We want to do our part to reduce, reuse, and recycle, but there are a lot of unknowns when it comes to recycling.

Emma Pardini, WLSSD’s Environmental Program Coordinator, answered some Frequently Asked Questions.

How clean is clean enough?

Pardini says the answer is somewhat of a gray area because in our area, the items that can belong in your recycling bin depends on your hauler.

“They each deliver to a different sorting facility that has different equipment and protocols for how they sort that waste,” she said.

However, she has a simple rule of thumb: Nothing sticky or stinky.

“So when you think about all your recyclables going in the bin, going in a truck, getting delivered someplace down in the Twin Cities, they’re going to be about a week before somebody ends up touching them again,” Pardini said. “And there are humans that work in these places, and you have to think to yourself, what is that yogurt going to smell like a week from now?”

Are there items too big or small to be recycled?

An item about 2-3 inches tends to be too small because it may get lost in the sorting machines, literally slipping through the cracks.

Anything 2 feet or bigger should be cut down if possible.

Lid on or off?

Pardini says items with lids made out of the same material can stay on.

“Leave rigid plastic lids on rigid plastic bottles. This can all get recycled together,” she said. “That’s not the case if you have a metal lid on a glass salsa jar. Those are different materials, and they want to go different places.”

WLSSD is also hosting an open house to mark 50 years of the Solid Waste Authority.

“WLSSD is this region’s Solid Waste Authority. We are the folks who make the rules and try and make sure that services are accessible for all of the things you don’t want anymore,” Pardini said. “And we’ve been doing that for 50 years.”

The open house goes from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28 at the Materials Recovery Center off of Rice Lake Rd.