Collection Schedule and Upcoming Recycling Events. To be added to the email list for upcoming events; please email sattridge@city-buffalo.com

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

34 and More is Buffalo’s public initiative to increase the city’s recycling diversion rate—currently 29.30 percent—and exceed the national average of 34%. Recycling has never been easier, and benefits everyone. Use these guides to determine what goes in the green tote, what goes in the blue tote and what to drop off, as well as the city’s laws for refuse and recycling collection. See how easy it is to reach 34 and more!

Click here to view the City of Buffalo 2018 Annual Recycling report: 2018 Annual Recycling Report

Do you want to see how your neighborhood is doing with its curbside recycling? Check out this link that was created for the City of Buffalo by Zerocycle Inc. The City uses this information to target specific neighborhoods that need extra help to boost their recycling! http://reports.zerocycle.co/buffalo/index.html

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Mayor Byron W. Brown Encourages Residents to Support the City’s New Campaign: Recycling Reinvented

Buffalo, NY – Mayor Byron W. Brown today encouraged residents to participate in his latest public awareness campaign, called Recycling Reinvented. Recycling Reinvented is a 6-month campaign that includes targeted messaging with the goal of reducing contamination in the City’s residential recycling totes, while increasing recycling overall.
Over the next few weeks, City residents will be exposed to targeted print and bus ads, social media posts, and radio and tv public service announcements, announcing the start of the Recycling Reinvented campaign, which focuses on four recycling contaminant areas: Plastic, Food Waste, Yard Waste and Clothing Items. In the following months, public awareness messages will focus exclusively on each of the four targeted recycling areas.
“The city of Buffalo is working at the cutting edge of recycling, using specialized technology and smart collaborations to further improve key aspects of service,” stated Mayor Brown. “We are proud of the work we’ve been doing since the launch of the 34andMore Recycle Buffalo and encourage City residents to support Recycling Reinvented, which focuses on the larger area of contaminants that is affecting cities across the United States.”
The effort to educate residents about what is recyclable has proven to substantially reduce contaminants in other cities, which saves cities money and makes the recycling process more efficient. The campaign will also involve participation from Block Club members citywide who will be asked to take part in a ‘Tote Tagging” program in their neighborhood.
“When people put the wrong items in their recycling carts, handling those materials costs taxpayer dollars,” stated Susan Attridge, Director of Recycling and Refuse. “We want to help our residents correct these issues and recycle right. Our city is quickly becoming an environmental leader—not just in the U.S. but [also] in the world—and better recycling is an important step on that journey.”
Under the direction of Mayor Brown, the City of Buffalo continues its strong commitment to increase its recycling and recovery programs. In 2012, the City of Buffalo switched to single stream curbside recycling for all residential structures as well as commercial entities in the designated commercial districts, followed by the launch of the 34andMore Buffalo Recycles program, with a recycling goal of 34%, the national recycling average. Since then, overall recycling rates increased from 15.9% in 2012 to 29.30% to date.  This steady progress has been aided by several new recycling initiatives: 34andMore Recycling Campaign Blitz, Let’s DO This! Neighborhood Recycling Competition, Community Dare to Repair Café program, the Environmental Champions Program, in partnership with Buffalo Public Schools, and now the Recycling Reinvented campaign.
Mayor Brown continues to encourage all city residents, visitors and business owners to recycle. By building on the positive momentum, he hopes to achieve his recycling goal of 34%–the national recycling average. For more information about Buffalo’s Recycling program, please visit www.buffalorecycles.org

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♻️ Introducing, “Recycling Reinvented” - our latest public awareness campaign designed to help our residents recycle more and recycle better! ♻️ #RecyclingReinvented

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Join us on Saturday, January 4, 2020 from 9 AM - 2 PM!

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Mayor Byron W. Brown recently announced our new Recycling Reinvented campaign - stay tuned for more news to come!

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Would you like to participate in our Scrap It! Program on the corner of Elmwood & Bidwell in front of Caffe Aroma but are in need of a FREE food scrap pail?

If you are a City resident, stop into Thin Ice on Elmwood and pick up your free pail today!

