Tucson Continues to Reduce Recycling Contamination

Environmental Services and the City of Tucson recycling participants are making measurable progress toward a more efficient recycling system and our community is helping make it happen.

Over the past few years, contamination in Tucson's residential recycling stream has dropped from 29% to 19%, meaning fewer non-recyclable items are ending up in recycling carts. This improvement helps reduce contamination fees for our department, lowers processing costs, and ensures more recyclable materials can be successfully turned into new products instead of being discarded.

Community participation remains strong. During June 2026, approximately 84% of residential recycling stops were serviced, demonstrating that Tucson residents continue to actively use their recycling program. While participation is high, there is still room to improve the quality of what goes into the blue bin. Recycling isn't just about filling your cart it's about recycling the right items. By keeping plastic bags, food waste, hoses, clothing, and other non-recyclable materials out of the recycling bin, residents help protect workers, improve the value of recyclable materials, and reduce costs for the community.

Every correctly recycled bottle, can, and cardboard box helps move Tucson closer to its climate goals. Thank you for continuing to recycle right and helping build a cleaner, more resilient Tucson.

To learn more about how you can recycle properly and divert materials from the landfill, check out KnowWheretoThrow.com