Background
Delaware’s largest city, Wilmington (pop. 71,292, partnered with
Recyclebank to fuel its curbside recycling program, giving residents incentive to recycle that few other cities can offer. Wilmington residents enjoy simple, single-stream recycling on a weekly basis at no cost. Recyclebank incentives can earn them up to $25 per month in credits and coupons at chains around town.
Materials recycled
A vast number of cleaned household recyclables, all of which can be placed into a single Recyclebank bin, are accepted for pick-up:
- Plastics: Detergent containers and plastic containers with recycling symbols #1 through #7 (excluding yogurt, margarine tubs, ketchup bottles, microwave trays, lotion and sunscreen tubes)
- Paper: Newspaper, mixed paper, telephone books, soft-cover books, white paper (includes shredded paper), envelopes, cardboard, junk mail, magazines (inserts removed), cereal boxes and cartons and aseptic packaging (does not include juice boxes and gable top milk and juice containers)
- Metal: Aluminum cans, tin cans, steel cans (soup) and empty aerosol cans
- Glass: Glass bottles and jars
Frequency
Wilmington residents have curbside pick-up on a weekly basis. Date of the week depends on the resident’s location. Route A residents (those who live east of I-95) have pick-up on Mondays (or Tuesdays following Monday holidays). Route B residents (those who live west of I-95) have Tuesday pick-up (or Wednesdays following Monday holidays). All residents must place bins curbside for pick-up before 4 a.m. on the day of collection, but not before 6 p.m. on the day prior to collection. All bins must be returned to the property by 6 p.m. day of collection. Total bin contents cannot exceed 50 pounds.
Other programs
Wilmington also offers yard waste collection, which includes grass clippings, leaves, prunings and brush, for its residents on recycling pick-up days. Free yard waste bags can be found at a number of city buildings during normal business hours. Recycling collectors will notify city officials of the location of any yard waste bags found curbside and the city will have them collected within 72hours. There is no limit on the amount of yard waste Wilmington residents can recycle, but it must be contained in paper bags (no plastic).
Delaware residents can also take advantage of a number of other recycling programs courtesy of the Delaware Solid Waste Authority, including drop-off centers, oil and oil filter recycling, electronics recycling, household hazardous waste recycling, composting and construction and demolition waste recycling.
More information
Visit the
City of Wilmington, DE, website and the
Delaware Solid Waste Authority website for more recycling program info.
