City of Rolla Recycling Center
The City of Rolla Recycling Center is a drop-off facility for separated recyclable materials. The facility is owned and operated by the City of Rolla and is accessible to the public seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. When placing recyclables into the appropriate slot or bin, please separate properly and follow any specific instructions posted at the location.
Contact Information:
Director: Brady Wilson
Location: 2141 Old St James Road
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 979 Rolla, MO 65402
Phone: (573) 364-6693
E-mail: waste@rollacity.org
Fax: (573) 364-3648
What can I recycle?
DOCUMENT DESTRUCTION
The Rolla Recycling Center offers a Document Destruction Service. Please call us for details, (573) 364-6693.
PLASTICS
Look on the bottom of plastic containers for the number located in the center of the recycling symbol. We are able to recycle #1 and #2 plastics and certain plastic bags and shrink-wrap. The symbols will look like this:
#1 (PETE): These are typically found in the form of soft drink bottles.
#2 Natural (HDPE): Most commonly milk jugs.
#2 Colored (HDPE): Most commonly laundry detergent bottles, bleach bottles, etc.
Please rinse out all bottles, discard all caps/lids, and flatten containers to save space.
Plastic product bags (shopping bags, bread bags, dry-clean bags, etc.) and shrink-wrap bags must be clean & dry. No black bags.
Bags and shrink-wrap are NOT collected at curbside.
Electronic Waste
Electronic waste includes (but is not limited to):
- Computers / keyboards / mice / scanners
- VCR's / DVD players
- Radios / stereo's
- Fax machines / copy machines / all-in-one machines
- Computer monitors / Televisions (There is a small fee for these items)
While most items are accepted free of charge, there may be fees for certain items. Please call the Rolla Recycling Center (573) 364-6693 to make an appointment for E-Waste drop-off.
All our electronic waste is processed through the Computer Recycling Center in Springfield Missouri. If you have questions about the security of the data that is left on your computer hard drive (even after formatting) please check out their policy on Data Destruction.
Appliances are NOT e-Waste and will not be accepted. If you have an appliance you need to dispose of please call the Rolla Recycling Center at (573) 364-6693.
More information on what e-Waste is and what you can do to help.
BATTERIES & CELL PHONES - New Items Accepted
Rechargeable batteries and any cell phones can be delivered to the office at the Recycling Center to be recycled.
When you see the abbreviations Ni-Cd, Ni-MH, Li-Ion or Pb imprinted on a battery pack, it means it can be recycled.
Bring these items to the Recycling Center office during normal business hours (M-F 8:00am - 4:40pm)
NEWSPAPERS
Inserts are accepted but please remove any plastic bags, twine and string.
MIXED PAPER
Office paper, magazines, catalogs, junk mail, cereal boxes, and any other paperboard cartons are accepted.
Brown paper bags are also accepted. (Please remove any carbon paper, plastic, and Styrofoam.)
Staples and paper clips do not have to be removed.
CARDBOARD
Corrugated boxes only, (boxes must be free of plastic, Styrofoam, wood, etc.
Flatten cardboard boxes if desired to save space.
After the cardboard is dropped off at the Recycling Center...
...it's packed into 2000 pound bales and sold.
ALUMINUM CANS
Cans need to be empty and free from any foreign debris. (Flatten cans if desired to save space.)
TIN / STEEL CANS
Cans need to be emptied and rinsed. Labels do not need to be removed.
Aerosols are acceptable if empty. Please remove any plastic caps or lids from the can.
GLASS
Only food and beverage containers are accepted. Remove all lids and rinse containers. There is no need to remove labels.
Clear bottles and jars must be separated from colored bottles and jars.
We cannot accept light bulbs, ceramics, glass cookware, mirrors, window plate glass, or auto glass.
OIL & ANTI-FREEZE
Used motor oil can be deposited at various locations in Rolla. Please call the recycling center for details, (573) 364-6693.
Used anti-freeze with no other contaminants can be brought to the City of Rolla Vehicle Maintenance building at the corner of 18th Street and Old St. James Road for recycling during normal operating hours (7:30 – 3:30 M-F).
