Where can I take food scraps and yard waste?
I need moving boxes; can I get some from Sedona Recycles?
I saw some cats when I was at Sedona Recycles; who takes care of them?

 

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Is Sedona Recycles owned/operated by the City of Sedona?

No. Sedona Recycles is a nonprofit organization founded by three Sedona women in 1989. Sedona Recycles does receive compensation for contracted services from the City of Sedona, but the City is not involved in running our operation.

Where can I recycle?

We have five free-to-the-public 24-hour recycling drop-off sites in Sedona and Jerome.  You can find the closest one here. We are always looking for new locations to expand accessibility of this service to the community; please contact us if you are interested in hosting a drop-off site.

What can I recycle?

Check out our Recycling Guide to see what we do and do not accept.

Who can use the Sedona Recycles drop-off sites?

Anyone! Residents, visitors, and businesses are all welcome to use our drop-off sites 24 hours a day.

How should I sort my recyclables?

We collect our recyclable in five different bins:

  • Cardboard – includes corrugated cardboard, brown paper bags,
    and paperboard
  • Paper – includes newspaper, magazines, office paper, junk
    mail, shredded paper (bagged), and phonebooks
  • Clear Glass – bottles and jars only
  • Colored Glass – bottles and jars only
  • Plastic and Cans – includes aluminum cans, steel cans, and
    plastics #1, #2, and #5 (bottles, tubs, buckets, pots)

Can lids be recycled?

Yes. Please keep plastic lids on plastic bottles. Steel can lids should stay attached to the can or be stuffed down inside. If you have loose metal lids, such as those from glass bottles or jars, collect them in a steel can and then crimp the lid of the can shut when it’s almost full. You can do the same with plastic lids: collect loose lids in a yogurt tub or wide mouth plastic container and recycle when full.

All loose lids will not be recycled. Our steel magnet is not strong enough to lift loose lids from cans and jars and the mishmash of plastic lids, straws, and tiny bits of grit and various detritus are too small for our busy hands to pull off the sorting line. 

Do I need to clean out my bottles and cans before recycling them?

A little rinse goes a long way towards keeping Sedona Recycles clean and fresh. You don’t need to worry about scrubbing every bit of peanut butter out of the jar, but please empty your containers and give them a quick rinse. Remember, every piece of metal and plastic we receive is handled by our employees, so try to recycle your items in a way that you wouldn’t mind handling after a few days outside.

Can I recycle a bottle that contained motor oil?

No. Unfortunately these bottles will contaminate the other recyclables. And remember, you can recycle used motor oil at most automotive shops.

Are aerosol cans recyclable?

Yes. Aerosol cans are made of steel and can be recycled in the Plastic and Cans bin.

Can I recycle empty small propane bottles?

Yes. Small propane bottles are made of steel and can be recycled in the Plastic and Cans bin. Please make sure your bottles are empty before recycling.

How should I recycle shredded paper?

Please keep your shredded paper in a plastic bag to prevent litter. We will open the plastic bag once we are ready to bale the paper inside. Please don’t dump your shredded paper directly into the paper bin. All those little shreds fall out and blow away, littering the surrounding forest and Carroll Canyon wash and making a lot more work for our staff.

Does Sedona Recycles take paint, chemicals, fluorescent bulbs, or other hazardous waste?

No. If you live in Coconino County you can dispose of these items, free of charge, at the Hazardous Products Center in Flagstaff. Yavapai County residents have no way to dispose of this waste safely. Please call Yavapai County Solid Waste Department at (928) 771-3183 to find out about upcoming hazardous waste collection events and urge them to offer this service year round.

For more information about disposing of hazardous waste and other items, check out our A-Z Reuse and Disposal Guide.

Where can I recycle batteries?

It is $1 per pound to recycle batteries with Sedona Recycles which covers the costs of shipping and processing. Batteries are accepted in the lobby of Sedona Recycles during business hours. Please use the battery recycling station to weigh and sort your batteries. We now accept debit/credit cards if you don’t carry cash.
More information about battery recycling is available here.

Auto batteries can be recycled at local automotive parts stores.

Where can I recycle electronics?

Transfer Stations in Cottonwood and Camp Verde accept electronics for recycling. Best Buy in Flagstaff also accepts electronics. All electronic recyclers’ contact information can be found in our A-Z Reuse and Disposal Guide.

Does Sedona Recycles accept plastic bags?

No. Most local grocery stores like Bashas and Safeway recycle plastic bags, so please take your bags to your favorite store. You can even include dry-cleaning bags, Ziploc bags, plastic wrap, and most other soft plastics.

Sedona Recycles doesn’t take plastic bags because they make a big mess at our outdoor facility, blowing away and littering Carroll Canyon wash, contaminating our other products, and getting tangled in our equipment. The bags we pull out of our other materials are so dirty they have to be thrown away. In fact, the majority of the garbage produced at our facility is plastic bags. Please help us recycle these bags instead of sending them to the landfill by taking them directly to the grocery stores that accept them.

Does Sedona Recycles accept Styrofoam?

Yes and no. We accept packing peanuts and egg cartons for reuse/exchange at our facility in Sedona only. Please bring these items into the facility lobby during business hours.

May 31, 2023 will be the final day that we accept polystyrene foam blocks. 

Does Sedona Recycles accept soy milk/broth (aseptic, TetraPak) containers?

No. There is a range of issues that have kept us from accepting these materials. One is volume. It would take such a long time to get enough of these containers to ship a full load that the material would degrade as it sat in our yard for several months and the milk and other liquids left inside could cause some serious issues.

Aseptic containers are difficult to recycle because they are made of paper, plastic, and aluminum sandwiched together, so we are not sure that we would want to recycle them even if we could. The process is so complicated that we are unsure if it can really work. We suggest avoiding these containers whenever possible and sticking to products in simple, recyclable packaging.

Does Sedona Recycles accept plate (window) glass?

No. Plate glass is compositionally different from bottle glass and cannot be recycled at Sedona Recycles. Sadly, there is no place locally to recycle plate glass, so it should just go in the garbage.

Why can plastic and cans be recycled in the same bin?

Plastic and cans are sorted on our material sorting line twice a week from 8:30-12:30. Separation of these materials, especially plastics, can be complicated, so we do the hard work for you!

We sort our mixed plastics and cans into the following categories: aluminum cans, steel cans, pet food cans, frosted #2 plastic bottles (milk jugs), colored #2 plastic bottles (detergent-type), bottle-shaped #1 plastic, #5 plastic tubs, and large rigid plastics. By sorting these materials ourselves, we can ensure the highest quality material with little to no contamination.

Where can I take food scraps and yard waste?

To your backyard compost pile! There is no public compost facility in Yavapai or Coconino counties. Compost Crowd is a local small business that offers residential collection service to Sedona and Flagstaff. Learn more about composting here.

Large quantities of yard waste should be taken to one of the local transfer stations.

I need moving boxes; can I get some from Sedona Recycles?

Absolutely. Feel free to take as many boxes from the bins as you need. We do not set aside boxes, so it’s up to you to find the boxes you like.

I saw some cats when I was at Sedona Recycles; who takes care of them?

We now have five cats living at Sedona Recycles. We feed and care for them and have had them all spayed and neutered. Sammy, an orange tabby, is the most friendly. You may even find him inside the office when you visit.

Our beloved cat, Malika, passed away in November 2012, and we lost Frankie in March of 2022.