Schedule • Acceptable Materials
In early 2008, Walker Garbage Service began delivering new recycling rollcarts to customers in 
unincorporated Washington County, Portland and Beaverton.
These carts are collected on an every-other-week schedule that is the alternate week of your current yard debris collection schedules. If your yard debris is collected during a “red” week, your recycling will be collected on a “green” week and vice versa. So rather than setting out your recycling in your red bins every week, you will be setting out the recycling rollcart every other week.
If you are unsure when yard debris is collected on your street, ask a neighbor, take a look at when people on your street are putting them out, or call the office at 503-531-6330 or email us with your street address.
Keep your red bin, however, and use it to recycle glass containers, which still must be kept separate from other recyclables. Motor oil should still be set out in see-through jugs. Everything else can be combined in the carts.
Information on the program is available at the Washington County Cooperative Recycling Program website where you can print out the schedule and a poster with details about the recycling systems. You candownload and print the brochure that the county prepared for the program here.
NOTE: Home customers should have their garbage and recycling containers in place by 5 am to assure pickup.
Preparation Instructions: With all items, rinse clean and let air dry. Labels OK. Set recyclables in your roll cart and roll it to the curb on your scheduled recycling collection day.
Commingling
Place all these products together in your recycling rollcart.
A complete description of what can and cannot be included is on the county website:www.co.washington.or.us/HHS/SWR/RecycleatHome/how-to-recycle-at-home.cfm
In the rollcart:
Newspapers & Magazines: Just toss into the rollcart.
Corrugated Cardboard: Flatten boxes and toss into the rollcart. For large boxes, flatten and place under the rollcart – stack no larger than 3’ x 3’ wide. Do not include wax-coated cardboard.
Scrap Paper (Scrap paper includes: unwanted mail, envelopes, fax paper, greeting cards, paper egg cartons, paper tubes, and cereal boxes). Place scrap paper into a brown paper bag and toss into the rollcart. Do not include tissue paper, paper towels, or paper coated with food, wax, foil, or plastic.
Metal Cans: (including aluminum and tin/steel food cans). Rinse the can clean, and toss it into the rollcart. No need to remove labels.
Aerosol Cans: Thoroughly empty the can through normal use, remove and discard the plastic cap, and toss the can into the rollcart. For safety do not flatten the can, puncture the can, or remove the nozzle.
Scrap Metal: (Scrap metal includes foil, bolts, hangers, and other all metal objects. Place all metal which is smaller than 36 inches long and less than 40 lbs into the rollcart. Do not include metal that is contaminated with plastic, food, or other non-metal materials.
Plastic Bottles and Milk Jugs: (plastic bottles have a neck that is smaller than the base). Remove and discard the lid, rinse the container clean, and toss into the rollcart. Do not include plastic bottles that have come into contact with motor oil, pesticide, or herbicide. (Plastic bottle recycling may not be available in some rural areas at this time. )
Rigid plastic containers and bottles including
- bottles, containers, and tubs 6 oz. or larger;
- milk containers—do not crush or flatten;
- margarine/butter/yogurt/cottage cheese tubs—no lids please!
- rigid buckets 5-gallons or less—with/without a handle;
- rigid plastic plant pots 4” or larger (not the kind you can easily crush)
Milk cartons and drink boxes: Remove any plastic (handles, spouts etc.), rinse clean, drip dry, and place into the rollcart. Do not include the plastic straw that comes with drink boxes.
Beside the rollcart:
Glass Bottles and Jars: Use the red/yellow bin to collect recyclable glass. Remove all lids and rinse the containers clean. Do not include window glass, mirrors, cookware, drinking glasses, or broken glass. Place the red bin next to your rollcart for collection.
Motor Oil: Pour used motor oil into a “see-through,” unbreakable container (one-gallon preferred) with a screw top lid. Place containers next to your recycling rollcart for collection.
Information on the program is available at the Washington County Cooperative Recycling Program website where you can print out the schedule and a poster with details about the recycling systems.