Commercial Recycling Services

Yes. –The commercial recycling services cost 15-20% less than commercial trash services. When a business adds recycling, they are reducing the amount of waste entering their trash dumpster. Therefore, they can reduce the size of the trash dumpster or the number of collects per week to offset the cost of recycling. A business can even save money on their solid waste bill if most of their waste generated is recyclable. Please call the Contact Center for more information: (573) 874-6291.

The most common recycling service that businesses choose is cardboard-only. This dumpster can include some office paper and newspapers, but > 90% of the material should be cardboard. This service costs less than other types of recycling because the material is mostly pre-sorted. The mixed container recycling is popular for restaurants and bars, and food waste recycling is a new option that we are promoting. Please keep in mind that you can always change the dumpster size or collection frequency at no cost. Some businesses experiment with different recycling options for 1-2 weeks before deciding on a more permanent service.

No. –The City of Columbia recycles all plastics except Styrofoam and plastic film/ bags. This means that if you can identify those two exceptions, it does not matter what type of plastic you are trying to recycle.

The caps or lids on glass bottles/ jars are made of metal. These are not recyclable and should be disposed as trash. This is different from plastic bottles, where the caps should be left on the container to recycle both items. The plastic bottle and cap are often different types of plastic, but they can now be separated mechanically at the processing facility. –The labels can remain attached to glass or plastic containers.