Is Berkeley checking how we sort our waste and recycling?

Yes, the City has been checking a subset of our curbside refuse and recycling bins for correct sorting lately. If they find items in the wrong bin, they leave a note with tips to help you sort correctly.

Because I spend a fair amount of time trying to figure out which bin various items go in (or which Ridwell bag to use), I periodically go online and check the sorting rules, and thought I’d share some interesting and clarifying tips I found.

The question that has come up most often in our house is about paper take-out containers with a shinier interior coating (presumably to help them resist liquids). Can they go in the compost? Sadly, no. Only uncoated paper products can go in the compost, so those containers have to go in the trash. (Eek! I was definitely guilty of putting those in the compost in the past.)

You can put compostable plastic in the compost bin, but only if it is BPI certified. Look for the BPI logo on items such as compostable plastic bags from the grocery store or compostable plastic foodware.

Here are some other things that have to go in the trash bin:

• Small plastics, less than 4 inches in size (smaller than a typical small yogurt cup), go in the trash, even if the plastic is otherwise recyclable. This includes plastic utensils, loose lids, plastic take-out condiment cups, and small medicine bottles. BPI-certified compostable plastic, which goes in the green bin, is an exception. Lids that are attached to larger bottles that are recyclable can go in the recycling with the larger bottle.
• Milk and beverage cartons go in the trash. Plastic beverage jugs and their lids, if they are recyclable (#1 or #2 plastics), can go in the recycle bin.
• Pet waste has to go in the trash, even if it is in a compostable bag.
• The old classic paper tea bags can go in the green bin, but fancy nylon mesh tea bags (“sachets”) cannot. For the nylon mesh ones, the tea inside the bag can go in the compost, but the bag itself has to go in the trash.

These details can feel fussy, but better sorting makes Berkeley’s recycling and composting programs more efficient and effective, so it’s worth the effort.