Great news—there is a new opportunity to recycle plastic in Western PA! This is a follow-up to a prior posting about plastic recycling. For those who live in geographical areas outside of the Pittsburgh, PA region, I encourage you to continue to search for new possibilities, as the recycling landscape continues to change quite frequently.
Michael Brothers, who stepped in to offer glass recycling when many Western PA townships stopped collecting glass a few years ago, is now offering plastic recycling. In addition, they continue to recycle other mainstays (e.g. aluminum, cardboard, etc.). The great news about this new recycling opportunity is that any plastic #1-7, regardless of size or color, can be recycled. Smaller plastic items are a problem for recycling centers that have an automated process, but that is not a concern at Michael Brothers. Additionally, there is no need to separate plastics by number—they are all collected in one bin.
While Michael Brothers has not yet updated their website to reflect this change, I have spoken with them a few times and have visited the location in the South Hills to confirm that they are recycling all #1-7 plastics. I am so grateful that this company is continuing to fill a void in the recycling industry that I have stopped putting out recycling at my home altogether and am taking all of my relevant recycling to Michael Brothers.
If traveling to their facility is not something you wish to do, there are a few enterprising students (who have pages on Facebook) who will pick up the recyclables from your home for a small fee and will bring them to Michael Brothers for you.
While not an exhaustive list of all plastics #1-7, here is a list of items that includes some previously hard-to-recycle plastics that Michael Brothers will accept:
Disposable utensils
Flower pots (cleaned)
Straws
Clam shells (for berries, takeout food, etc.)
Coffee cup lids
Packaging for things like electronics
Take-out containers
Cups/lids
Yogurt containers
Prescription bottles/caps
Cap/base/pull tab from paper milk/juice cartons
Bread ties
While many have tried to reduce the amount of plastic they use, some plastic packaging is still unavoidable. But now there is a one-stop shop to recycle it all in Pittsburgh, at least. Please consider taking advantage of this new opportunity to recycle plastics and to support a local business.
Michael Brothers’ South Hills location: 901 Horning Road, 15236