♻️ 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

• 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

🔗 More on the Recycling Center

☣️ 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