Helping you recycle hard-to-recycle Items
ON-DEMAND COLLECTION FROM YOUR DOOR STEP ON YOUR SCHEDULE
Recycle more from your doorstep
Recycle up to 24 waste streams, from all plastic packaging to milk and juice cartons, coffee capsules, and more. Buy individual bags with on-demand pickups to fit your needs.
We offer this service to anyone in our service area. See our map below.
After we collect your items in their Zero Waste Bag, we send them to TerraCycle for recycling. TerraCycle guarantees that they recycle all compliant materials that are collected. The items are received by material recovery partners, where they are sorted into individual material components. Each material is then recycled into a raw format that can be used to make new products.
How it works
the appropriate bag size for the materials you want to recycle.
a Zero Waste Bag with your next compost swapout or by mail.
with hard-to-recycle materials and mark the appropriate checkbox on the front of your bag. Make sure that your bag can be sealed closed.
your items in their Zero Waste Bags for no fee with your next compost swapout or within the next two weeks. If you don’t already compost with us, we collect your bags for a $15 fee. We deliver them to TerraCycle for recycling.
your items into raw materials to be re-used in manufacturing something new.
Accepted items
IMPORTANT: Only use one category of item per bag!
Collect with Large or Extra Large Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Air packaging, bubble wrap, padded envelopes or mailers, cereal bag liners, food storage & takeout containers, candy & snack wrappers, plastic shopping bags, Ziploc® bags, plastic wrap, shrink wrap
Not accepted: Glass, wood, foamed plastics, biodegradable plastics, PLA
Collect with Small Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Rolling paper, ash, cigarette filters, all parts of extinguished cigarettes, cigar stubs, outer plastic packaging, inner foil packaging
Not accepted: Cardboard packaging, cigarette boxes
Collect with Small Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Coffee capsules, pods, K-Cups, packs, or discs
Not accepted: Electronics, loose coffee grounds, tea & coffee filters, coffee or tea accessories
Collect with Small Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Natural beverage corks, synthetic beverage corks
Not accepted: Bottle caps, screw tops, foil, aluminum champagne twists, bottles
Collect with Small Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Any brand of empty cosmetic, haircare, or skincare packaging beyond standard recyclable containers
Not accepted: Wood & bamboo, wooden eyeliner pencils, cardboard, aerosol & pressurized cans, partially full and full packaging, perfume bottles, electronic items, nail polish bottles & removers
.
Collect with Small Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Contact lenses, glasses, sunglasses, swim goggles, ski goggles, safety glasses, broken spectacles
Not accepted: Wipes, eyewear cleaning products, cases, contact solution, eyeglass chains
Collect with Large Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Textiles, fabric, clothing
Not accepted: Textiles with fill, liners, shoes, bags, hats, electronic heating blankets, purses
Collect with Large or Extra Large Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Any size of flexible aluminum and plastic food and drink pouches
Not accepted: Juice boxes, plastic containers, other beverage containers
Collect with Small Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Ink cartridges, toner cartridges
Not accepted: Printers, printer parts, printer accessories
Collect with Small Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: 8-track tapes, CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, Blu-ray discs, floppy disks, external hard drives, memory sticks, cassette tapes
Not accepted: Computers, record players, 8-track players, cassette players, TVs, CD players, DVD players, VCRs, CD cases, DVD cases
Collect with Large or Extra Large Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Coated paper beverage cartons, including milk, juice, lemonade, iced tea, ice cream, and other freezer item cartons
Not accepted: Paper contaminated with food, organics
Collect with Large Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Desk organizers, binder clips & fasteners, correction supplies, label backing, paper cutters, card filers, binders, staplers, tape dispensers
Not accepted: Lithium-ion batteries, oil-based paint & pressurized canisters, expired medication, organics, broken glass, pesticides, biomedical waste & sharps, light bulbs of any kind
Collect with Small Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Toothpaste tubes, toothpaste caps, toothbrushes, toothbrush outer packaging, toothpaste tube outer packaging, floss containers
Not accepted: Other oral care waste
Collect with Large or Extra Large Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Tissue paper, gift wrap, straws, ribbons & bows, napkins, storage containers, party decorations, punch bowls, single-use cups & plates, utensils
Not accepted: Electronic products, food & beverage containers, permanent glassware, permanent flatware
Equipment (PPE)
