Dual Stream Recycling
City of Wilkes-Barre Recycling
As a "mandated municipality" the City of Wilkes-Barre is mandated to recycle, according to Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulation, the Pennsylvania Municipal Waste, Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988 (ACT 101). Under the Act, items required to be recycled include: Aluminum, Steel & Bimetallic Cans, Newsprint, and Leaf Waste
Recycling various items reduces the amount of waste going into landfills, decreases disposal costs, saves natural resources, and lessens pollution risks.
Dual Stream Recycling Begins Monday, May 3rd on your collection day.
Paper and Cardboard will be collected the week of May 3rd through May 7th.
Plastics, Glass, and Metal Cans will be collected the week of May 10th through May 14th.
On May 3, 2021, the City of Wilkes-Barre will begin Dual Stream Recycling. Dual Stream Recycling keeps paper and cardboard products separate from glass and plastic containers and metal cans. Some of the benefits of Dual Stream Recycling are less contamination, higher quality and more valuable recovered material, and lower costs to process the collected recyclables.
Paper and cardboard collection and plastic, bottles, and metal can collection will alternate each week. The dual stream collection program will start with paper and cardboard collection the week of May 3rd, on your neighborhood’s collection day. Visit the City Calendar for the type of collection each week, or view the recycling schedule below.
Download the Dual Stream Reycling Guidelines in ENGLISH or ESPAÑOL.
Recycling Schedule
All recycling is to be placed at the curb on your scheduled day by 7:00 AM (Labor Day through Memorial Day) and by 6:00 AM (Memorial Day through Labor Day). The recycling schedule can also be downloaded here. If you are unsure of your collection day, please use the collection schedule map or call 570.821.1111, Option 1 to determine it.
| Day | Neighborhood |
|---|---|
| Monday | Downtown, South Wilkes-Barre 1 |
| Tuesday | North End, Heights, Brookside |
| Wednesday | Mayflower, Rolling Mill Hill, Iron Triangle, Goose Island |
| Thursday | South Wilkes-Barre 2 |
| Friday | East End, Parsons, Miners Mills |
| May 2021-January 2022 Collection Schedule | |
|---|---|
| WEEK | COLLECTION TYPE & HOLIDAYS |
| May 3-7 | Paper and Cardboard |
| May 10-14 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans |
May 17-21 | Paper and Cardboard |
| May 24-28 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans |
May 31*-June 4 | Paper and Cardboard *Memorial Day on Monday, May 31st: No collections. Paper & Cardboard Recycling Collection Resumes for Downtown & South W-B 1 on Tuesday, June 1st. |
June 7-11 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans |
June 14*-18 | Paper and Cardboard *Flag Day on Monday, June 14th: No collections. Paper & Cardboard Recycling Collection Resumes for Downtown & South W-B 1 on Tuesday, June 15th. |
June 21-25 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans |
June 28-July 2 | Paper and Cardboard |
| July 5*-9 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans *Independence Day (Observed) on Monday, July 5th: No collections. Plastic, Glass, and Can Recycling Collection Resumes for Downtown & South W-B 1 on Tuesday, July 6th. |
| July 12-16 | Paper and Cardboard |
July 19-23 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans |
July 26-30 | Paper and Cardboard |
August 2-6 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans |
August 9-13 | Paper and Cardboard |
August 16-20 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans |
| August 23-27 | Paper and Cardboard |
| August 30-September 3 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans |
| September 6*-10 | Paper and Cardboard *Labor Day on Monday, September 6th: No collections. Paper & Cardboard Recycling Collection Resumes for Downtown & South W-B 1 on Tuesday, September 7th. |
| September 13-17 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans |
| September 20-24 | Paper and Cardboard |
| September 27- October 1 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans |
| October 4-8 | Paper and Cardboard |
| October 11*-15 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans *Columbus Day on Monday, October 11th: No collections. Plastic #1-7, Glass, and Can Recycling Collection Resumes for Downtown & South W-B 1 on Tuesday, October 12th. |
| October 18-22 | Paper and Cardboard |
| October 25-29 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans |
| November 1-5 | Paper and Cardboard |
| November 8-12* | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans *Veterans Day on Thursday, November 11th: No collections. Plastic #1-7, Glass, and Can Recycling Collection Resumes for South W-B 2 on Friday, November 12th. |
| November 15-19 | Paper and Cardboard |
| November 22-26* | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans *Thanksgiving Day on Thursday, November 25th and the Day After Thanksgiving on Friday, November 26th: No collections. Plastic #1-7, Glass, and Can Recycling Collection Resumes for South W-B 2, East End, Parsons, and Miners Mills on Saturday, November 27th. |
| November 29-December 3 | Paper and Cardboard |
| December 6-10 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans |
| December 13-17 | Paper and Cardboard |
| December 20-24 | *Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans *Christmas Eve/Christmas Observed on Friday, December 24th: No collections. Plastic #1-7, Glass, and Can Recycling for East End, Parsons & Miners Mills postponed to Monday, December 27th. |
| December 27-31 | *Paper and Cardboard *New Year’s Eve/ New Year Observed on Friday, December 31st: No collections. Paper & Cardboard Recycling Collection for East End, Parsons & Miners Mills postponed to Monday, January 3rd |
January 3-7 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans |
| January 10-14 | Paper and Cardboard |
| January 17-21 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans |
January 24-28 | Paper and Cardboard |
| January 31-February 4 | Plastic, Glass Bottles, and Metal Cans |
Recycling Rules
Please follow the rules below to help eliminate garbage going into the recycling stream:
- Recycling will not be collected if it is in plastic bags.
- Recyclables must be clean of food and beverage debris and visible to DPW crews.
- Compact cardboard and dispose of cardboard and paper in the recycling bins as best as possible, especially when there is rain or snow.
- Do not overload recycling bins.
Recyclables will be collected from:
- City-Issued Recycling Bins (There are currently no additional bins available at this time)
- Similiarly Sized Recycling Bins Purchased by Residents (available at home improvement stores)
Recycling Drop Off Site
In an effort to increase and promote more recycling in the City of Wilkes-Barre, recycling drop off dumpsters are located at:
Department of Public Works Garage
3 Conyngham Avenue, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711.
The drop off hours are Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM (Labor Day through Memorial Day) and 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM (Memorial Day through Labor Day).