‘Tis the season of gift giving and home deliveries, and that frequently means lots of household waste, especially Styrofoam and plastic packaging materials from eCommerce boxes and shipments.
The Burlington County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling is reminding residents that Styrofoam should be removed from all cardboard shipping boxes and disposed of in household trash, not placed in curbside recycling containers.
Plastic bubble wrap and packaging, such as air pillows, should also be kept out of curbside recycling. These materials can jam and damage the sorting equipment at the County’s recycling center. Residents who wish to recycle this material may bring it to a dedicated drop-off site for these items located at the Burlington County Resource Recovery Complex, 2200 Burlington-Columbus Road, Florence. Residents may also bring bread bags, newspaper sleeves, drycleaning bags, ice bags and the wrapping from cases of beverages or paper goods.
“The holidays are a wonderful time of year, and recycling correctly will help keep it jolly,” said Burlington County Commissioner Tom Pullion, the liaison to the Department of Solid Waste and Recycling. “Styrofoam is one of the most common contaminants in our recycling stream and plastic film materials can damage our machinery. We’re asking county households to be extra careful this holiday season and recycle right.”
The Resource Recovery Complex is open weekdays from 7 AM to 5 PM and Saturdays from 7 AM to noon. Residents bringing plastic film materials should enter the complex and follow signs to the scale house, where they will then be directed to the plastic film drop off.
Burlington County residents can also bring burned-out or damaged holiday lights or unwanted electronic items, including old televisions, computers, monitors, printers, batteries and other small electronics devices to the Resource Recovery Complex to be recycled. These items often contain hazardous materials and MUST NOT be discarded in household recycling containers. Batteries and electronics also should not be disposed of in household garbage cans.
In addition to these items, residents should also be mindful about not recycling foil wrapping paper or plastic gift bags, bows, ribbons, aluminum foil trays or pie tins, or single-use plastic, paper or foam plates, cups or cutlery. Plastic coasted gift cards or battery-embedded cards should also be kept out of curbside recycling containers.
Cardboard shipping and gift boxes should be empty, flattened and folded for proper recycling.
Paper gift wrap and tissue paper can be recycled and should be placed loose in curbside recycling containers rather than deposited in bags or cardboard boxes.
Burlington County Commissioner Randy Brolo said recycling correctly during the holidays and throughout the year helps the environment and saves taxpayer funds.
“Every single glass bottle, jar, cardboard box or piece of paper we recycle correctly can receive a second life that reduces landfill waste and saves taxpayers money,” said Commissioner Brolo. “Last year, close to 82 million pounds of waste was recycled in Burlington County, saving towns more than $4 million in landfill fees. We‘re pushing to exceed those totals for 2025 but it requires us all to recycle right during these final weeks of December.”
Residents can find more information about recycling, including schedules and what materials are acceptable to place in curbside recycling containers, by downloading the free Burlington County Recycle Coach app. It’s available from Apple and GooglePlay app stores.
Residents with questions can also call 609-499-1001 or email recycle@co.burlington.nj.us.