Thanksgiving Recycling Guide: What Can and Can’t Be Recycled in Chicago

Thanksgiving is one of the most joyful — and wasteful — holidays of the year. Between packaging, leftovers, and decorations, US households generate up to 25% more waste between Thanksgiving and New Year. The good news: with a few easy steps, you can keep most of it out of the landfill.

Here’s your quick guide from GreenWay Recycling on what you can and can’t recycle this Thanksgiving.

♻️ What You Can Recycle

1. Food and Beverage Containers

• Aluminum pie tins, cans, and foil (just rinse off food residue)

• Glass bottles and jars

• Plastic containers labeled #1–#5 and #7 (clean and dry) — Chicago’s blue cart takes all of these; only #6 is excluded

2. Cardboard and Paper

• Shipping boxes, paper bags, and clean cardboard

• Paperboard boxes from stuffing, cereal, or pies

• Paper egg cartons
  (Tip: flatten boxes to save space.)

3. Decorations (Sometimes!)

• Plain paper decorations, cardboard centerpieces, and kraft paper can go in the recycling bin.

• Avoid anything glittered, metallic, or laminated.

🚫 What You Can’t Recycle

1. Food Waste & Grease
Turkey bones, gravy, oils, and food scraps should never go in your recycling bin — they contaminate the load. Bones, meat, dairy and cooked food are all welcome at the City’s free Food Scrap Drop-Off Program, which runs 33 sites across Chicago, open daily 7 am to 7 pm. Sign up for a site first using the City’s Food Scrap Drop-Off Form, then bring your scraps loose — no bags of any kind are accepted, not even certified compostable ones. Liquids are not accepted either, so gravy and used cooking oil cannot go in the green carts. Let gravy set and bin it, and keep cooking oil out of the drain.

2. Plastic Utensils & Foam Plates
Disposable cutlery, Styrofoam trays, and foam cups can’t be recycled through curbside programs. Choose reusable or compostable options instead.

3. Waxed Wrappers and Mixed-Material Packets
Butter wrappers, waxed paper, and foil-lined snack packets are mixed materials and belong in the trash. Two things regularly binned alongside them do not: beverage cartons — milk, juice and soy — go in the blue cart, and the City asks that you do not crush them, because crushed cartons are harder to sort; and aluminum pie tins are accepted too, alongside cans and clean foil.

4. Ribbons, Bows and Metallic Wrap
Ribbons, bows, tags, and shiny or glittery wrapping paper are not recyclable. Plain wrapping paper is: the City’s A-Z list answers “yes” for wrapping paper, as long as the bows, tags and ribbon come off first. Kraft or recycled paper is still the easier choice, because there is nothing to strip off.

🦃 Smart Recycling Tips for Thanksgiving Week

✅ Set up two bins — one for recyclables, one for trash, and label them clearly.
✅ Rinse before you toss to keep recyclables clean.
✅ Flatten cardboard to make room for more.
✅ Compost your food scraps if possible.
✅ Bring larger loads (like boxes or old décor) to GreenWay Recycling, located right in the heart of Chicago.

🌱 Give Thanks by Giving Back to the Planet

Every small action helps keep Chicago cleaner and greener. After the feast, take a moment to separate your recyclables and drop off larger materials at GreenWay Recycling — we’ll handle the sorting and make sure your holiday waste gets a second life.

📍 2100 S. Kilbourn Ave, Chicago, IL
📞 773-522-0025
🌐 www.greenwayrecycles.com

Happy Thanksgiving from the GreenWay family — where we’re thankful for every Chicagoan doing their part to recycle right.