Kingston Recycles

 

Kingston Recycling FAQs

How Do I Recycle My...

KINGSTON ORGANICS

 

Recycling 101       

A basic 15-minute video, with a quick overview of recycling in Kingston. Designed for schools but great for anyone with questions about recycling!

  

Recycling Fridge Flyer

  

2025 Recycling and Refuse Calendar

 

2025 Calendario De Informacion De Refuse/Reciclaje

Recycling/Trash Collection Day 

2024 DPW Fee Schedule

 

 

ELECTRONICS RECYCLING 

As you switch out of the old and welcome the new, please remember to recycle your old electronics responsibly.

Examples of common electronic equipment that must be recycled:

• Computers (desktops, laptops, e-readers, tablets, etc.)
• Computer peripherals (mice, keyboards, monitors, printers, etc.)
• Small electronic equipment (DVR's, DVD players, MP3 players, video game consoles, etc.)
• Televisions

It is illegal to dispose these and other covered electronic equipment (CEE) in the trash under New York's electronic waste law.

To recycle electronics in Kingston, you can place them curbside for a $15 fee (paid before placing curbside) or drop them off at the Transfer Station for FREE. 

Kingston Transfer Station:
69 Albert St (behind UC Jail)
845-331-5787
Hours: Year Round Fri 9am to 1pm & Sat 8am to 3pm 

Black Plastic- Know Before You Throw

Did you know black plastic can be challenging to recycle? Although sometimes labeled with a recycling symbol, or the numbers “1” and “2,” black plastics blend in with recycling facility conveyor belts and do not reflect light. This means they usually cannot be identified and sorted by the optical scanners used at recycling facilities. Additionally, black plastic cannot be recycled into any other color of plastic which decreases its value as a material. Avoiding black plastics when possible helps recycling facilities and our environment. 

 

All Tangled up in "Nots"

In the world of recycling, there is something called a tangler. A tangler is any item that can wrap around equipment at a recycling processing facility- putting both the workers and machinery at risk. Tanglers include, but are not limited to, plastic bags, plastic film, clothing, ropes, strands of lights, hoses, wires, chains, cords, and metal hangers.

Tanglers end up in the recycling bin usually by good intentions in an act we call wish-cycling: when someone thinks that an item has material value and can be recycled into something different by putting it in their household recycling bin. However, due to the troubles that tanglers cause at the recycling facility, even if a tangler is made out of recyclable material, it does not belong in a household recycling bin.

Wish-cycling leads to many issues along the recycling process:

 • Damaging equipment and recycling workers. 
• Slowing the recycling process and decreasing efficiency. 
• Increasing the cost of collecting and sorting the materials. 
• Decreasing the value and marketability of recyclables. 

SKIP THE SLIP! PREVENTING RECEIPT CONTAMINATION

Did you know that not all paper is recyclable? Receipts are one of those paper items that do not belong in your recycling bin! This is because most receipts are made with thermal paper containing chemical compounds that affect their ability to be made into new products.

The best way to dispose of receipts is in the trash, but if you’re able to, next time skip the slip and ask for a digital receipt.

#KnowBeforeYouThrow #SkiptheSlip

 

DEBUNK RECYCLING SYMBOL MYTHS!

Myth: "It has the recycling symbol on it so it must be accepted by my recycling program.”

Fact: Just because an item has the recycling symbol on it doesn’t mean it’s accepted by Kingston
That’s because the recycling symbol is not regulated, and the types of items accepted by recycling programs vary throughout the state. Next time you encounter an item you are unsure about, look beyond the three chasing arrows and check our local recycling guidelines instead. Also see https://ucrra.org/recyclopedia/ for an A-Z Recycling Guide for our area. 

Myth: "It has the recycling symbol on it, so it’s probably made with recycled content.”

Fact: Unfortunately, just because a product has the recycling symbol on it doesn’t mean it was made from recycled materials. Look for the phrase: “made from post-consumer recycled content” to be sure. Whenever possible, opt for goods made from recycled materials. This creates demand for the items we put in our recycling bins, increases their value, and supports our local recycling programs.

