Recycling Information
Curbside
♻️ Curbside Recycling in Portsmouth
Portsmouth makes recycling easy with single stream recycling — no sorting needed! Just place all approved recyclables clean and loose in your recycling bin each week.
✅ What You CAN Recycle Curbside
Make sure all items are empty, dry, and loose (not in bags). Recyclables include:
Metals & Cans
- Aluminum cans
- Steel & tin cans
- Empty aerosol cans (remove plastic caps)
Plastics
- #1 PET bottles (with screw tops; put caps back on)
- #2 HDPE bottles (milk jugs, detergent, shampoo, etc.)
- #3–#7 plastics (no foam or polystyrene)
Glass
- Food & beverage containers in clear, green, or brown
Paper & Cardboard
- Newspapers & mail
- Magazines, glossy inserts, pamphlets
- Office paper, printing paper
- Uncoated paperboard (cereal/snack boxes)
- Corrugated cardboard (flatten it!)
- Phone books
🟦 Remember: All recyclables must be at least 4 inches in size. Smaller items fall through sorting equipment and can’t be processed.
🚫 What NOT to Recycle Curbside
Plastics & Packaging
- Plastic bags or bagged recyclables
- Flexible packaging (chip bags, pouches)
- Polystyrene (foam cups, take-out containers)
- Soiled pizza boxes (tear off clean parts to recycle)
Glass & Ceramics
- Mirrors
- Window glass, auto glass
- Cookware, bakeware
- Light bulbs
Household Items
- Clothes, bedding, fabrics
- Hoses, cords, wires
- Coat hangers
- Household appliances, electronics
- Yard waste, wood, construction debris
- Large furniture, auto parts, tires
Hazardous or Contaminated Waste
- Food or liquids in containers
- Diapers, pet waste
- Soiled or wet paper
- Medical waste (needles, IV bags, etc.)
- Batteries, propane tanks
- Anything contaminated or made of mixed materials
🔗 Find out where to recycle plastic bags: plasticfilmrecycling.org
2016 Recovery Rate Analysis
Yard Waste
- Place yard waste in paper bags or barrels clearly marked "yard waste". Each bag must weigh under 50 lbs.
- Brush? Bundle with string/twine:
- Max 4 ft long
- 1 ft diameter
- Stems no thicker than 5 inches
- 🔗 More yard waste info
🛋️ Bulky Waste Pickup
Large household items? Visit our Bulky Waste Collection page for curbside pickup details.
🧪 Specialty Recycling – Drop-Off Only
Drop these items off at the Portsmouth Recycling Center – no curbside collection:
- Antifreeze
- Batteries (Alkaline batteries go in regular trash)
- Clothing
- Cooking/vegetable oil
- Eyeglasses
- Fluorescent bulbs
- Oil & oil filters
- Empty propane tanks
☣️ Household Hazardous Waste
Twice a year, Public Works hosts Household Hazardous Waste Collection Days.
Accepted materials include:
Paints, stains, varnishes
Cleaners, degreasers, drain openers
Pesticides, insecticides, poisons
Pool chemicals, adhesives
Automotive fluids (oil, antifreeze, transmission/brake fluids)
Solvents, glues, hobby chemicals
📍 For details on events and accepted materials, click here.
🚐 Other Waste
RV Waste Dumping
Visit Pease Treatment Plant
📞 (603) 427-1553