Multi-Material Recycling
Fibre · Plastic · Tin — what goes in your blue bin, what belongs at SARCAN, and what can't be recycled.
What can I recycle?
Snap a photo and we'll tell you where it goes — blue bin, SARCAN, or neither.
Beta feature — uses AI to guess what's in the photo, so it can get it wrong. When in doubt, use the text search below or double-check with our FAQs.
What happens after it leaves your blue bin
- Collected — Municipal curbside pickup and depot drop-off bring blue bin material to our Material Recovery Facility in Prince Albert.
- Sorted — Paper, cardboard, tin and aluminum are separated by hand and machine, at the facility operated under contract by Crown Shred & Recycling Inc.
- Baled & shipped — Sorted material is compacted into bales and shipped out to mills and processors who turn it back into raw material.
- Remade — Your cardboard, paper and cans come back as new packaging, paper products and metal goods — instead of taking up space in a landfill.
What is acceptable in blue recycling bins?
- Newspapers, flyers, inserts, junk mail
- Cardboard and paperboard — placed loose, no need to flatten (cereal boxes, clean pizza boxes, tissue boxes, tissue and paper towel roll tubes, paper egg cartons, milk cartons — please rinse, juice cartons — please rinse)
- Paper — office bond, photocopier paper, paper bags, envelopes, letter paper, non-foil gift wrap, and computer printouts
- Paper drinking and coffee cups (no foam cups)
- Telephone books, paperback books, catalogues, magazines (plastic wrapping removed)
- Soup and beverage cartons, e.g. Tetra Pak® packages
- Household tin cans, lids and caps, and clean aluminum foil and foil containers (please rinse)
- Aluminum soft drink and beer cans (please rinse)
- Plastic shopping/store and grocery bags, and clean plastic wrap or bubble wrap — bundle into one bag and tie it closed
- Plastic soft drink and water bottles (please rinse and remove caps)
- Household plastic containers and bottles such as milk jugs, detergent and shampoo bottles, and yogurt or margarine tubs — must have the recycling arrows with a number 1 through 7 on the bottom. A container displaying the arrow but no number was made from recycled materials but may not be recyclable itself, and cannot be accepted.
All recyclable containers must be clean before being placed in the blue bin. Refundable beverage containers (pop cans, water bottles, milk/juice cartons) can also go to a bottle depot for a deposit refund.
What can be taken to SARCAN to be recycled?
- Household glass — no glass of any kind goes in the blue bin
- Styrofoam packaging (foam cups, food containers, packing blocks/peanuts) — not accepted in the blue bin even if stamped with a recycling symbol
- Film and layered plastic such as potato chip bags and laminated wrappers
- Electronics (TVs, computer monitors, CPUs, printers) — take these to a SARCAN electronics depot under the SWEEP program
What cannot be recycled?
The simple rule is “keep it clean.” Don’t put anything in the recycling bins that you would not handle with bare hands.
- Paper or cardboard that has been soiled or contaminated with food or other residue
- Household garbage and food, or anything bagged — a filled garbage bag is treated as garbage and sent to the landfill unopened, even if the contents would otherwise be recyclable
- Yard waste
- Building materials — wood, drywall, tile, concrete, bricks, vinyl siding
- Scrap metal — car parts, pots and pans, shelving racks, wire coat hangers
- Clothing, textiles, shoes and sporting goods
- Hazardous materials — paint cans, aerosol cans, lighters, car batteries, motor oil (even if the container also shows a recycling symbol)
- Toys of any kind
- Housewares — drinking glasses, mirrors, light bulbs, dishes, ceramics, utensils, appliances
- Garden hoses or lawn/deck furniture
- Plastics that aren't containers — CD cases, pens, straws, plastic cutlery, even with a recycling symbol on them
- Mixed packaging made from more than one type of material bonded together — toothpaste tubes, deodorant sticks, frozen juice containers, foil yogurt lids
Have a question about a specific item? Check our FAQs or get in touch.