                                                       

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♻️ Exciting news for our food scrappers! ♻️

Mayor Byron W. Brown and Councilman Joel Feroleto announced the City's (and County's!) first public year-round outdoor food waste drop-off site outside of Caffe Aroma!

Thank you to all of our Scrap It! participants!

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DARE TO REPAIR CAFE

Mayor Byron W. Brown and The Dare to Repair Cafe are partnering on a community event where individuals can bring broken items (lamps, vacuums, toys, etc.) to the repair cafe and have expert volunteer “fixers” try to repair the item alongside them for free. While there is no guarantee that an item can be fixed,participants are sure to learn something new and have fun along the way. It’s not just about fixing things, it’s about reducing waste and building community!

The next Dare to Repair Cafe is on November 16, 2019 at the Herman Badillo Bilingual Academy from 10 AM - 1 PM.

Please visit  www.thetoollibrary.org/daretorepair

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LET'S DO THIS! BLOCK CLUB RECYCLING COMPETITION

Mayor Byron W. Brown launched the Third Annual City of Buffalo’s Let’s DO This! Block Club Recycling Competition in June!  Let’s DO This! Block Club Recycling Competition helps to incentivize residents to participate in curbside recycling and help bring the City to its goal of 34% recycling.

                                             

The winners of this years Let's DO This! Recycling Competition are:

  • Oxford Square Block Club - increased recycling participation by 69.84 %

    Lafayette Avenue Block Club - increased recycling participation by 39.53%

CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who participated!

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2019 Environmental Champions Program

Mayor Byron W. Brown and Superintendent Kriner Cash have announced their commitment to enhance recycling across the Buffalo Public Schools.  The second annual Environmental Champions Program (ECP) is an educational initiative for students, teachers, and school administrators to practice the 3R’s of waste management.

The ECP will incentivize school communities to strengthen recycling capacity.  Eligible schools will receive an award of  up to $500 for stewardship items such as garden supplies, compost unit, or classroom recycling bins.  All K – 12 Buffalo Public Schools are eligible to apply.

To sign-up and participate, please email the Recycling Coordinator: Bridget Houck (bhouck@city-buffalo.com) and inform her of your school’s involvement by Friday, March 15, 2019. This email should include details of your School Name, School Address, and a School Contact (name and email address) overseeing this initiative.

Deadline for submission with the Environmental Champions Program is Friday, May 10, 2019.

Click here for the application: EnvironmentalChampionsProgram-Booklet-2019

WINNERS!

PS #             School Name

3                  D'Youville Porter Campus School
17                E.C.C.
19                Native American Magnet School
27                Hillery Park Elementary School
30                Frank A. Sedita
32                Bennett Park Montessori
42                Occupational Training Center
42                Occupational Training Center
50                North Park Community School
54                Dr. George E. Blackman School of Excellence
59                Dr. Charles R. Drew Science Magnet
64                Frederick Law Olmsted School
65                Roosevelt ECC
67                Discovery School
69                Houghton Academy
76                Herman Badillo Bilingual Academy
79                William J. Grabiarz School of Excellence
80                Highgate Heights
81                School 81
89                Dr. Lydia T. Wright School
92                BUILD Community School
93                Southside Elementary
94                West Hertel Academy
99                Stanley Makowski Early Childhood Center
156              Frederick Law Olmsted
195              City Honors
197              Math ScienceTechnology Preparatory School
198              International Prep School
205              Riverside High School
301              Burgard High School
335              Middle Early College High School
355              The New Buffalo School of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management

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WESTERN NEW YORK COALITION FOR DONATED GOODS

The Western New York Coalition for Donated Goods (WNYCDG) is a collaboration of nonprofit organizations whose goal is to promote both the community and the environment through the donation of clothing and other goods.  The coalition was formed in May 2014 through the efforts of Mayor Byron W. Brown and  Goodwill, Salvation Army, Buffalo City Mission, AMVETS,  St. Vincent de Paul and Hearts for the Homeless.  Habitat for Humanity and Buffalo Reuse have expressed an interest in participating once we move on to construction material.  For a complete listing of drop-off locations visit: http://www.buffalony.gov/382/Streets-Sanitation

 

 

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Recyclable
material list

More Info

Clothing & textile recycling

More Info

Laws for refuse & recycling collection

More Info


Food Waste

More Info

FAQs

The wet strength of paper is a measure of how well the web of fibers holding the paper together can resist a force of rupture when the paper is wet. To increase wet-strength, additives are added to the paper to make it stronger.  These additives often make the paper product not recyclable.

