles and containers with lids attached. The item must be larger than 4"x4" square to be accepted.
PVC & V
Polyvinylchloride & Vinyl
Vinyl siding, piping and windows
We do NOT accept this material. Unfortunately it must be landfilled.
LDPE
Low Density Polyethylene
Dry cleaning and shopping bags, furniture, squeeze bottles, toothpaste tubes
We do NOT accept this material. Unfortunately it must be landfilled.
PP
Polypropylene
Syrup and medicine bottles, caps, straws and some food containers
We do NOT accept this material. Unfortunately it must be landfilled.
PS
Polystyrene
Disposable plates and cups, egg cartons, carry-out containers
We do NOT accept this material. Unfortunately styrofoam must be landfilled. Check with your local grocery store for clean styrofoam recycling programs.
Other & Miscellaneous
A catch-all for a wide variety of plastics, including BPA, polycarbonate and bio-based plastics.
We do NOT accept this material for recycling. If the Bio-based material is compostable and BPI or TUV certified NewTerra Compost will accept it. Click HERE to sign up!
Recycling in Chattanooga
All mixed recycling in the Chattanooga region goes to the same Material Recovery Facility (MRF). The number inside the recycling symbol on plastic items does not necessarily indicate that the item is recyclable in Chattanooga. It only indicates the type of plastic it is made from. Each MRF has specific requirements for what they can and can’t accept. We work closely with our local MRF to make sure our do’s and don’ts are updated and correct. All Recycling haulers in Chattanooga MUST follow the same rules for mixed recycling.
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Plastic
Only #1 and #2 plastics are recyclable in our area and they must be clean and larger than a 4”x4” square. Items like pill bottles, cup lids, cutlery, and similarly sized items will fall through the machine and be sent to a landfill. All lids from bottles must be attached
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Cardboard / Paper / Tetra Pak
All cardboard, paperboard, and paper larger than a post it note are acceptable. Even mail that is shiny and has windows. Paperboard and Tetra Pack containers for milk, juice, chicken broth and ice cream are acceptable as long as there are no plastic rings attached.
Aluminum
All cans are acceptable and must be clean. Please don’t smash your cans so they are easier for the MRF to separate from the rest of the stream. Aluminum foil and foil food pans are not acceptable.
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Our MRF
Items that are not acceptable in our MRF mixed recycling stream: NO PLASTIC BAGS, NO GLASS.
Plastic bags can be taken to participating grocery stores. Glass must be taken to a recycle center.