Newspaper, office paper, magazines

Place newspaper, office paper, and magazines with other recyclables in a clear plastic bag or blue bin. 

Shredded paper

Shredded paper should be placed in its own clear bag, separate from any other materials. Residents are asked to do this because any item smaller than 2 inches will fall through the grates at the recycling facility and up as garbage. 

Junk mail

Junk mail is also accepted as long as it is larger than 2”x2”. Envelopes are also accepted, but no plastic windows.

Bottles, jugs, and jars with a screw-top lid

Recycle #1 and #2 plastic items, which are bottles, jugs, and jars with a screw-top lid. (Ex: water bottles, laundry detergent jugs, and peanut butter jars.) All other plastic items, including the caps, should be thrown in the trash.

Why are we accepting less plastic?

At this time, the City of Erie recycling vendor can only accept #1 and #2 plastic bottles, jugs, or jars with screw-top caps. All other plastic items, including the caps, should be thrown in the trash. 
Due to global market conditions, the demand for recycled plastic is low. Other plastic items used to be shipped overseas but are no longer being accepted because most of these items were not actually being recycled. We hope to have other options soon.

Why don’t we accept plastic bags?

Plastic bags cause significant issues with the equipment at recycling facilities, jamming up the machines and requiring the entire facility to halt operations so the plastic film can be removed. These delays affect the success of overall recycling operations and can impact the cost of the program.

You can recycle plastic shopping bags at most grocery stores. Call your local grocer to see if they participate.  When you recycle plastic bags at these locations, no sorting is needed and there is less contamination, so more material gets recycled.

All corrugated cardboard and paperboard (ex: cereal, tissue boxes) should be flattened so it takes up less space in the truck. 

Please remove packaging such as tape, plastic wrap and styrofoam and dispose of properly. If the box is larger than 4’, please break it down and place next to your other recyclables.

Place metal food and beverage cans (ex: steel/tin food cans, aluminum drink cans) with other recyclables in a clear plastic bag or blue bin.

Refrigerators, Freezers, Air Conditioners

Appliance Disposal Company  ○  1-888-GO-FREON  ○  Will pick up appliances up in your home or curbside. 1-888-(463-7366). A fee will be charged depending on item and pickup. 

Refrigerators, Freezers, Air Conditioners (Metal items without FREON)

Liberty Iron & Metal  ○  646 E. 18th St.  ○  (814) 452-4549

Lincoln Recycling  ○  1602 Selinger Ave.  ○  (814) 838-7628

Stoves, Furnaces, Hot Water Tanks (Metal items without FREON)

Liberty Iron & Metal  ○  646 E. 18th St.  ○  (814) 452-4549

Washers, Dryers, Refrigerators, Stoves, Microwaves (Still working)

Habitat for Humanity ReStore  ○  4922 Pittsburgh Ave.  ○  (814) 464-8946  ○  REUSES the items

Automotive Batteries

The Battery Outlet  ○  2825 Liberty St.  ○  (814) 868-7487

Erie Batteries  ○  1915 Parade St.  ○  (814) 455-7789

Auto Zone  ○  3016 W. 26th St.  ○  (814) 836-9041

Lincoln Recycling  ○   1602 Selinger Ave.  ○   (814) 838-7628

Motor Oil 

Advance Auto Parts   ○  All locations  ○  2543 W. 12th St.  ○  2214 E. 38th St.  ○  6601 Peach St.  4635 Buffalo Rd.

Auto Zone  ○  All locations  ○  3924 Peach St.  ○  3016 W. 26th St.  ○  2119 Broad St.

Metal Parts 

Liberty Iron & Metal  ○  1431 East Ave.  ○   (814) 452-4549

Lincoln Recycling  ○   1602 Selinger Ave.  ○   (814) 838-7628

Metalico  ○  10224 West Main St. (RT. 20)  ○  North East  ○  (814) 725-1253

Tires 

City of Erie Annual Tire Collection Event

Saturday, May 1, 2021 (9 a.m. – 1 p.m.)

Up to 6 tires per resident. Only passenger vehicles and light truck tires. No rims. 

Who: 

City of Erie residents ONLY. Photo ID required. 

What:

Drive through and drop off tires for recycling on the appropriate day

Where:

City of Erie Municipal Garage Complex  ○  1926 Holland St.  ○  (814) 870-1315

Most Retail Tire Outlets

Charge fee per tire. 

Ni-Cd /Rechargeable (No Alkalines)

A Duchini, Inc.  ○   2550 McKinley Ave.  ○   (814) 456-7027

Best Buy  ○   6650 Peach St.  ○   (814) 860-8487

Home Depot  ○   7451 Peach St.  ○   (814) 866-2772

Lincoln Recycling  ○   1602 Selinger Ave.  ○   (814) 838-7628

Mueller Locksmith  ○   445 W. 8th St.  ○   (814) 452-3345

Target  ○   6700 Peach St.  ○   (814) 860-8511

Habitat for Humanity ReStore  ○  4922 Pittsburgh Ave.  ○  (814) 464-8946 

REUSES the items  ○  Call for hours and materials accepted, such as: cabinets, windows, doors, paint, trim, hardware, plumbing, flooring, electrical appliances, etc. 

Have your installer remove the carpet. Cut the carpet into small pieces and place in bags curbside on your regular refuse pickup day.

City Hall Lobby Drop-off Box  ○  626 State St.  ○  (814) 870-1450 

Lincoln Recycling  ○   1602 Selinger Ave.  ○   (814) 838-7628

Donate to SafeNet, a nonprofit that serves victims of domestic violence  ○   (814) 455-1774 

Free Electronics Recycling

City of Erie Annual Electronics Collection Events

Saturday, May 1, 2021 (9 a.m. – 1 p.m.)
Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021 (9 a.m. – 1 p.m.)

