Fayetteville’s recycling program accepts many different materials including: newspaper, cardboard, paperboard, magazines, mixed paper, plastic bottles #1 and #2, steel cans, aluminum cans, and clear, green and brown glass containers. Besides the curbside recycling program, a 24-hour Recycling drop off that collected 1,060 tons of recyclables in 2006 is also available.

Residential curbside recycling collection collects 68% of the material recycled in Fayetteville. Commercial cardboard accounts for 15% and the Recycling drop off 14%. The other 3% is from small collections at Government offices, etc. Curbside recycling collection has a 57% participation rate, currently encompassing 18,473 through April 2007.

In 2006, a 21% diversion rate was achieved through recycling and composting programs from all commercial and residential sources collected by the City. Residential diversion alone, achieved through composting and recycling programs, is at 51%.

Residential recycling is accomplished through separating recyclables at the source (curbside). This allows our drivers to keep recyclables free from cross contamination with other recyclables, ensuring a marketable commodity for processors and mills. Also, source separating provides an educational component to our residents by only accepting items that we can recycle, while drivers leave a tag telling the residents why we cannot recycle the item in question.