In 2024, the S.C. Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) was awarded a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct a waste characterization study analyzing the type and amount of solid waste disposed of, and potentially recycled, in the state.
Recycling Right means only placing items in your recycling bin or cart that are accepted in your program and prepared properly.
Incorrect or improperly prepared items – called contamination – can harm your recycling program. Contamination can result in:
Wrong or improperly prepared items – called contamination – may seem recyclable but are unwanted in recycling markets. Contamination can place workers at risk, damage sorting equipment, lower the value of the material that can be recycled, and increase program costs.
Here’s recycling’s Dirty Dozen – items that should never be placed in your recycling cart.
Reuse, donate to food banks, or recycle at your local grocery store.
Place items loose in your recycling cart or bin.
There are many reasons to recycle – economic, environmental, social, and more.
Each of the state's 46 counties has a residential recycling program. In fact, South Carolina has nearly 70 curbside programs, 535-plus drop-off centers, and more than 900 collection sites for do-it-yourself (DIY) motor oil changers.
Recycling supports more than 300 companies and 42,000-plus jobs that comprise South Carolina’s recycling industry.
Understanding what can be recycled, where, and how can get confusing. This confusion often leads to placing recyclables in the trash or throwing trash into the recycling bin.
To help, here are answers to the most frequently asked questions about household waste management.
Recycling is collecting items that otherwise would be thrown away and turning them into new products.
Thousands of do-it-yourselfers (DIYers) in South Carolina change their own oil in their cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, recreation vehicles and lawnmowers. If you are one of them, you need to know that the used oil must be recycled. It’s the law.
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