Commercial Recycling

The City of Wilkes-Barre requires recycling of all commercial, institutional, and governmental establishments located within the City limits as mandated by PA DEP ACT 101. 

Recycling various items reduces the amount of waste going into landfills, decreases disposal costs, saves natural resources, and lessens pollution risks. 

Each commercial, institutional, and governmental establishments is required to obtain a private recycling hauler of their choice and properly separate recyclable items from general waste/refuse. 

The City will request, on an annual basis, that each commercial, institutional, and governmental establishment complete a recycling report and provide back up documentation from their recycling hauler regarding the total yearly amount recycled. 

Commercial & Institutional Recyclers, please visit us in January 2024 to download and complete the yearly Commercial & Institutional Recycling Report.

Items Required to Be Recycled

Listed below are the 4 required items to be recycled in order to comply with the City of Wilkes-Barre’s recycling regulations and the Pennsylvania Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988 (Act 101).

The City of Wilkes-Barre and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) requires the following items to be recycled:

Aluminum

High-grade office paper

Corrugated paper

Leaf Waste

The City of Wilkes-Barre also encourages commercial recycling of the following items. Please check with your private hauler for the recyclable items that they accept.

• Glass (clear, green and brown bottles and jars)
• Ferrous containers (steel or in-coated steel food cans or beverage cans)
• PET plastic (soda bottles and peanut butter containers)
• HDPE plastic (milk jugs and laundry detergent bottles)
• Newspapers
• Telephone books
• Appliances/Scrap metal (washers, dryers, microwaves and refrigerators)
• Electronics (computers, printers, copy machines, TV’s and VCR’s)
• Leaf /grass waste
• Tree trimmings
• Vehicle tires