Tempe Recycles 

Recycling has been a part of our daily routine as Tempe residents since the 1980s. In fact, the City of Tempe was one of the first cities in the country to launch a curbside recycling program citywide. 

By recycling materials, the amount of garbage that is disposed of in landfills is reduced and natural resources are conserved. Waste materials are recycled into products with value. With Tempe's residential commingled recycling program, residents are able to recycle various types of paper, glass, aluminum, cardboard, steel cans and plastic bottles, jars and jugs.

Guidelines for Blue Recycling Containers

• Place the container in the street with wheels against the curb or in your driveway next to the sidewalk by 6 a.m. on your collection day.
• Make sure your container does not block the sidewalk.
• Place the container at least 10 feet from parked vehicles or any other fixed object.
• Remove the container from the curb by 8 p.m. on collection day and place the container in the garage or behind a fence.
• Place only acceptable recyclable materials in the bin.
• Keep recyclable items loose, do not bag the. 
• Call Tempe 311 at 480-350-4311 or click here to request an additional recycling container.

Recycling and Waste Reduction Tips

Download our guide on how to ditch the dumpster. 

• Buy better quality products with a longer useful life. These products often have an extended warranty and can be repaired rather than being thrown away.
• Buy second-hand clothing, furniture and housewares whenever possible. 
• Donate useable building supplies and consider buying secondhand items from Stardust Building Supplies.
• Consider hosting a community yard sale or host your own yard sale. See the Yard Sale webpage for tips.
• Buy larger sizes. A single larger-sized package generally creates less waste than multiple smaller-sized packages.
• Buy "refill packs" whenever you can. Many manufacturers of household products are redesigning their packaging so that you will be able to buy small packages of concentrates to refill the larger, more durable containers used to store their products.
• Don't send useful articles of clothing that your family has outgrown to the landfill. Consider mending them, donating them or placing them in the donation/textile bins.
• Have old household appliances repaired rather than send them to the landfill. If you are buying a new appliance, donate the old one or drop it off at the Household Products Collection Center or Zero Waste Day rather than throw it away.
• Talk to your family so everyone understands the importance of recycling. Collecting items for recycling is a great way for the kids to "earn" their allowance and help the environment at the same time.
• Plan your meals carefully so that you can help reduce food waste .
• If you work in an office that makes a lot of copies, suggest that everyone try to copy on both sides of the paper. This cuts your use of copy paper in half.

Top 10 Recyclable Items 

Do you recycle? Do you know what you can and cannot put in the blue container? The City of Tempe has a landfill diversion goal of 25 percent by Fiscal Year 2025-2026. We need your help to achieve this goal!

The top 10 things to put in your recycle container are:

1. broken down card board
2. paper
3. food boxes
4. mail
5. beverage cans
6. food cans
7. glass bottles
8. jars (glass and plastic)
9. jugs
10. plastic bottles and caps

Did you know that you cannot put plastic bags and wraps into the blue container? These soft plastics ruin the recycling equipment and cause challenges for recycling staff. You may be able to recycle these items at a local grocery store.

The City hosts four Zero Waste Days annually to help residents properly dispose of unwanted items for reuse, recycling or proper disposal that cannot be disposed of in your recycling container, including Styrofoam^TM, electronics, bagged shredded paper and textiles. For a specific list of locations and items accepted at the event, please visit the Zero Waste Day webpage.

For more information about what to recycle and what not to recycle, please visit the Top 10 in the bin webpage.

FAQs

• When was Tempe's curbside commingled recycling program rolled out citywide?
  February 1993.

• What is commingled recycling?
  Commingled recycling means that all recyclables can be placed together in your recycling container, versus having different containers for different types of recyclable material.

• What materials can be recycled?
  Plastic, glass, aluminum, steel (tin) cans, cardboard, chipboard, paper, newspapers, and magazines. See a complete list here.

• Can multifamily dwellings, apartments, etc. recycle? 
  While the neighborhood drop-off points are still available, because of the space limitations common to most multifamily residences, a recycling system must be tailored to each individual complex. For more information on recycling service for multi-family, please visit Commercial Recycling. 

• What type of recycling container is it?
  Our blue containers are 96-gallons. The containers are on wheels and are easily moved. They have hinged lids, are blue in color, are stenciled with the City of Tempe logo and many are labeled "recycling only."

• How does the recycling program work?
  Residents are asked to place their recyclable materials into their blue recycling container, and wheel it out to the curb on the assigned weekly recycling collection day. Keep recyclables loose, never bag them. Bagged recycling causes contamination and costs four times as much to process, sending loads to the landfill instead of being recycled.