|| Hard to recycle items

This information is intended for residential and small business users only.  Please contact Summit County Recycling at 468-9263 ext. 13 for information about commercial quantities. 

Click here for a 2009 Summit County Landfill Brochure for current landfill prices and hours.

Antifreeze– Leave in sealed container on top of oil bins at Frisco or Breckenridge Recycling Drop-off Centers.

Appliances – TV’s and computers are NOT appliances, please see Computers & Electronics for information on these.  Summit County Recycling accepts appliances for recycling at the landfill only.  There is a $7 fee for each appliance. Freon must be removed from refrigerators before drop-off.  Contact us at 668-5703 for information on Freon Removal. Currently, there aren’t a lot of options for working appliances in good condition.  You can post them for free on Summit Freecycle or place an ad ($4 per week for 20 words) in the Swap for Charity section of the Summit Daily News by calling 668-3997.

Batteries – Alkaline, carbon, zinc, lead, nickel, cadmium, rechargeable, marine and car batteries accepted at the Frisco & Breckenridge Drop-off Recycling Centers. 

Building Materials– Unfortunately, there aren’t many options for used building materials in good condition in our community.  Following are some suggestions:

Christmas Trees - Dec. 26th-Jan. 31st, 2009
This year each town has a place to recycle Christmas trees. Please make sure all ornamentation, including tinsel, is removed. The locations are marked with signs and are as follows: Breckenridge- at the Slash Drop on Wellington Road; Frisco- at the Marina in the empty lot to the right; Dillon- at the Dillon Town Hall lot; and Silverthorne- across from the second Three Peaks Entrance. Trees may also be taken to the Summit County landfill’s wood waste drop off area. Call 668-5703 for detailed directions to the locations.

Clothing - Not accepted at any of the Recycling Drop-off Centers.  There are thrift and consignment shops that accept varying grades of clothes.  Please contact the following for hours/details: 

Furniture – Not accepted at any of the Recycling Drop-off Centers or at Summit Thrift and Treasure.  For furniture in good condition, you can try:

Household Goods – Usable items (dishes, books, small appliances, lamps, bedding, rugs, etc) can be taken to our local nonprofit community thrift store, Summit Thrift and Treasure, Monday through Saturday from 11am to 2pm.  PLEASE REVIEW their GUIDELINES before you go at: www.summitfirc.org/sttdropoff.php

Paint – Collected with other Household Hazardous Waste. Empty, dried out cans of paint can be recycled with other tin/steel cans at Frisco and Breckenridge Recycling Drop-off Centers. 

Plastic Bags – Plastic bags can be taken back to most grocery stores (Wal-Mart, Safeway, City Market... are all accepting their bags). City Market in Dillon and Breckenridge is taking plastic shopping bags (regardless of where they come from), dry cleaning bags, and "wrap." Please contact City Market for specifics. Please do not recycle plastic bags, bubble wrap, Ziploc bags, Saran wrap, Visqueen wrap, or any other kind of plastic packaging or wrapping at any of the County drop-off centers. They are no longer accepted and contaminate the recycling streams. Please remember that reusable bags are a better alternative to plastic bags. Read more about plastic bags problems here.

Plastic Bottle Caps - If you have larger lids like butter and yogurt tub lids, you can recycle those separately or attached with the rest of your plastic recyclables. However, we ask that you remove the small plastic rigid lids that you find on water and soda bottles. Find out why here. Serenity Spa and Salon is now taking rigid plastic caps through their "Recycle Caps with Aveda" program. The program accepts caps that are rigid polypropylene plastic, sometimes noted with a 5 in the chasing arrows recycling symbol. This includes caps that twist on with a threaded neck such as caps on shampoo, water, soda, milk and other beverage bottles, flip top caps on tubes and food product bottles (such as ketchup and mayonnaise), laundry detergents and some jar lids such as peanut butter. You can collect your plastic lids and take them to Serenity Spa in Keystone. Click here for more info about the Aveda program.

Skis/Sports Equipment – Seasonal ski collection program available at Frisco Drop-off Center, call for status of program (668-5703). Recycle Ski & Sport, 668-5150, accepts items for consignment.  Place an ad or in the Swap for Charity section of the Summit Daily News by calling 668-3997 or post them for free on Summit Freecycle. 

Slash & Wood Waste – Accepted at Summit County Landfill for composting. Must be clean and free of trash, rocks, concrete, and scrap metal to be recycled with wood waste. Dimensional lumber and pallets accepted. In 2009, stumps must be sorted from slash and will go to the landfill at landfill prices. Stumps cause too much wear and tear on the grinder and must be disposed of separately. Fees for slash and wood waste vary by season; call the landfill for details, 970-468-9263.

Styrofoam Packaging - The local UPS Stores take packaging material in good condition – must be clean and dry.  Breckenridge 453-8080, Silverthorne 468-2800. Summit County drop-off centers DO NOT accept any kind of Styrofoam packaging including coolers, peanuts, take-out containers, cups, and blocks regardless of number or recycling label. Please do not leave Styrofoam at the recycling centers.

Televisions – See Computers and Electronics above.

Tires – Not accepted at any of the Recycling Drop-off Centers.  Please bring them to one of the following (a minimal fee between $6-$11 is typically charged):