Acceptable Items: TVs, Computers, Monitors, Keyboards, Mice, Printers, Speakers, Tablets

Who: 

City of Erie residents ONLY. Photo ID required. 

What:

Drive through and drop off electronics for recycling on the appropriate day

Where:

City of Erie Municipal Garage Complex ○ 1926 Holland St.  ○  (814) 870-1315

Other Electronics Recycling Options

Dell Reconnect at Goodwill locations *FREE

Harborcreek Goodwill  ○  1980 Nagle Rd.  ○  (814) 616-4260

Summit Towne Center Goodwill  ○  7200 Peach St.  ○  (814) 866-4762

Millcreek Goodwill  ○  2601 W. 26th St.  ○  (814) 833-4501

Environmental Coordination Services & Recycling (ECS&R)  ○  3237 Highway 19, Cochranton, PA  ○  (814) 425-7773

Erie County E-Cycling Events  ○  (814) 451-6009  ○  Registration required

Lincoln Recycling  ○   1602 Selinger Ave.  ○   (814) 838-7628

Fiesler West Recycling  ○  1202 W. 16th St.  ○  (814) 454-6609

Fees will be charged depending on the amount being disposed.

Beez Appliances  ○  916 Parade St.  ○  (814) 455-2192

Waste Management  ○  851 Robinson Rd.  ○  (814) 824-7800

And other appliance stores certified to remove freon. Once the Freon is removed, you must take it to Lincoln Recycling or Liberty Iron & Metal.

Why don’t we accept glass curbside?

When mixed with other recyclables, glass breaks and ruins both the glass container and the other items in the bag. Once contaminated, the items cannot be sorted by our recycling vendor and the entire bag is thrown into the trash. 

Where can I recycle glass?

Rinse glass containers and remove caps or lids. Labels can stay on. Drop off at:

Bayfront Glass, LLC  ○  Main Location (24/7 drop-off)  ○  1310 East Ave, Erie  ○  (814) 464-5880

Bayfront Glass, LLC  ○  Whole Foods Co-op Location (regular store hours)  ○  1341 W. 26th St. 

Check www.bayfrontglass.com for pop-up glass recycling events.

Prism Glass Recycling   ○  (Online Map)

Prism Glass Recycling   ○  West Bayfront Parkway  ○  1 Lawrence Pier

Prism Glass Recycling   ○  Glenwood Park  ○  W. 41st St. & Glenwood Park Ave.

Prism Glass Recycling   ○  Boys & Girls Club of Erie  ○  1515 East Lake Road

Fees will be charged depending on the amount being disposed.

Corrosives

Drain cleaners, rust removers, oven cleaners

Flammables

Gasoline, kerosene, butane, oil base paint, paint thinners

Toxics 

Pool chemicals, pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, rat and mouse poison, flea collars, roach and ant killer, window cleaner, furniture polish, antifreeze, brake fluid, fluorescent lights, mercury, etc.

Environmental Coordination Services & Recycling (ECS&R)  ○  3237 Highway 19, Cochranton, PA  ○  (814) 425-7773

Erie County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Events   ○  (814) 451-6009

Aluminum, Brass, Cast Iron, Copper, and Steel

Liberty Iron & Metal  ○  646 E. 18th St.  ○  (814) 452-4549 

Lincoln Recycling  ○  1602 Selinger Ave.  ○  (814) 838-7628

Metalico  ○  10224 West Main St. (RT. 20)  ○  North East  ○  (814) 725-1253

Latex Based Paint

Remove lid and let the contents air dry in your garage or basement or add a waste paint hardener or cat litter. Make sure the open can is out of the reach of children or little critters. When paint hardens, dispose of paint with refuse. The can, with the lid off, can be placed with curbside recyclables.

Oil-Based Paint

Flammable-Household Hazardous Waste (fees will be charged depending on the amount disposed).

Environmental Coordination Services & Recycling (ECS&R)  ○  3237 Highway 19, Cochranton, PA  ○  (814) 425-7773

Erie County HHW Collection Events  ○  (814) 451-6009

Erie Pallet Company  ○  1835 E. 12th St.  ○  (814) 452-4961

Newspaper, phone books, paperback, and comic books

Erie Energy Products, Inc.  ○  1400 Irwin Dr.  ○  (814) 454-2828

Recycle plastic bags at most grocery stores. Call your local grocer and ask if they recycle plastic bags.

Plastic bags cause significant issues with the equipment at recycling facilities, jamming up the machines and requiring the entire facility to halt operations so the plastic film can be removed. These delays affect the success of overall recycling operations and can impact the cost of the program.

Laser or Inkjet

Toner Buyer  ○  Once on their website, choose option 1 to sell your empty printer cartridge. Toner Buyer will send a free shipping label via email. 

A fee may be charged. Small hand held propane tanks are recyclable, if the tops are cut off. Otherwise they can be disposed of in the regular garbage. 

Rent-A-Wreck  ○  4340 West Ridge Rd.  ○  (814) 833-9941

Low Bucs Propane  ○  11526 East Lake Rd.  ○  (814) 725-1325

Lincoln Recycling  ○  1602 Selinger Ave.  ○  (814) 838-7628

Foam Fabricators Limited  ○  6550 West Ridge Rd.  ○  (814) 838-4538

Only accept foam packaging and styrofoam board. The products must be white in color and clean. NO peanuts.

Pony Express  ○  1903 West 8th St.  ○  (814) 456-6245  ○  Any type of Styrofoam accepted