The City of Vero Beach offers curbside service 1 day per week. View the Indian River County Recycling Route Schedule (IRCGOV.COM) in order to determine your pick-up date .

What is Recycling

Recycling means separating, collecting, processing, marketing, and ultimately using a material that would have been thrown away.

Why Should I Recycle

Recycling reduces our reliance on landfills, protects our health and environment when harmful substances are removed from the waste stream, and conserves our natural resources because it reduces the need for raw materials.

What can I put in my cart?

• PLASTICS: All plastic containers except for plastic bags or plastic film. Bulky rigid plastics, for example, buckets, flower pots (no soil), and laundry baskets. Please empty, lightly rinse, and discard loose caps, otherwise all caps should be securely fastened to the plastic bottles
•   PAPER: All paper not contaminated by food, including newspaper, magazines, catalogs, telephone books, junk mail, office paper, cardboard, paper bags, paperboard food boxes including clean pizza boxes, chipboard paper, file folders, envelopes with and without windows, paperback books, mixed paper, paper towel and toilet tissue rolls etc. 
•  FOOD AND BEVERAGE CONTAINERS: All aluminum and steel cans, empty aerosol cans, clean foil, aluminum pie plates and trays. Please empty and lightly rinse. Aluminum tabs and steel caps are acceptable.  
•  GLASS: All glass bottles and jars. Please empty, lightly rinse and include metal caps separately in the cart.  
•  SCRAP METAL: All scrap metal items that can fit in the cart are acceptable.    

Here is a list of what NOT to put in your cart:

•  Electronics, Hoses, Pyrex Cookware, Styrofoam, Six Pack Rings, Plastic Bags, Clothing, Rubber Items, Ceramics, Shrink Wrap, Loose Plastic Bottle Caps, Candles with Wax and Window Glass. More items may apply and this list may be expanded in the future. If you have any questions, please call (772) 226-3212.  
• Shredded paper: The new processor will not accept shredded paper as a recyclable item because the small pieces fall through their conveyors and ends up going into the landfill. Since shredded paper should be placed in the garbage, we encourage you to shred confidential information only and don’t shred more paper than necessary. Consider tearing it up and placing it in your recycling cart. Shredded paper can also be used for compost, packing material or bedding for small animals. There are also local stores that will recycle shredded paper for a minimal fee.                
• Batteries: Batteries should NOT be placed in the recycling cart. Some batteries, such as rechargeable batteries, automobile batteries, cell phone batteries, and button batteries can be recycled at the Customer Convenience Centers or the Main County Landfill.  'Flashlight batteries' (single-use batteries in 9 volt, C, D, AA, and AAA) are now safe to dispose of in the trash. The added hazardous component of alkaline batteries, mercury was eliminated in the 1990s, and nearly all of the old mercury alkaline batteries have been disposed of.  Have more questions about proper battery recycling and disposal? Take a look at the battery guide from the Department of Environmental Protection.      
• Loose plastic film: to include plastic shopping bags, bread bags, dry cleaning and newspaper bags can NEVER be put in the blue cart, but they can be recycled at any local retail store that accepts them or at one of the five Customer Convenience Centers and the Main County Landfill. More information about plastics that should not be put in the recycling bin.                 
• Used cooking oil: should never be put down the drain, instead it can now be recycled at one of the five Customer Convenience Centers or the Main County Landfill. This also includes animal fat, olive oil, and vegetable oil. Motor oil is collected in a separate container and should not be mixed with cooking oil. More information about oils that should not be put in the recycling bin.