Home Recycling and Waste

Sorting recycling and waste at home doesn’t have to be confusing.

It can be a challenge to figure out what to toss, compost, or recycle at home. Clackamas County and Metro have resources to make it simple!

What goes where for home recycling and disposal?

Learn more about home waste sorting with this Clackamas County handout:

 English (link is external) | Español  (link is external)(Spanish) | Русский  (link is external)(Russian) | tiếng Việt  (link is external)(Vietnamese) | 中文 (link is external) (Simple Chinese)

What about food scraps?

Learn more about food waste reduction (link is external)and food scraps disposal through Clackamas County and Metro resources.

Can I recycle that?

That garbage might be recyclable! Read about on this Metro webpage. (link is external)

Can I fix this instead of tossing it?

Reuse is better than refuse! Repair Fairs occur across the region, where volunteers with ‘fixing’ skills help other repair their broken items at no cost. Learn how to repair small appliances, jewelry, bikes, clothing and more. Visit the Repair Fair Homepage (link is external) to learn about events in your area.

What about clothing and textiles?

Clothes and textiles can have a new life through reuse and recycling! Donate good-condition clothing to local charities, non-profits, or repurposing businesses in your area. Read this Oregonian article to find a list of Portland-Metro clothing donation sites (link is external). Visit Metro's Find a Recycler page (link is external) to access a list of clothing and textile recycling sites. For more information and options on clothing donation, selling, and repurposing ideas, check out this fashion company's blog post (link is external). 

Is this safe to throw away?

Some things are too dangerous to toss in your home garbage or recycling. Learn more about disposal of hazardous waste, medications, and sharps (link is external) on this Clackamas County page.

How do I toss or recycle large, bulky items? 

Does grandma’s floral couch need to go? Learn about the City of Milwaukie’s Curbside Bulky Waste Day event, self-haul to Metro’s waste facilities (link is external), or contact your hauler for pick-up options.

What about electronic waste?

There's a program for that! The Oregon E-Cycles program requires electronics manufacturers to provide free recycling for computers, laptops, monitors, and TVs to anyone bringing seven or fewer items to a participating collection site at one time. To find an E-Cycles recycling site near you, visit DEQ's e-cycles page (link is external). Thinking local? Free Geek in SE Portland also takes electronics for donation. Visit Free Geek's website (link is external) to learn more. 

What about batteries?

Clackamas County has a program for recycling batteries. You can find more information on the Clackamas County curbside battery recycling (link is external) website.

Want to do more? Become a Master Recycler!

Master Recyclers are home-grown experts - you can become one too! Visit the Master Recycler Program (link is external) homepage to submit an application.

Visit https://www.clackamas.us/recycling (link is external) to learn more about recycling and waste in your community. 

Questions? Contact:
503.786.7600
publicworks@milwaukieoregon.gov (link sends e-mail)