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Paducah's Program
The City of Paducah offers voluntary, single-stream, curbside recycling for its residential customers. Customers MUST sign up to receive the service.
- Residential service only.
- Voluntary subscription.
- Sign up at any time.
- Single-stream (no sorting necessary for accepted items).
- $3 fee per month per subscriber. If additional recycling containers are needed, each one is an additional $3 per month charge. NOTE: Effective July 1, 2024, the fee reduces to $1.50 per month for new and existing customers with a $3 fee per month charge for each additional recycling container. Visit Solid Waste Collection Fee Changes for more information.
- Collection at curbside/roadside (no alleys).
- Uses 96-gallon blue rollout containers.
- The recycling collection day may change due to holidays. Visit Holiday Schedule for more information.
- Collection twice per month on Mondays. If your normal trash collection day is either Tuesday or Wednesday, recycling will be collected on the first and third Monday of the month. If your normal trash collection day is either Thursday or Friday, recycling will be collected on the second and fourth Monday of the month.
View the Interactive Map to find out your garbage and curbside recycling days based on address.
MAP - Garbage and Recycling Collection Days
Sign Up for Curbside Recycling
To sign up for curbside recycling, click the Recycling logo or call the Public Works Department at 270-444-8511.
The fee appears on the property owner’s Paducah Water bill. The Paducah Water account number associated with the address is required in order to complete the registration process. The person responsible for that account must be the one who requests the recycling service.
Accepted and Not Accepted Items
This is a single-stream program which means all accepted recyclables can be placed in the recycling rollout together. There is no need to sort. Place items loosely in the recycling rollout. Do not use plastic bags since the bags can get caught in the mechanical parts during the single-stream sorting process. Please rinse and crush containers.
Accepted Items
- Office paper, newspaper, junk mail, catalogs
- Flattened Cardboard and Paperboard (cereal boxes, etc.)
- Steel and aluminum food and beverage cans
- Plastic bottles, jars, jugs, and containers
- Aseptic containers (juice boxes, milk cartons, etc.)
NOT Accepted Items
The list of items below should NOT be placed in the recycling rollout due to a variety of reasons including the risk of tangling in machinery and processing and market limitations. If these items are found mixed with recyclables, the materials could spoil the recyclables and turn the entire load to garbage.
- Food or liquids
- Shredded paper
- Foam cups and containers
- Plastic bags and plastic film
- Glass
- Electronics and batteries
- Household and medical hazardous waste
- Yard waste
- Clothing, furniture, and carpet
- Waste oil or tires
- Tangling items (i.e. hoses)
- Dirty diapers
Processing of Recyclables
Step 1 – The City of Paducah Solid Waste Division crews collect the curbside recyclables and take them to the Green for Life (GFL) facility located at 400 State Street in Paducah. The City of Paducah has a contract with GFL for the transfer and proper disposal of solid waste and for the transfer of recyclables to a processing facility.
Step 2 - Once GFL has a full load of recyclables, the recyclables are hauled to Waste Management (WF) River Hills Material Recovery Facility in Nashville, Tennessee for processing.
Step 3 – At WF in Nashville, the recyclables are sorted and processed for market or properly disposed.
Confidence in Processing – The WF River Hills Material Recovery Facility is required to be permitted through the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation. The Facility receives quarterly state inspections. WF also takes the extra step of contracting with a third-party inspector for monthly inspections to ensure all standards are being met including storm water and material storage.
Recycling Drop Point Location
In addition to the residential curbside recycling program, the City offers a recycling drop point location at Green for Life (GFL) located at 400 State Street. The drop point location is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon. There is no charge for the general public to drop off recyclables.
Keys to Success
The keys to the program’s success are public participation and the efficiencies gained in the Public Works Department through a restructuring of the brush and yard waste collection program. Residents should manage some of their yard waste/grass clipping at the household level by mulching or by using the garbage rollout for smaller volumes of twigs and bags of yard waste. To request a collection of yard waste or brush, call Public Works at 270-444-8511.
The City of Paducah’s voluntary, single-stream, curbside recycling program launched with the first collection on Monday, January 22, 2018.
The City of Paducah is committed to providing a responsible and efficient curbside recycling program that enables our community to make a positive impact on the environment.
