Blacksburg recycling manager: tabletop cartons and plastic #5 now accepted; paperboard and wood still trash

Morgan Shock, manager of trash and recycling for the Town of Blacksburg, said the town’s curbside rules have changed to accept tabletop cartons and certain plastics but that some food-soiled materials and wood still belong in the trash.

“Guidelines just changed and now they are recyclable,” Shock said of tabletop cartons, introducing a short “Is it recyclable?” segment aimed at viewers. She demonstrated how residents can check plastic resin codes on the bottom of containers and noted that type 5 plastics are newly accepted. “Type 5 plastic is newly accepted so it can go in the recycling,” she said.

On items that remain excluded, Shock advised caution. Asked whether paperboard takeout containers are recyclable, she said they typically become too soiled with food to be effectively cleaned and therefore “need to go into the trash.” She also said wooden items such as popsicle sticks do not belong in curbside recycling.

Shock used the milk jug as a positive example: when a jug is made of type 2 plastic and the lid is on, it should be placed in recycling. “With the lid on, we put it into the recycling,” she said.

The brief segment is meant to help residents reduce contamination of the recycling stream by checking resin codes and removing or discarding items that cannot be cleaned. The segment ends with Shock thanking viewers for playing the quiz.