We often get recycling questions, so a refresher on basic recycling rules is never a bad idea.
DO recycle curbside: Aluminum, tin and other metal cans. That includes soda cans, soup cans and any others. Rinse them first. There should be no food residue. Plastic bottles. This includes single-use water bottles and those that contained soda or other drinks. Rinse them first, shake out the water and put the caps back on. If the cap won’t stay on, throw it out and recycle the bottle without it. Also recycle those heavy plastic bottles and jugs, but also rinse these out and replace the caps. Corrugated cardboard: Usually you find this used for packing boxes. If there is an excessive amount of packing tape, remove it. Open the boxes on
both ends and flatten them. Do not re
cycle pizza boxes. You can tear off the lid and recycle it if there is no oil on it. Paper: This includes office paper, newspaper and junk mail. If you shred, place the shredded paper in a clear plastic bag before putting it in your bin or barrel. This is the only time you can include a plastic bag in your curbside recycling. Glass bottles
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Do NOT recycle curbside: Plastic grocery bags. These can actually shut down the recycling plant’s sorting machines. Bubble wrap Styrofoam or plastic foam Any flimsy plastic or plastic that doesn’t hold its shape, including trash bags Clothing or other fabric Crystal and heat resistant glass like bakeware Anything with food particles or oil in it. Examples are pizza boxes, paper plates, paper napkins and take out containers. Yard waste: This includes tree and bush clippings, twigs and leaves. These belong in brush and bulky pickups. Trash: This includes small bits of paper and those items that, in your heart, you know should not go in your curbside recycling, including dirty diapers. Anything smaller than a tennis ball. Things this small fall through the sorting machines at the recycling plant. Some things that can’t be recycled curbside can be recycled elsewhere. These include plastic grocery bags, clean plastic produce bags and some bubble wrap. Take these to the grocery store, where most have a bin or box near the entrance to recycle them. Better yet, use cloth bags.
Questions about recycling? Go to facebook.com/TucsonEnvironmentalServices , where you can see lots of tips and can always ask questions.
Photos: The Apple Fire in San Bernardino National Forest, California
California Wildfires
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
Flames flare behind fire trucks at the Apple Fire in Cherry Valley, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press
California Wildfires
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
Smoke rises from the Apple Fire in Cherry Valley, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press
California Wildfires
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
The Apple Fire burns a car in Cherry Valley, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press
California Wildfires
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
An air tanker drops fire retardant to the Apple Fire in Cherry Valley, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press
California Wildfires
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
Hand crews work on the remaining hot spots the Apple Fire in Cherry Valley, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press
California Wildfires
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
Hand crews work on the remaining hot spots the Apple Fire in Cherry Valley, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press
California Wildfires
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
Diane Brickley comes back home to take care of her goats after evacuated as the Apple Fire burns nearby in Cherry Valley, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press
California Wildfires
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
An air tanker drops fire retardant to the Apple Fire in Cherry Valley, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press
California Wildfires
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
An air tanker drops fire retardant to the Apple Fire in Cherry Valley, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press
California Wildfires
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
A helicopter flies over as smoke from the Apple Fire covers the city in Banning, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press
California Wildfires
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
A firefighter watches the Apple Fire in Banning, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press
California Wildfires
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
A firefighter battles the Apple Fire in Banning, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press
California Wildfires
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
Firefighters battle the Apple Fire in Banning, Calif., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press
California Wildfires
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
Firefighters battle the Apple Fire in Banning, Calif., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press
California Wildfires
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
Firefighters watch the Apple Fire from a ranch in Banning, Calif., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press
Apple fire in Riverside County grows to 20,000 acres; winds expected to pick up this afternoon
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
A firefighter from Carpinteria monitors a huge plume of smoke from the Apple fire along Bluff Street, north of Banning, California. (Gina Ferazzi/
Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times
Apple fire in Riverside County grows to more than 4,100 acres, prompting evacuation of hundreds of homes
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
The Apple fire consumes a tree at the Oak Canyon Conservation Camp near Beaumont, California, on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times
Apple fire in Riverside County grows to more than 4,100 acres, prompting evacuation of hundreds of homes
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
A firefighting plane makes a drop of fire reatrdant on the edge of the Apple fire in the mountains above Beaumont, California, on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times
Apple fire in Riverside County grows to more than 4,100 acres, prompting evacuation of hundreds of homes
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
A statue of Smokey the Bear is enveloped in smoke from the Apple fire at the Oak Canyon Conservation Camp near Beaumont, California, on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times
Apple fire in Riverside County grows to more than 4,100 acres, prompting evacuation of hundreds of homes
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
A plane drops fire retardant over a home as the out-of-control Apple fire burns on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020, in Cherry Valley, California. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times
Apple fire in Riverside County grows to more than 4,100 acres, prompting evacuation of hundreds of homes
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
Flames shoot up along a ridge above a home as the Apple fire burns out of control on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020, in Cherry Valley, California. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times
Apple fire swells to 26,000 acres amid hot, dry and windy conditions
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
A statue of Smokey the Bear is enveloped in smoke from the Apple fire at the Oak Canyon Conservation Camp near Beaumont, California, on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times
Apple fire in Riverside County grows to more than 4,100 acres, prompting evacuation of hundreds of homes
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
Wildland firefighters work a line to douse hotspots along Avenida Miravailla during the Apple fire on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020, in Cherry Valley, California. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times
Apple fire swells to 26,000 acres amid hot, dry and windy conditions
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
A firefighter monitors a flareup along Avenida Miravailla during the Apple fire on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020, in Cherry Valley, California. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times
Apple fire in Riverside County grows to more than 4,100 acres, prompting evacuation of hundreds of homes
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
A firefighter monitors hotspots along Avenida Miravailla as the header from the out-of-control Apple fire looms overhead on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020, in Cherry Valley, California. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times
Apple fire swells to 26,000 acres amid hot, dry and windy conditions
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
Firefighters are enveloped in smoke from the Apple fire as they battle the blaze at the Oak Canyon Conservation Camp near Beaumont, California, on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times
Red Sunset, Tucson, Apple Fire
Updated
Aug 3, 2020
Smoky skies from the Apple Fire in California make for a red tint over the sun, as seen from E. Speedway Blvd., in Tucson, Ariz on August 2, 2020. California's first major wildfire, the Apple Fire in Riverside County, grew to 20,000 acres over the weekend, according to the Los Angeles Times. Smoke and a red sun were seen throughout Arizona, according to the National Weather Service.
Rebecca Sasnett / Arizona Daily Star
Contact Johanna Eubank at jeubank@tucson.com