Recycling

The City of Bradenton provides several recycling drop-off sites located throughout the city, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These drop-off sites are designated for recycling only and are intended for City of Bradenton residents.

Please note: Residential utility bills in the City of Bradenton have never included a separate charge for recycling services. We encourage all residents to use these locations to reduce landfill waste and do our part to keep Bradenton clean and sustainable.

Where To Drop Off Recycling

Recycling drop-off locations are for City of Bradenton residential use only.

(Click on location for a map):

East end of San Ortebello Drive adjacent to our elevated water tower.
100 22nd St. NE in parking area adjacent to city lift station
1000 24th St. E. adjacent to the Dream Center
17th Ave. W. Park at Wares Creek, adjacent to lift station
Lewis Park parking lot, 3120 1st Ave. W.

These locations are for recycling materials only. All items must be placed inside the container. All cardboard must be clean, broken down or flattened to be recycled.

Recycling Collection Guidelines

LET'S WORK TOGETHER TO RECYCLE CLEANER!

All items must be placed inside the recycling container.

Recyclable Materials

The following materials are recyclable (all food and beverage containers should be rinsed):

Newspaper, junk mail, shopping ads, windowed envelopes, magazines and books (paperback)
Office and computer paper (all colors)
Phonebooks, greeting cards, brown paper bags
Fiberboard (cereal, crackers, frozen food and soda boxes)
Cardboard (must be clean, broken down or flattened)
Glass bottles and jars (all colors)
Aluminum and steel cans (soup and vegetable)
Plastic bottles and containers
Milk and juice cartons

Non-Recyclable Materials

Please do not place any of the following items in the recycling containers:

Garbage
Yard waste
Plastic bags
Styrofoam
Sandwich bags / shrink wrap
Clothing hangers
Batteries
Water hoses
Electronics
Large plastic items such as pools, coolers or toys
*Household Hazardous Waste and E-Scrap

*Manatee County residents can drop off their household hazardous waste (HHW) and electronic scrap (e-Scrap) on the third Saturday of every month from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Lena Road Landfill (3333 Lena Road, Bradenton, FL 34211) free of charge.

**HHW includes unwanted household products labeled as flammable, toxic, corrosive, or marked with warnings such as "danger," "warning," or "caution." These items should never be placed with your recycling. The hauler will not collect them.

What is Recycling Contamination?

Contamination happens when residents place non-recyclable or improperly prepared items into recycling containers. This includes materials such as plastic bags, cords, wires, tarps, and hoses, which can jam or damage sorting equipment at Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs). Additionally, unrinsed food containers or soiled paper products can contaminate the other clean, quality recyclables, making them unrecoverable.

Other items commonly mistaken as recyclable—such as electronics, clothing, and certain types of plastic—cannot be processed through single-stream recycling programs and should not be placed in drop-off containers.

Contamination reduces the quality of recyclable materials, increases processing costs, and may even cause entire loads of recycles to be redirected to the landfill. You can help support a cleaner, more efficient recycling program by reviewing and following the City's recycling guidelines.

Recycling

Where To Drop Off Recycling

Recycling Collection Guidelines

Non-Recyclable Materials

What is Recycling Contamination?

Helpful Links