You can pick up a bin, free of charge, from one of the city's Recycling Drop-off Centers. However, you don't need an official City recycling container to get in on the action. Just mark a sturdy plastic or metal container that holds 20 gallons or less with the word "RECYCLING" or put a city-issued "RECYCLING" sticker on it, and the city will collect it at the curb.

Check out our handy map of bin pick-up locations.

With all sorts of terms flying around,—Recycling Alliance, Streets Department, RecycleBank, Five Point Plan— it's no wonder there's confusion.

Explore our glossary of Philly recycling terms and get it all straight.

Looking for educational resources or materials for your school, community event or party? Check out our ever-expanding stockpile of recycling knowledge here.

Recycling is easy, but let's face it...

...navigating the City of Brotherly Love's recycling program can be downright confusing at times. Use this page to find information about when to recycle, what to recycle and how to make sure it gets collected at your curb.

The City of Philadelphia provides curbside recycling pick-up citywide for all residences of six units or fewer. Recycling pick-up is always the same day as trash day. However, some neighborhoods have recycling pick-up once a week, while others have it on an every other week basis. Find out when your neighborhood recycles here.

Single stream recycling is now citywide and allows residents to place all of their recycling in one bin, including plastics and carboard.  However, there are all sorts of containers marked with that familiar recycling symbol, and not all of them get picked at the curb.  Get the straight story about what can and cannot go in that bin here.

The City provides free recycling containers (blue bins or buckets) for residents. You can pick one up at one of these locations. But you don't need an official City recycling container to recycle curbside. Learn more about making your own bin here.

Last update: 8/12/08