Residents

Earth Day Recycling Event

  • The City's annual Earth Day event keeps tons of recyclable materials from the landfill.

    Year-round recycling resources

    Earth Day recyclables

  • Fluorescent lights

    Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) contain potentially harmful chemicals, including mercury, but  they also contain useful materials, such as steel and aluminum, which can be recycled. The City takes collected lights to a facility in Portland for processing.

    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.
    • Standard incandescent bulbs and tungsten bulbs are not accepted.
    • Lights should be packaged carefully to prevent breakage. The City will provide boxes prior to the recycling event.
    Paper shredding

    The City partners with AccuShred NW 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.
    • If your paper is contained in a cardboard box, the boxes will be returned to you at the Earth Day recycling event. The City cannot recycle cardboard at this event.

    AccuShred NW is a National Association for Information Destruction AAA-certified shredding and recycling company, offering secure shredding service on site. However, we encourage you to remove any papers that contain private information prior to bringing them to the City's Earth Day recycling event.  

    Plastics

    At its annual Earth Day recycling event, the City collects bulky, rigid plastics and plastic bags that are not recyclable in your blue carts at home.

    Not sure what can be recycled at home? See our curbside recycling guide.

    Plastics recycling guidelines
    • Plastics are acceptable from households only, not businesses.
    • The City will accept one car trunk load of plastics per household.
    • Bag all small plastic items together in an untied plastic or paper bag.
    • All 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 

    • Plastic lawn chairs
    • Rigid, plastic swimming pools
    • Large, hard, plastic toys
    • Plastic grocery bags
    • DVD cases and cassette tape cases
    • Clean, stretchy plastic bags
    • Clean plastic cups
    • Pill bottles
    • Clam shells
    • Plastic trays

     Unaccepted items

    • Plastics that can be recycled at home
    • Inflatable toys
    • Soft plastics
    • Plastic with metal components
    • Styrofoam food containers
    • Dirty plastic items
    • DVDs and CDs
    • Cassette tapes
    • VHS tapes
    • Clean plastic cutlery

     

     

    Small appliances and electronics
    Accepted items 
    • Computers
    • Laptops
    • Monitors
    • Keyboards
    • Hard drives
    • Floppy drives
    • Printers
    • Scanners
    • Fax machines
    • Copiers
    • Radios
    • Blenders
    • Cable boxes
    • Cameras
    • Stereos
    Unaccepted items 
    • Televisions
    • Fire extinguishers
    • Mercury-containing items
    • Media (CD, DVD, floppy discs, cassettes)
    • Batteries

     

    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.