Recycling: the non-curbside way

Central Transfer Recycling:
Central Transfer and Recycling Center...................................(360) 256-8482
11034 NE 117th Ave., Vancouver
Mon-Fri 6am to 6pm, Sat-Sun 8am to 4pm

We can take the following items to H & H recycling for free so that we don’t have to pay to dump it. We can recycle as often as we like.

First off: In each category there are specific bins and there are general bins. The difference is that you may only put certain listed items into a specific bin. A general bin serves as kind of an “everything but” kind of bin.

A) Paper Products

3 bins
Flattened Corrugated Cardboard – a specific bin
Only flattened corrugated cardboard and brown paper bags! That’s it.
NO plastic
NO Shoe boxes
NO Styrofoam of any kind
NO Tissue paper

News Print – a specific bin
News print only! That’s it
NO color inserts
NO card stock or post cards
NO brown paper sacks and NO twine

Mixed Paper – a general bin

• Newspaper color ads and inserts, and post cards
• Paper with wax on it like milk cartons
• Envelopes with plastic windows in it, manila envelopes
• Shoe boxes and other card stock, non-corrugated cardboard
• Tissue Paper and wrapping paper
• Magazines, booklets, and the occasional phone book
• Paper sacks, brown or otherwise
• Paper towels
• Cardboard from Juice Containers

B) Metal Products

Tin cans– a specific bin
Tin Cans and lids off Juice Cans only! That’s it.
NO Pop cans
NO Plastic drink containers
NO Plastic Juice containers

Pop cans– a specific bin
For which we do not get paid

C) Plastic Products

3 bins, bottles only! NO random pieces of Plastic.

Water/pop bottles – a specific bin

• Water bottles (any size) including Frut2o bottles
• Pop bottles (any size)

Milk Cartons – a specific bin
Milk cartons only! That’s it.

Bottles – a general bin
Vitamin bottles and lids
Spray bottles and hair spray bottles (without the spray nozzles)
Peanut and peanut butter bottles
Vitamin water bottles
Shampoo bottles, bleach bottles, etc.

NO Plastic tubs
NO Plastic fruit juice containers
NO Tupperware
NO Saran wrap or cellophane
NO Styrofoam

D) Glass Products

There is no recycling blue glass, I don’t know why.

Green Glass – a specific bin
Green glass only! That’s it.

Clear Glass – a specific bin
Clear glass only! That’s it.
Mayonnaise jars ok, even with a label on it, but no lid

Brown Glass – a specific bin
Brown glass only! That’s it.

E) Hazardous Products

Two main rules the rest change all the time
#1 You can take almost anything on Sat. & Sun.
#2 Every bin will be a specific bin

Take Batteries of all sizes, oil, pesticides, paint cans, etc.

Yard debris is cheaper to take elsewhere.

Alternate Places to Recycle:

Oregon:

Pop cans and bottles with an Oregon recycling stamp on them can be can be recycled at Janzten beach Safeway for 5 cents a piece. It is illegal for Washington residents to recycle bottle purchased in Washington so you are always at risk of being carded. Oregon recycle cans must not be crushed.

Fred Meyers:

We can take plastic shopping bags to Fred Meyers and leave them in the entryway for free so that we don’t have to pay to through them away. Nowhere else takes them.

Garbage bags can not be recycled anywhere. They must be used again by us or thrown away.

A.W.E. Recycling:

Air, Water, Earth Recycling .....................................................(360) 254-5010
9701 NE 94th Ave., Vancouver

We can take the following items to A.W.E. and get paid for them. We benefit from saving them up for a while so that we get more than a few cents for it.

Pop and Beer cans—crushed or otherwise
News Papers—including ads and inserts, bound with twine.
Glass bottles—of any kind, but we do not get paid for it
Tin, copper, pot mettle*, steel and aluminum, etc.

* pot mettle is any unsorted, or mixed recyclable mettles. If you brought in a pound of copper you would get paid a copper price, but if you bring in something made of steel and copper you will get pot mettle price which is less than either because someone has to take the time to pry it all apart.

Computer Recycling:

Free Geek.............................................................(503) 232-9350
1731 SE 10th Ave, Portland, Or 97214
Mon-Fri noon to 8pm, Sat. noon to 6pm.

These guys take older computers, repair them, and make them available to charities that need business machines or learning tools. They also have a Goodwill type store attached where you can support them by buying stuff. They can be a source of cheap stuff that’s handy. $5 monitors etc.

Paws-N-Claws:

Humane Society’s “Paws-N-Claws” Thrift Store....................(360) 693-1324
3308 NE 52nd St., Vancouver (Minnehaha area)

If you’ve tried to take things to Good Will and they won’t take it you can try paws and claws. They take slightly different stuff. They don’t take large appliances where Good Will does, but they take patterns and Good Will won’t so you have to try both. They are pretty picky about when you drop stuff off too, so call ahead.

Yard Debris:

H & H Wood Recyclers .......................................................(360) 892-2805
(8401 NE 117th Ave., Vancouver)

These guys take everything from yard debris to construction clean up. They are generally cheaper than taking it to the dump, (and the women who work there are hot). They are open more hours in the summer.