Recycling at the Park

South Carolina’s state parks want you to come out and play.

The parks also want you to come out and recycle.

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.

Recycle Right SC: A Guide to Residential Recycling (PDF)

Recycle Right! Learn about Recycling with the Recycling Guys (PDF)

Recycling: The Basics – What You Need to Know (PDF)

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.

(1) PLASTIC BAGS

Reuse, donate to food banks, or recycle at your local grocery store.

(2) BAGGED RECYCLABLES

Place items loose in your recycling cart or bin.

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.

Recycling Grants for Colleges & Universities