Trash and Recycling

Trash

At the Southeast corner of the elevator lobby, on each floor, there is the Trash/Recycling room with a garbage chute leading to a refuse bin on the ground floor. Garbage should be enclosed securely in a plastic garbage bag, and put down the garbage chute. Please do not put loose garbage or bags containing lightweight packing material into the chute. Whatever you put down the chute will fall into a dumpster which will be emptied at appropriate intervals. 

To unlock the chute hatch, press the black button above the hatch as you turn the handle. When the hatch is open, a red signal light illuminates and the hatches on all other floors automatically lock. After disposing of your trash, please be certain to shut the hatch door firmly until the illuminated red light is extinguished; this will enable chute doors on all other floors to become accessible. If you do not close the trash door properly it will lock all trash doors on all floors and someone will have to go to every floor to find the problem.

Recycling

At the Tate, we care about the environment.

Please put materials for recycling in the appropriate containers as described on the posted notices in the Trash/Recycle room. Material in these bins will be taken to the main Trash/Recycling room downstairs by the janitorial staff.

No wishful recycling, please! If in doubt, throw it out—down the chute in a garbage bag. Better yet, shop wisely: choose products that are not packaged in plastic.

Comingled recycling

  • newspapers (Because of their weight, please do not put multiple newspapers in the recycling bin. Instead, place them in a shopping bag, and leave it on the floor of your trash room. You can also carry the newspapers directly to the main Trash/Recycling Room on the ground floor.)
  • junk mail
  • business mail
  • pulp paper
  • magazines
  • aluminum and tin containers
  • foil balls and pie plates
  • cardboard boxes: break down and place beside the cominged recycling bin.
  • plastic: ONLY numbers 1 and 2 (♳,  ♴) bottles and jars (large enough to put your fist in). NO other plastic items or numbers. All items should be clean and dry.

Please DO NOT put the following items into comingled recycling:

  • ⛔︎ clamshell plastic containers (like berry, spinach, or prepared food containers)
  • ⛔︎ lids or pumps
  • ⛔︎ tubs (yoghurt, cottage cheese, almond butter, etc.)—but see note below about Nancy’s and Toby’s brands
  • ⛔︎ take-out containers
  • ⛔︎ plastic bags (even if they have a recycling number on them)
  • ⛔︎ waxy paper (milk or juice containers, butter cartons, frozen food packages, etc.; the wax prevents recycling)
  • ⛔︎ medicine bottles (aspirin, pills, prescriptions, etc.)
  • ⛔︎ plastics with numbers 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (♵ ♶ ♷ ♸ ♹)

Other recycling

Glass. There is a rectangular bin on each floor for glass items. All items must be clean and dry; do not include lids or caps. DO NOT put broken glass or window glass in this bin. It must be wrapped carefully and go down the chute, or carried by hand to the dumpster in the trash room.

Nancy’s and Toby’s tubs. Tate volunteers take plastic tubs and lids from these two vendors for recycling. They can be left in a blue bin in the Trash/Recycle room. They must be completely clean and dry, with no plastic stuck to the rim.

Yard waste/compostables. A roller bin is provided for organic yard and kitchen waste, located during summer (fruit fly) season in the east parking lot, inside the rolling gate, and in cooler weather in the Trash/Recycle room at ground level on the south side. The following items are suitable for the compost bin:

  • compostable organic material only
  • animal bones okay
  • root balls with soil shaken off

The following items may NOT go into the compost:

  • ⛔︎ plastics
  • ⛔︎ soil
  • ⛔︎ pet waste

The bin is emptied twice a month by our waste collection service.

Access to the Main Trash/Recycling Room

Each homeowner has a security key, stamped TD, which opens the exterior door to the main Trash/Recycling room located on the ground floor under the portico at the South side of the building. This key is different from your apartment key and only opens the main Trash/Recycling room. At appropriate intervals, the main dumpster is emptied by SANIPAC. If you have large items or large amounts of material to be recycled (e.g., large cardboard cartons, packing material, large numbers of wine bottles, etc.), please bring them directly to the main trash/recycling room. Cardboard boxes are to be broken down, flattened and placed into the big dumpster also located in the main trash/recycling room. A number of dollies and wagons are stored in the main trash/recycling room. These are available to residents for the transfer of large and heavy items. Of course, you should return all borrowed equipment to the main Trash/Recycling room once you have completed your task.

Kitchen Waste Disposer

Most units are equipped with a waste disposer. Remember that your unit shares plumbing with the entire builing, so please familiarize yourself with the recommended usage for this appliance. Please consult the manufacturer’s instructions for your device to ensure ideal immediate and long term performance.