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Residents

Earth Day

  • The Earth Day collection event was canceled. There are a variety of drop-off locations for hard-to-recycle items. Find a recycler.

  • Recycle at a recycling center 

  • Fluorescent Lights

    Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) and straight fluorescent tubes contain potentially harmful chemicals, including mercury, but  they also contain useful materials, such as steel and aluminum, which can be recycled. 

    Fluorescent light recycling guidelines
    • Gresham and Wood Village residents and businesses may recycle up to 30 bulbs at the City's annual Earth Day recycling event.
      • Businesses can pick up boxes for packaging lights at Gresham City Hall.
    • Standard incandescent bulbs and tungsten bulbs are not accepted.
    • Lights should be packaged carefully to prevent breakage. Boxes can be picked up at the front desk, Gresham City Hall.

    Not excepted

    • Standard incandescent lights. 
    • Ballasts with PCBs
    Paper Shredding

    The City partners with Shred Northwest to provide residents with free paper shredding at its annual Earth Day recycling event.

    Paper shredding guidelines
    • Paper shredding is provided to Gresham and Wood Village residents only at the City's annual recycling event. Businesses may not participate.
    • Two paper bags of paper are accepted per household.
    • Do not mix other materials with your paper. 
    • Stapled papers are okay.
    • If your paper is contained in a cardboard box, the boxes will be returned to you at the Earth Day recycling event. 

    Shred Northwest is a National Association for Information Destruction AAA-certified shredding and recycling company, offering secure shredding service on site. 

    Find out more about Shred Northwest

    Plastics

    The City will collect large bulky, rigid plastics that are not recyclable in your blue carts at home. Plastic bags should never go in your recycling cart. Bags can be returned to your local grocery store. 

    We will not be collecting small plastics this year, due to changes in the recycling market.

    Plastics recycling guidelines
    • All plastics must be a five-gallon bucket-sized or larger.
    • Plastics are acceptable from households only, not businesses.
    • The City will accept one car trunk load of plastics per household.
    • Accepted plastics should be clean and dry, without metal components.
    • Soft plastics, such as inflatable toys will not be accepted.
    • Curbside recyclables will not be accepted.

    Accepted items 

    • Clean, stretchy plastic bags
    • Plastic lawn chairs
    • Rigid, plastic swimming pools
    • Large, hard, plastic toys – no metal parts



     Unaccepted items

    • All plastics smaller than a five-gallon bucket
    • Plastics that can be recycled at home
    • Inflatable toys
    • Soft plastics
    • Plastic with metal components
    • PVC
    Small Appliances and Electronics

    Certified electronics recycling and data destruction is provided by Green Century Recycling.

    Nonprofits will be on-site collecting working items for donation. 

     Accepted items 
    • Cell phones / handheld devices 
    • Computers, laptops, tablets, servers
    • Monitors and keyboards
    • Hard drives and floppy drives
    • Printers, scanners, fax machines
    • Televisions
    • Radios / stereos and audio equipment 
    • Cable boxes
    • Cameras
    • Wires, cords, modems, routers
    • Game consoles
    • Small household appliances
      • Microwaves, blenders, toasters, etc. 
    Unaccepted items 
    • Fire extinguishers
    • Mercury-containing items
    • Media (CD, DVD, floppy discs, cassettes)
    • Batteries
    • Old thermostats
    • Smoke detectors 
    • Ink / toner cartridges

      Find a recycler for these items.

    Styrofoam
    Styrofoam recycling guidelines
    • Only Styrofoam from households will be accepted, not from businesses.
    • Styrofoam must be clean and all tape and labels removed.
    • Packing peanuts are accepted.
    • Soft, squishy Styrofoam, packaging wrap and food containers are not accepted.

  • Contact us

    For more information about Earth Day or year-round recycling in Gresham, contact Cherie Ludwig at 503-618-2518 or Cherie.Ludwig@GreshamOregon.gov

    • Earth Day recycling and reuse event volunteer
    • Paper shredding at Earth Day recycling event
    • Plastic bag recycling at the Earth Day recycling event
    • A load of Styrofoam being unloaded at the City's Earth Day recycling event
    • Fluorescent tubes being recycled at Earth Day recycling event

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    • Watershed scientist Katie Holzer and nature photographer Caz Zyvatkauskas take us on a family-friendly journey through the wilds of urban Gresham. Learn about the birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, crustaceans and fish that call Gresham waterways home in this hour-long presentation that ends with a fun quiz. 

    • Katie Holzer, a watershed scientist for the City of Gresham, talks about why she loves her job and why it can be a great career path for people who enjoy science, the outdoors, and an opportunity to make positive change.

    • At this event, the City collects materials that are hard to recycle, and small, broken appliances and electronics are hard to find a home for. You can’t put them in your recycling roll cart, yet many contain precious metals that are great to recycle and don’t belong in the landfill.

    • The City partners with Gresham Sanitary’s Shred Northwest to offer free secure shredding service, for residents only, perfectly timed just after tax season.

    • The City thanks the community for doing the right thing and recycling, reusing, and reducing waste, especially at the Earth Day event, by bringing in some of the common materials – like plastic sacks - we unfortunately cannot recycle at the curb.

    • Styrofoam is not recyclable in the regular recycling because it can clog the recycling equipment, and it’s not easy to recycle. Only special facilities can condense or recycle it, and in general it’s not a good material to have. If it does appear, you can save space in your garbage and keep it for Earth Day. Then it will be recycled into other plastic products or turned back into crude oil for other uses.

    • Fluorescent tubes contain mercury vapor that’s harmful to people and animals. Before the event, boxes for fluorescent tubes are available for free at the City Hall front desk to allow for safe transport. Do not bring fluorescent bulbs with broken glass unless they are safely boxed.