Collect with Small Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Non-woven disposable plastic-based masks (including 3-ply, KN95, N95), latex gloves, nitrile gloves, vinyl gloves
Not accepted: Medical waste, cloth masks, dipped synthetic gloves, coated synthetic gloves, biodegradable PLA gloves, leather gloves, fabric gloves, cloth gloves
Collect with Large or Extra Large Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Flexible multi-layered pet food packaging
Not accepted: Pet accessories, pet food
Collect with Small Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Any plastic bottle cap
Not accepted: Metal bottle caps, other beverage packaging, bottles, liquids
Collect with Large Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Sandals, boots, shoes, heels
Not accepted: Ski boots, inline skates, shoelaces, socks
Collect with Large Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Training equipment, netting, sports clothing, sports safety equipment, cones, yoga mats, resistance accessories, whistles, bags
Not accepted: Live bait, fish, large gym machines
Collect with Large or Extra Large Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Styrofoam shipping packaging, Styrofoam food packaging
Not accepted: Containers contaminated with food, organics
Collect with Large Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Plastic building blocks, puzzle pieces, electronic handheld devices, electronic plush toys, flexible packaging, board games, playing cards, plastic & metal figures, remote-control vehicles
Not accepted: Toys with batteries still inside
Collect with Large or Extra Large Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Dustpans, empty spray bottles, empty detergent bottles & nozzles, empty cleaning product bottles, lid tops, dryer sheets, brooms, mops, buckets
Not accepted: Solvents, drain cleaners, oven cleaners, disinfectant, toilet cleaners, detergents, fabric softeners, aerosol cans, bleach, all-purpose cleaners, degreasers, electric vacuum cleaners
Batteries, bulbs, liquids, hazardous items are not accepted
Collect with Small Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: Water filters
Not accepted: Air filters, device using the filter
Collect with Small Zero Waste Bags
Accepted items: TV cords, extension cords, cable wires, USB cables, computer cords, telephone cords, HDMI cables, ethernet cords
Not accepted: Batteries
Order Zero Waste Bags
Contact Us or give us a call +1(212)255-511 if you want to purchase bags using an alternative payment method.
If you’re recycling:
- Cigarette butts
- Coffee capsules
- Corks
- Cosmetics
- Eyeware
- Ink & toner cartridges
- Media storage
- Oral care packaging
- PPE (Masks and gloves)
- Plastic bottle caps
- Water filters
- Wires & cords
If you’re recycling:
- All plastic packaging
- Fabrics & clothing
- Milk & juice cartons
- Office supplies
- Food & drink pouches
- Party supplies & disposables
- Pet food packaging
- Shoes & footwear
- Sporting goods
- Styrofoam™
- Toys
- Sporting goods
- Used cleaning supplies
If you’re recycling:
- All plastic packaging
- Food & drink pouches
- Milk & juice cartons
- Party supplies & disposables
- Pet food packaging
- Styrofoam™
- Used cleaning supplies
Zero Waste Bag Pickup
All bag collections need to be scheduled. Bag collection is free if made with your regular compost container swapout or $15 for on-demand pickup. You can have any number of bags picked up at one time, and you can waive the collection fee by signing up for composting service. You can also order new Zero Waste Bags to be delivered with the collection of your full bags!
Chicagoland Zero Waste Service Area
Our Zero Waste Bag collection services are available in any of these neighborhoods and municipalities. The bright green areas are the suburbs we service, the dark green areas are the Chicago neighborhoods, and the orange areas are the municipalities in which we have exclusive franchise agreements for our container-swap service, which we call our community composting programs. Anyone within our service area can order Zero Waste Bags and bag collection to recycle more from home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please only put recyclables from one specific waste stream in each Zero Waste Bag. Mark the checkbox for that waste stream on the bag to indicate what’s inside.
No, you will need to purchase additional Zero Waste Bags. Drivers do not carry extra Zero Waste Bags. Zero Waste Bags can be purchased at any time.
No, ordering your Zero Waste Bags is a one-time purchase, and you do not need to be subscribed to our regular composting swapout service to have them collected. Our regular customers can purchase Zero Waste Bags and leave them out with their composting containers to be collected. Non-customers can purchase Zero Waste Bags and request an on-demand collection here.
Yes, contact us customer service at. if you’d like to purchase a bag using an alternative payment method.
TerraCycle recycles all compliant materials that are collected. The items are received by TerraCycle’s material recovery partners, where they are sorted into individual material components. Each material is then recycled into a raw format that can be used to make new products.
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