NEWS RELEASE: San José Releases List of Top 10 Items to Keep Out of Recycling Containers
Post Date:07/07/2026 8:30 AMFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT
Carlos Velazquez, Public Information Manager, City of San José Environmental Services
408-535-8168; carlos.velazquez@sanjoseca.gov
San José Releases List of Top 10 Items to Keep Out of Recycling Containers
SAN JOSE, Calif. (July 7, 2026) – The City of San José has announced the top 10 most common items incorrectly placed in recycling carts as part of its efforts to help residents recycle right, protect the environment and help keep garbage and recycling rates low.
They are:
Plastic wrap - also known as case wrap; film plastic used to contain items like water bottles, paper towels, bread and toilet paper and sandwich/snack Ziplock/roll bags.
Non-recyclable paper - face or toilet tissue, napkins, metallic gift wrap, food-soiled paper such as greasy pizza boxes and paper takeout containers).
Plastic packaging – plastic or padded envelopes, blister packs, bubble wrap, and air pillows
Plastic to-go bags – used to carry food, groceries, or other items from a check stand or register
Expanded polystyrene – Styrofoam (#6 plastic) in all forms including packaging peanuts and blocks, food trays, plates, cups or takeout containers.
Textiles - clothing, bedding, shoes, rugs, and fiber tote bags.
Snack wrappers- chip bags or other snack wrappers with a shiny lining.
To-go coffee cups – hot or cold paper cups including coffee to-go cups, lids, and water cooler cups.
Food scraps and other garbage – such as hoses, diapers, clothes hangers and toys.
These items were identified via a city-wide sampling of nearly 17,000 single-family recycling carts that took place January – April 2026. Rankings were determined by the percentage of that item among 20,000 incorrectly recycled items found in these carts. Plastic wrap comprised nearly a third, or 31% of the 20,000 items.
Recycling correctly reduces waste, keeps recyclable materials out of landfills, and helps keep garbage and recycling service rates down. Global processors of recyclable materials have increasingly rejected recyclables mixed with the wrong types of materials, or soiled recyclables, also known as contaminants. This leads to increased costs for San José’s recycling contractors to properly sort and dispose of these items. The City of San José compensates recycling contractors based on levels of contamination found in the recycling carts: the more contamination, the higher the payment to the contractor. Those additional costs are paid for by single-family ratepayers.
A biennial study determines the contamination rate and compensation to recycling contractors. In the most recent study in 2024, the contamination rate fell to 41% from 57% in 2022- reducing contractor compensation by $6.5 million annually across both fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027, savings passed directly to San José residents.
“This decrease in contamination of our recycling showed that residents value and are engaged with recycling the correct way,” said City Manager Jennifer Maguire. “We look forward to the next study scheduled for this fall, which will establish the updated contamination rate and contractor compensation for the next two fiscal years.”
“Recycling right doesn’t just protect our environment, it saves residents money,” said Mayor Matt Mahan. “Last year, our community helped save $6.5 million by keeping contaminants and trash out of recycling bins, reducing what we pay recycling contractors. Those savings help minimize annual rate increases and keep costs down for working families.”
Through a variety of programs and strategies, San José's Environmental Services Department (ESD) educates residents on how to recycle right and how to properly dispose of hazardous items:
SanJoseRecycles.org, a multilingual site with a searchable database of more than 300 items, helping residents to find out what goes where in San José. The site has received an average of 29,000 monthly visits this year, ranking in the top 5 of the City’s webpages.
Launched in 2024, the Contamination and Recycling Tagging (CART) Program is an ongoing initiative that involves ESD staff checking recycling carts on collection days and providing residents direct, tailored feedback on how well they are recycling via educational “Oops!” or “Good Job!” tags. ESD has reviewed more than 23,000 recycling carts this year, with 76% receiving an “Oops!” tag.
Since 2021, more than 117,000 recycling cart lids have received trilingual graphics with recycling information and are now included in all new carts and inserted when carts are replaced.
Expanded outreach to multifamily properties, including delivery of 92,000+ tote bags to more than 1,500 San José apartment and condo complexes in the last year. These bags come with helpful resources and information to understand what is or is not recyclable.
The City participates in the County’s Household Hazardous Waste Program, a no additional cost service for residents to drop off items that should not be placed in garbage and recycling containers such as batteries, paint, household cleaners, and propane tanks at two permanent facilities (San José and San Martin) and more than 500 neighborhood drop-off locations throughout the County.
“Environmental Services is committed to engaging with San José’s diverse community with clear information and services to help them recycle right,” said Environmental Services Department Director Jeffrey Provenzano. "We know that there are often questions about what can be recycled, so to help, we provide information in many ways and languages, including in Spanish and Vietnamese.”
About the City of San José With almost 1 million residents, San José is one of the most diverse large cities in the United States and is Northern California’s largest city and the 13th largest city in the nation. San José’s transformation into a global innovation center has resulted in one of the largest concentrations of technology companies and expertise in the world.
About the Environmental Services Department The San José Environmental Services Department’s (ESD) mission is to deliver world-class utility services and programs to improve our health, environment and economy. ESD manages garbage and recycling services; watershed protection and pollution prevention; municipal drinking water and recycled water; sustainability initiatives; and the operation and infrastructure improvements of the San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility (RWF).