Engineering Garage handout

City of Buffalo currently has a diversion rate of 29.3.%.  The Diversion Rate, based on weight,  includes all materials that are pulled out of the waste stream and recycled for which there is data available.  The curbside recycling rate is 16%.  Mayor Byron Brown’s 2018 Annual Recycling Report is available here: 2018 Annual Recycling Report

 

More household waste is produced between Thanksgiving and New Year’s than any other time of the year–about 6 million tons of added waste  nationwide.  Enjoy the holidays and recycle when you can!

 

Yes. The City of Buffalo has a mandatory recycling ordinance.

Multiple-dwelling buildings are required to provide recycling to their tenants.

Recycling helps the environment by conserving natural resources. Recycling helps stabilize the User Fee because recycling is less costly than garbage disposal. The more we recycle, the more we save.

No. Recyclables are not thrown out. They are valuable resources that are sold to make new products.

Recycling and garbage are picked up on the same day every week by different trucks—Republic Services, the City’s recycling contractor, picks up recycling; the City Sanitation Department picks up garbage. Please call 311 to determine your collection day, or visit the Collection Schedules tab at the top of this website.

If you miss your weekly recycling pickup, or if the truck misses your stop, please leave your green tote out and call 311. A truck will return.

Single-stream recycling is when all recyclables are collected in the same container. There was a time when paper had to be kept separate from the rest of the recyclables; that is no longer necessary.

Western New York Coalition for Donated Goods was formed to make it easier for residents to locate donation opportunities for used clothing and furniture. For a list of locations, please visit  https://www.buffalony.gov/382/Streets-Sanitation

Yard waste—trees, shrubs, grass clippings—that is left at the curb during the leaf pickup period in the fall are composted. If residents want to ensure that yard waste is composted other times of the year, they can drop off yard waste at the Engineering Garage, 1120 Seneca St., Buffalo, 14210.

All yard waste collected during leaf collection in the fall, as well as Christmas tree pickup after the holidays, is composted.

Compost and wood chips are available to residents at Engineering Garage, 1120 Seneca St., Buffalo, 14210.

Both Styrofoam and plastic bags present operational problems for the Material Recycling Facility, where recyclables are processed. Clean, white Styrofoam can be brought to Thermal Foams for recycling (call first for an appointment). New York State law requires that stores provide drop-off bins for plastic bags. Bring your plastic bags to the grocery store for easy disposal.

The City has many commodities that handle recycling and garbage:
Garbage—East Side Transfer Station
Recycling (collected curbside)—Modern Recycling – Material Recycling Facility
Electronic waste—Electronic Recyclers International
Yard waste—Buffalo River Compost Facility
Tires—Geiter Done of WNY
Scrap metal—various metal recyclers in Buffalo

The City of Buffalo sponsors occasional special collection events throughout the year. Residents should call 311 for more information.

An “Oops Tag” will be placed on your green tote if it contained material that is not recyclable. Residents should remove the contaminant and put it in the blue tote.

Yes. All recyclable plastic that touched food should be rinsed with water.

The City of Buffalo curbside collection program accepts all plastic bottles and food containers labeled with recycling codes 1 through 7. The exception is styrofoam and plastic bags.  They DO NOT go int ht e green tote.

We recommend you first try to donate or resell unwanted furniture or household items, whenever possible. However, the City hosts bulk trash pickup days in each of the council districts. Residents should call 311 for dates.

Request a Tote

Every city address, including apartments, should have its own green recycling tote. If you do not have a green recycling tote, or need a new one, please call 311 or fill out this form and the City will contact you for arrangements.

Business Pledges

The City of Buffalo needs everyone's help to increase the city's recycling rate. That includes businesses as well as residents. The following businesses have already pledged to recycle, encouraging both colleagues and customers to do their part and recycle more. The city thanks them for their support. If you own or manage a business in the City of Buffalo, join this list and pledge today!