PIZZA BOX Disposal

Did you know: Pizza boxes are one of the top 3 paper recycling contaminants for the City of Kingston? When recycling contains significant contamination, including pizza boxes, it is sent to the landfill.

The Climate Smart Kingston Commission (CSKC) education and outreach committee is committed to this campaign, to let Kingston residents know NOT to put pizza boxes in your recycling, as they are not acceptable, clean or soiled. Even if they are grease free, they should be put in the brown tote (garbage). Please help spread the facts and educate the Kingston community.

  

           

Recycling Bin “Do’s” and “Don’ts” – Holiday Edition

This year, lighten your holiday celebrations by reducing waste and recycling right!  Use the following tips as you prepare for the season’s festivities, and clean-up afterwards.

• Cardboard Boxes: Do recycle! Flatten boxes to save space and remove loose tape.
• Holiday Cards: Do not include cards with glittery, metallic, or foil elements. Do include all others.
• Wrapping Paper: Do not include metallic, glittery, or foil-lined papers. Do include other wrapping papers by folding into flat sheets before recycling.
• Tissue Paper: Do not include. Save tissue paper in good condition to reuse next year.
• Gift Bags: Do not include glittery, metallic, or foil-lined bags. Save gift bags in good condition to reus
  e next year.
• String Lights: Do not include. These items need to be disposed of in your trash bin.
• Ribbons & Bows: Do not include. They get tangled around recycling machinery and contaminate other materials.
• Foam Packaging or Packing Peanuts: Do not include. These items need to be disposed of in your trash bin.
• Plastic Shipping Envelopes: Do not include. These items need to be disposed of in your trash bin. 
• Tree Netting: Do not include. Tree netting is often used to wrap holiday trees or to protect shrubs and bushes. Tree netting should be kept for reuse or put in the garbage. Do not include this material in recycling bins because it can get wrapped around recycling equipment and create jams. Be sure any tree netting you have is not capable of blowing away and becoming litter.

 

Packaging and Shipping Materials During the Holidays

If you received a gift or other packages in the mail, chances are it includes packaging materials and you may be wondering what to do with them. Use the chart below to help with the different materials you have on hand and remember that reuse is always the best option.

Beginning in April 2019, the City of Kingston shifted our recycling collection to Dual Stream Recycling, in which:

Paper and Cardboard ONLY should be placed curbside every other week in a new blue tote with a yellow lid. 

Glass, Plastic and Metal ONLY should be placed curbside every alternating week in your current blue tote. 

Trash pickup will continue as normal. 

In order to foster this transition, CASCADE, the City's Tote Vendor, delivered a new additional blue recycling tote, with a yellow lid, for recycling of PAPER and CARDBOARD ONLY in the end of March 2019.

Additionally, the City Public Works Department switched your existing black lid that is affixed onto your current blue recycling tote, with a new blue lid, and this tote is now used for recycling Glass, Plastic, and Metal ONLY. 

Each residence received, via the US Postal Service mail, a mailer Recycling Flyer, which we encourage you to put up on your fridge for easy access. This shows all materials to be recycled, and in which locations. Additionally, to assist in the transition, the new lids all have labels affixed to the lids which show exactly which items to recycle in which bins. 

Please also find the same mailer information, below. Also, please find the current recycling calendar.

GENERAL INFO about Dual Stream Transition

What: City of Kingston transitioned from Single Stream (all in one bin) recycling to Dual Stream (separate paper from bottles, cans, jars) recycling.

When: March/April 2019

Who: All current City of Kingston customers who receive City curbside waste collection. See Collection Day map below to determine which day of the week your collection is. 

Why: Due to a mandate from the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency, our disposal site, based on tighter restrictions and changing demands of recycled materials.

More Info or Questions: Please feel free to contact [email protected] or DPW Dispatch at 845-338-2114. 

