Residential recycling collection occurs on the same day as your trash collection. Use the 96-gallon blue wheeled cart for your mixed recyclables. You don't need to separate paper from plastic, glass from metal, or cans from bottles. Just place everything recyclable (including cardboard) into the blue cart.
On collection day please roll your blue cart to the pavement edge with the handle facing away from the street and keep the container at least 4 feet away from cars, light poles and mail boxes.
DVD collects your commingled recyclables with clean-burning CNG-powered vehicles and transports the recyclables to a Materials Recovery Facility where they are separated and then are shipped off to be processed into new products.
Follow links for instruction on proper disposal of these items.
Learn which plastics should be recycled, and which should be kept out of your recycling bin.
How to Clean Items
Remove caps, corks, labels and lids. Empty remaining contents from containers and lightly scrape out. A spatula is handy for scraping out sticky foods from tomato paste cans and peanut butter jars.
Cardboard Requirements
Cardboard must be clean and dry with all loose tape removed. Soiled pizza boxes can go into the green organics cart. Wax covered cardboard is not recyclable and must be placed in the trash cart.
Soiled Food Containers
Soiled takeout food containers or “clamshells” are considered contaminated and are not acceptable for recycling.
Styrofoam Packing Peanuts
Packing peanuts are not recyclable and should be bagged (preferably into paper sacks) and put into the trash.
Package Loose Items Properly
The Coachella Valley can be very windy at times and loose recyclables can blow out of carts. Please place materials such as shredded or loose paper into paper sacks or small cardboard boxes.
Do Not Line Recycling Containers with Plastic Bags
If you use a plastic bag liner in your kitchen recycling, do not include it in your curbside recycling cart. Consider rinsing and reusing it. Your curbside recycling cart must be free of plastic bags.
Should I Recycle Every Week?
No. It's not necessary to put your recycling bin out for pickup every week if it’s not full. In fact, waiting until the bin is full will save on fuel consumption.
Much has been reported about the challenges and changes in recycling attributed to the evolving environmental policies in China. The former allowance for 15% non-recyclable content in recyclables abruptly changed to just 0.5% non-recyclable content. As a result, we must all be vigilant of what is recyclable and what is not in order to meet new requirements.
Here are 6 common products you need to rethink before putting in your blue wheeled cart (courtesy of The New York Times).
"The Crisis No One is Talking About" from the California Refuse Recycling Council (download PDF)
Palm Springs currently disposes approximately 48,000 tons of waste per year. In 1989, California State bill AB-939 mandated that all communities divert 50% of their waste by the year 2000. DVD has met that goal and continues to promote recycling.
There are a number of recycling buy-back centers in the Desert Hot Springs area. You can visit CIWMB for a complete list of sites.
Palm Springs Recycling
280 Oasis Road
(760) 325-3377
Green waste includes grass clippings, tree trimmings, shrubs and palm fronds. Food waste that can be recycled includes cooked meat, produce, and dairy, as well as food-soiled paper plates and pizza boxes, along with coffee grounds, tea bags, and the like). Please use the green cart and do not use plastic bags. See Organics + Food Recycling services