Recycling at the Park

South Carolina’s state parks want you to come out and play.

The parks also want you to come out and recycle.

In 2024, the S.C. Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) was awarded a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct a waste characterization study analyzing the type and amount of solid waste disposed of, and potentially recycled, in the state.

Recycle Right SC: A Guide to Residential Recycling (PDF)

Recycle Right! Learn about Recycling with the Recycling Guys (PDF)

Recycling: The Basics – What You Need to Know (PDF)

Recycling Right means only placing items in your recycling bin or cart that are accepted in your program and prepared properly.

Incorrect or improperly prepared items – called contamination – can harm your recycling program. Contamination can result in:

Wrong or improperly prepared items – called contamination – may seem recyclable but are unwanted in recycling markets. Contamination can place workers at risk, damage sorting equipment, lower the value of the material that can be recycled, and increase program costs.

Here’s recycling’s Dirty Dozen – items that should never be placed in your recycling cart.

(1) PLASTIC BAGS

Reuse, donate to food banks, or recycle at your local grocery store.

(2) BAGGED RECYCLABLES

Place items loose in your recycling cart or bin.

There are many reasons to recycle – economic, environmental, social, and more.

(1) RECYCLING IS AVAILABLE

Each of the state's 46 counties has a residential recycling program. In fact, South Carolina has nearly 70 curbside programs, 535-plus drop-off centers, and more than 900 collection sites for do-it-yourself (DIY) motor oil changers.

(2) RECYCLING PROVIDES JOBS

Recycling supports more than 300 companies and 42,000-plus jobs that comprise South Carolina’s recycling industry.

Understanding what can be recycled, where, and how can get confusing. This confusion often leads to placing recyclables in the trash or throwing trash into the recycling bin.

To help, here are answers to the most frequently asked questions about household waste management.

(1) What is recycling?

Recycling is collecting items that otherwise would be thrown away and turning them into new products.