 

Watch the Recycling Transition Informational Meeting with specifics on what can be recycled and what cannot be recycled. 

                                        

 

Decisión de China afecta el reciclaje en el Valle de Hudson 

Por Danielle Salisbury

May 2019

Posted with permission, Copyright 2019: La Voz, Cultura y noticias hispanas del Valle de Hudson

Datos Curiosos. Según el Northeast Recycling Council, en el 2017 fue obligatorio reciclar en 22 estados, incluyendo Nueva York. 

Hasta 2018 la ruta de los reciclajes era la siguiente: la gente en la casa reciclaba, llevaba el contenedor de reciclaje a la vereda o acera cada semana, y una compañía local pasaba a recolectarlo. Después, la compañía llevaba todo el reciclaje a sus instalaciones para procesarlo.  Usaban máquinas para separar los tipos de reciclaje (papel, vidrio, aluminio, etc.) y los empacaban, así separados, para vender a fabricantes (la mayoría en China) que podían cambiarlos a materiales que pueden reusar. 

Pero todo cambió en 2018, cuando China decidió aceptar mucho menos reciclaje de los Estados Unidos por la cuestión de estar demasiado contaminados. ¿Qué quiere decir reciclaje contaminado? Es cuando hay muchas cosas que no se pueden reciclar en los contenedores de reciclaje, es decir; hay basura. Esto puede incluir contenedores sucios que aun tienen comida como cajas de pizza, unicel, telgopor o poliestireno extruido, fundas o bolsas de plástico (que sí se pueden reciclar, pero sólo en los supermercados), y artefactos electrónicos. 

Más Datos Curiosos. ¿Sabías que el estado de Nueva York acaba de aprobar una ley que Prohibe a las Tiendas dar Bolsas de Plástico a los clientes, comenzando en marzo de 2020 (Plastic Bag Ban)? 

¿Por qué es tan difícil reciclar en la manera correcta? Dos razones son porque cada condado en Nueva York tiene sus propias reglas de cómo y qué aceptan y que no aceptan. Unos condados, y cuidados como Kingston, solo aceptan “dual stream” que es cuando los hogares deben separar los reciclable en dos contenedores, uno para papel y cartón, y otro para plástico, vidrio y metal.  Otros condados requieren que todos los productos reciclables sean mezclados en un solo contenedor o “single stream”. El de “single stream” es más conveniente, pero “dual stream” hace que haya menos contaminación. 

Qué materiales se permiten echar al contenedor de reciclado cambia con cada condado, según en lo la empresa de reciclaje pueda procesar en sus instalaciones. Para verificar lo que aceptan en su área, busque la información en la página de web de su condado, cuidad, o pregunte a su transportista de reciclables. 

Hasta ahora, la contaminación en el reciclaje no había sido un problema muy importante. Pero ahora se nota el efecto de la decisión de China de no aceptar los productos reciclables. Se nota desde aquí en el Valle de Hudson. Para evitar tanta contaminación, el condado de Columbia tuvo que ser más estricto con lo que puede aceptar como reciclables. Por la misma razón, la cuidad de Kingston, en el condado de Ulster cambio de “single stream” a “dual stream” en abril de este año. 

¿Qué se puede hacer? Lo más importante que se puede hacer es consumir menos y comprar cosas usadas (como ropa, juguetes, accesorias de la cocina, etc.). ¿Suena familiar? Es porque Hugo Jule también habló de esa solución para el problema de la basura en “Nuestra Querida Basura” en la edición de febrero de La Voz. Es un articulo que debe de leer para saber más sobre el problema que tenemos con demasiada basura. 

Algo, quizás mas fácil, que se puede hacer, es prestar más atención a lo que se pone en el contenedor de reciclaje. Aprenda lo que aceptan en su área y siga las reglas. ¡Ojo! Como los condados de Columbia y la cuidad de Kingston, su condado puede cambiar lo que aceptan, o cómo lo aceptan, por lo que está pasando en China. Entonces, fíjese bien y haga todo lo que pueda por la madre tierra.