Ever since we opened four years ago – on Earth Day 2009 – we’ve been helping folks recycle stuff… by answering their questions about what and where to recycle, posting recycling events and information as well as accepting #5 plastics from our customers and shipping them off to one of our vendors for recycling.

Well, no more.  Actually, we’ll keep doing most everything we’ve been doing to help facilitate the beautiful cycle of reducing, reusing and recycling.  But…

As of May 1st, we’ll no longer accept #5 plastics at Green in BKLYN.  Why?  Because the City of New York has recently expanded it’s plastics recycling program and now takes nearly every type there is as explained below:

If you receive NYC Department of Sanitation collection service, you can now recycle all rigid plastics along with your metal, glass bottles & jars, and beverage cartons. Don’t forget to also recycle your paper and cardboard, collected separately from designated metal, glass, and plastic recyclables.

Rigid plastics includes containers, packaging, and products that are made predominantly or entirely of plastic and have a relatively inflexible shape or form.

Examples of rigid plastics include:

• plastic bottles, jugs & jars
• rigid plastic caps & lids
• rigid plastic food containers (yogurt, deli, hummus, dairy tubs, cookie tray inserts, “clamshell” containers, other plastic take-out containers)
• rigid plastic non-food containers
• rigid plastic packaging (“blister-pak” and “clamshell” consumer packaging, acetate boxes)
• rigid plastic housewares (flower pots, mixing bowls, plastic appliances, etc.)
• bulk plastic (crates, buckets, pails, furniture, large toys, large appliances, etc.)

For items not listed above, there are mandatory take back programs.  For more info on take-back programs, see Take It Back NYC.  And for more information on what’s recyclable, see What to Recycle with Sanitation.