Must be clean, dry, and free of packing tape/packing materials. Boxes must be flattened. If soiled or wet, these paper products should go in the organic waste, and it will be composted.

Must be clean & dry. Colored paper is OK. If soiled or wet, these paper products should go in the organic waste, and it will be composted.

Only the pages of paperback and hardcover books can be recycled, so please remove the covers and spines before recycling the pages. The covers of paperback and hardcover books are not recyclable, so they need to go in the trash.

Must be clean & dry. If soiled or wet, these paper products should go in the organic waste, and it will be composted.

Must be empty, clean & dry. Examples include pasta, beer, soda, and tissue boxes, as well as toilet paper and paper towel rolls. If soiled or wet, these paper products should go in the organic waste, and it will be composted.

It is extremely difficult to separate the layers of plastic and paper, rendering this item trash.

These items are so thin, there is not enough paper pulp to be recycled. Try cloth napkins and towels instead, or post-consumer recycled products. Napkins, paper towels, and other organic waste will be composted.

Frozen food boxes are lined with wax or a plastic polymer to help preserve and insulate foods. Waxed cardboard is often used to transport produce, seafood, and meat. It is extremely difficult to separate the layers of wax and cardboard, rendering this item trash.

Must be clean & dry. If soiled or wet, newspaper should go in the organic waste, and it will be composted.

Envelopes, even those with windows, are allowed in the recycling. Padded envelopes (lined with bubble wrap) are NOT allowed in the recycling and should be placed in the trash.

These envelopes are lined with bubble wrap. It is nearly impossible to separate the plastic and paper, rendering this item trash.

[Photo credit: Surv1v4l1st / CC BY-SA]

Envelopes, even those with windows, are allowed in the recycling. Other examples of junk mail include magazines and coupon clippers. Visit the County of Santa Barbara’s website to learn how to opt out of junk mail.

[Photo credit: “I blame the post office” by Dvortygirl / CC BY-SA]

Must be clean & dry. This “molded pulp” is a type of paper. If soiled or wet, molded pulp paper should go in the organic waste, and it will be composted.

Must be clean & dry. If soiled or wet, packing (Kraft) paper should go in the organic waste, and it will be composted.

Pizza boxes have historically been contaminated with food and liquid, so they should not go in the recycling. Soiled paper and other organic waste will be turned into compost.

Wrapping paper without any glitter can be placed in your recycling container. If it is still in good condition, save it to be reused. Skipping the wrapping paper altogether is the best solution – try wrapping gifts with fabric, or use old newspaper or magazines.

Wrapping paper that has glitter or is iridescent should be placed in the trash if you can not reuse it. Skipping the wrapping paper altogether is the best solution – try wrapping gifts with fabric, or use old newspaper or magazines.

Tissue paper is so thin, there is not enough paper pulp to be recycled. Try to reuse tissue paper before throwing it away. Tissue paper and other organic waste will be composted.