Where to Recycle Kitchen Items

Maybe an item in your kitchen can’t be recycled curbside, or it can but you don’t have curbside recycling service at your Gwinnett County home. Wait — don’t throw it in the trash yet! Many things can be taken to a nearby drop-off location for recycling or donation, or can be mailed for free to an organization that will recycle it. Explore our guide to drop-off and mail-in recycling here, and if we’re missing anything, please let us know.

Note: Before you make the trip, call ahead to a drop-off location to confirm that they will accept the particular item you have. We do our best to keep this page up to date, but recycling availability sometimes changes without warning.


  • Gwinnett County Fire Stations – Station #14 (Buford), #15 (Lawrenceville), #3 (Lilburn) 
    Note: Proceeds benefit the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation
  • TerraCycle – Mail-In
    1. Join the TerraCycle Gerber Recycling Program
    2. Print a free shipping label
    3. Collect and mail in flexible plastic baby food pouches[/sta_anchor]
  • GreenDisk – Mail-In
    1. Purchase a Technotrash Pack-IT Service for a small fee
    2. Fill a box with accepted e-waste
    3. Mail to GreenDisk
Berry containers (plastic; empty)
Blenders
Bread bags (clean and dry)
Butter tubs (empty)
Candy wrappers
Cardboard
Cereal bags (clean and dry)
Cereal boxes
Chip bags
Cigarettes and packaging
  • TerraCycle – Mail-In
    1. Join the TerraCycle Cigarette Waste Recycling Program
    2. Print a free shipping label
    3. Collect and mail in extinguished cigarettes, cigarette filters, loose tobacco pouches, outer plastic packaging, inner foil packaging, rolling paper, and ash
Cleaning products
Coffee and espresso makers
Compostable products (cups, plates, utensils, etc.)
  • Start your own compost pile or check ShareWaste to find a neighbor near you who is accepting compostable products for their compost
    Note: Compostable plastic does not break down in home compost
Cups (plastic; empty)
Cups (Styrofoam; empty)
Deep fryers
Dishwashers
Drink pouches (i.e. Capri Sun)
  • TerraCycle – Mail-In
    1. Join the TerraCycle Drink Pouch Recycling Program
    2. Print a free shipping label
    3. Collect and mail in aluminum and plastic drink pouches (no need to remove the straws)
Egg cartons (cardboard)
Egg cartons (Styrofoam)
Electric mixers
Envelopes and mail
Fats, oils, and greases
Fire extinguishers
Food processors
Food scraps (compost)
Food storage containers (empty)
Glass bottles and jars (empty)
Granola bar wrappers
Greeting cards (no glitter, foil, velvet, metal, or ribbon)
 Juice bottles (glass)
 Juice bottles (plastic; empty)
Juicers
Junk mail
Magazines and catalogs
Meat slicers and grinders
Meat trays (Styrofoam; clean)
Metal lids
[sta_anchor id="milk" unsan="Milk bottles" /]Milk bottles (plastic, empty)
[sta_anchor id="newspaper" /]Newspaper
[sta_anchor id="newspaper-sleeves" unsan="newspaper sleeves" /]Newspaper sleeves (clean and dry)
[sta_anchor id="pans" /]Pans
[sta_anchor id="paper-bags" /]Paper bags
[sta_anchor id="paper-towel-cores" /]Paper towel cores
[sta_anchor id="phonebooks"]Phonebooks
[sta_anchor id="pizza-boxes"]Pizza boxes
[sta_anchor id="plastic-bags" unsan="plastic bags" /]Plastic bags (i.e. grocery bags, produce bags, shopping bags) (clean and dry)
[sta_anchor id="product-wrap" unsan="product wrap" /]Plastic product wrap (i.e. water bottle or toilet paper case wraps) (clean and dry)
[sta_anchor id="styrofoam" /]Plates (Styrofoam; clean)
[sta_anchor id="popcorn-makers" /]Popcorn makers
[sta_anchor id="pots" /]Pots
[sta_anchor id="pressure-cookers" /]Pressure cookers
[sta_anchor id="refrigerators" /]Refrigerators
[sta_anchor id="rice-cookers" unsan="rice cookers" /]Rice cookers
[sta_anchor id="salad-bins" unsan="salad bins" /]Salad bins (plastic; empty)
[sta_anchor id="slow-cookers" unsan="slow cookers" /]Slow cookers/crock pots
[sta_anchor id="smoke-detectors" unsan="smoke detectors" /]Smoke detectors
[sta_anchor id="snack-bags" unsan="snack bags" /]Snack bags
[sta_anchor id="soda-bottles" unsan="soda bottles" /]Soda bottles (plastic)
[sta_anchor id="soup-cans" unsan="soup cans" /]Soup cans (clean)
[sta_anchor id="stoves" unsan="stoves" /]Stoves
[sta_anchor id="straws" unsan="straws" /]Straws
[sta_anchor id="styrofoam" /]Styrofoam (clean)
[sta_anchor id="swiffer" unsan="swiffer" /]Swiffer refills
[sta_anchor id="syrup-bottles" unsan="syrup bottles" /]Syrup bottles (plastic; empty)
[sta_anchor id="plastic-takeout-boxes" /]Takeout boxes (plastic; clean)
[sta_anchor id="styrofoam-takeout-boxes" unsan="styrofoam takeout boxes" /]Takeout boxes (Styrofoam; clean)
[sta_anchor id="teapots" /]Teapots/kettles
[sta_anchor id="tins" /]Tins (i.e. mint tins, cookie tins, popcorn tins)
[sta_anchor id="tissue-boxes" unsan="tissue boxes" /]Tissue boxes
[sta_anchor id="toasters"]Toasters
Towels
Waffle makers
Water bottles (empty)
Water filtration products (Brita brand)
  • TerraCycle – Mail-In – Brita Products
    1. Join the TerraCycle Brita Recycling Program
    2. Print a free shipping label
    3. Collect and mail in Brita® dispensers, Brita® Bottles, Brita® Bottle Filters, Brita® Standard Filters, Brita® Stream Filters, Brita® Longlast Filters, Brita® filter packaging, Brita® faucet filtration systems, and Brita® pitchers
Wine corks (natural)
Yogurt cups
Zip-close food storage bags (clean and dry)