Recycling is required for all businesses. Follow these rules to ensure your recycling gets recycled right:
-
Do not use plastic bags. Place recyclables loose in your external recycling container or in a paper bag.
- Bottles, jars and containers should be empty and dry. They don't have to be perfect — just free of most residue.
- Leave caps on containers.
- Empty and flatten boxes.
All haulers serving Dakota County customers must accept the materials listed below and all generators must place these materials into recycling carts or dumpsters to be collected.
Put these items in your recycling container
Paper
- Newspaper and inserts
- Magazines and catalogs
- Mail and office papers
Cardboard
- Corrugated cardboard
- Paperboard (e.g., cracker boxes)
Cartons
- Milk and juice cartons
- Soup, broth, and wine cartons
- Juice boxes
Metal cans
- Aluminum, tin, and steel cans
Glass bottles and jars
Plastic bottles, containers and jugs
- Containers numbered 1, 2 or 5
- Soda, juice and water bottles
- Milk and juice jugs
- Margarine, cottage cheese, cream cheese and other tubs and lids
- Laundry detergent bottles and jugs
- Clear berry and produce containers
DO NOT put these items in your recycling
- Batteries
- Black plastic
- Ceramic dishware
- Clothing and textiles
- Food
- Household hazardous waste/hazardous waste
- Paper plates, cups, and napkins
- Diapers
- Pharmaceuticals and medicines/medical waste
- Plastic bags and film
- Metal cylinders (e.g., propane tanks)
- Scrap metal (e.g., metal pots and pans)*
- Shredded paper
- Styrofoam™
- Tanglers (e.g., chains, extension cords, hoses, string lights)
- Trash
- Yard waste and Christmas trees
- All items banned from being placed in the trash or recycling in state or local law – including:
- Electronics
- Major appliances
- Sharps (e.g., lancets, needles, syringes)
- Tires
*Scrap metal is allowed in carts and dumpsters only if delivered to the Tennis Sanitation recycling facility.
Add or change collection service
Start or change your recycling pick-up service with a
licensed hauler.
Set up recycling containers
Place recycling and trash containers next to each other (within 10 feet) to create waste “stations." This makes sorting waste easier and increases recycling by ensuring recycling is as accessible as trash. Place containers in centralized locations or the locations where the most waste is generated.
Label containers. Label each recycling and trash container according to
County Labeling Requirements to indicate what is accepted (Recycle or Recycling, Trash), and include images and where applicable, preparation instructions. Labels must be color-coded (blue for recycling, grey or black for trash).
Free labels are available.
Train employees, tenants and contractors regularly
Provide standardized recycling education. Educate employees, building tenants and housekeeping/cleaning contractors about your recycling program, including what materials to recycle and how to recycle right. Education must follow
County Education Requirements for what to cover in training and how frequently to provide it.
Download county education materials.
Recycling resources
The
Twin Cities Business Recycling Directory can help businesses determine how to best dispose of unwanted materials, including pick up and drop off options for items that can't go in with the regular recycling.
Get help
Businesses and organizations can get free container labels, educational resources and funding and technical assistance through county's
Business Recycling Program.