Why should I Recycle?
How about the following reasons.....
Americans generate about 222 million tons of trash annually. On average, each one of us generates 4-5 pounds of trash daily. When we send all of this waste to landfills they fill up quickly. Therefore, recycling has become an important part of our waste management system. By recycling a significant portion of our waste, we save landfill space and get the following benefits in the process:
- Recycling helps conserve natural resources (trees, water, metals, oil, coal) that are used in the production of new products.
- Recycling helps reduce the demand for energy. Less energy is required to produce products from recycled materials than with virgin materials. Consider this: It takes the same amount of energy to make 20 recycled aluminum cans as it take to make one can from virgin materials. That is a 95% energy savings!
- Since less energy is used, less pollution is produced. Many industries burn fossil fuels (coal, oil) for energy. Burning coal produces sulphur dioxide, which is one of our biggest and worst air pollutants.
TRASHY TRIVIA
- Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 trees!
- One domestic auto manufacturer uses approximately 50 million soda bottles a year to produce components (grills, bumpers, trunk liners, etc.) for new cars and trucks.
- Recycling scrap steel reduces related water pollution, air pollution, and mining by about 70%.
- Americans throw away enough aluminum each year to rebuild the entire commercial air fleet.
- The energy saved by recycling one glass jar can power a 100-watt light bulb for four hours.
- Much of the paper that you recycle is used to make construction materials such as gypsum board, insulation, and roofing materials.
- A significant number of plastic soda bottles are used to make new carpet and clothing.
DON’T THROW IT ALL AWAY - RECYCLE!
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT RECYCLING?
Call: (573) 364-6693 or (573)364-9568
2141 OLD ST. JAMES RD.
ROLLA, MO 65401
Curbside Recycling
The City of Rolla provides a residential curbside collection service for recyclable materials (within the City Limits.) Participation is strictly voluntary, but is encouraged. The City of Rolla Recycling Center will provide each resident with a Blue Recycle Bin, and the recyclable materials should be placed in the recycling bin and placed at the curbside for collection on the same day as the refuse container.
If you are interested in participating in this program, please call (573) 364-6693 and we will deliver a Blue Recycle Bin to your home, or come by the City of Rolla Recycling Center to pick up your Bin today.
The following items are collected curbside:
- #1 Plastic bottles, typically soft drink bottles (rinse & remove lids)
- #2 Plastic Jugs (rinse & remove lids)
- #2 Colored plastic
- Tin cans
- Aluminum cans
- Glass bottles and jars (clear, green, & brown)
- Cardboard (remove any plastic & styrofoam, etc.)
- Newspaper
- Mixed paper such as magazines and junk mail. .
*** Motor Oil containers cannot be recycled.
*** Plastic product bags and shrink wrap are accepted at the Recycling Center but are not collected in the curbside program.
Follow these guidelines to help make recycling a positive experience for you:
- When placing your container out for collection, be sure it is easily visible from the street and not obscured by a parked car, shrub, etc.
- Don’t let your recyclables become neighborhood litter. Place heavier items (i.e., glass, tin cans, bundled newspaper) on top of lighter items (i.e., plastics, loose paper). If newspaper is bundled or placed in a grocery bag, it can be laid on top of your container and serve to hold other materials in place.
- You can use a permanent marker to write your address on the bottom of your container.
- If you move, leave the recycling container at your current address for the next resident to use.
- Try to place your container out for collection only when it is full, not when you only have 1 or 2 items. This will make collections more efficient.
- It is very helpful if you separate your recyclables within the container (e.g., place newspapers in a brown paper bag). However, this is not mandatory.
- Please do not use plastic shopping bags, we cannot recycle these.
- If you find that your recycling container is not large enough to hold your weekly recyclables, feel free to place the overflow in a cardboard box, paper bag, etc. and set it next to your recycling container.
- Remember that some collection schedules are affected by certain holidays. Call our office at 364-6693 if you have questions.
