We’ve all seen the blue recycling carts around town — It’s like going green, but blue. If you take pride in recycling or want to learn more, we’re breaking it down so you can make sure you’re recycling in the most effective way possible.
♻️ Do I need to sort my recyclables?
Most recycling systems in the US have gone single-stream, including Fort Worth. That means your recyclables can go in 1 bin or paper bag.
The city recommends using the blue curb cart to recycle items, or dropping them off at these locations:
- 2400 Brennan Ave.
- 5150 Martin Luther King Fwy.
- 6260 Old Hemphill Rd.
- 1100 NE 23rd St.
♻️ Give us the do’s + don’ts
Not sure what can be recycled? Here are a couple of rules Fort Worth Recycling asks the community to follow:
- Plastic bottles marked 1-7 are all recyclable — just leave the lids attached. Otherwise, they slip through the cracks + get missorted.
- Uncrushed aluminum and tin cans are good to go. When cans are crushed it can confuse automatic sorting, meaning they’ll likely end up in the landfill.
- Food and drink containers should be visibly clean. Rinse milk cartons + soda cans, and run peanut butter jars through the wash (or give them to your dog first).
- Plastic bags are the No. 1 thing people try to recycle — but they fly off trucks, and become litter + could jam sorting rollers. Instead, return the bags to the retail store or recycle them at the drop-off stations.
- As a general rule of thumb, when in doubt, throw it out.
Check out the full list here, or “know what to throw.”
♻️ Thinking outside the blue bins
Recycling doesn’t stop at the blue bins — the city offers safe disposal services for paint, oil, hazardous waste + electronics. The community can also sign up for the Residential Food Scrap Composting Pilot Program, which turns household food scraps into rich compost.
