Public Works
Why Recycle
All residents in the City of Racine received a 65-gallon recycling cart or exchanged it for a 35 or 95-gallon cart.
For example, a single family residential home will receive one cart, a 2 family residential unit will receive 2 carts, a 3 family residential unit will receive 3 carts, and a 4 family residential unit will receive 4 carts.
If an owner of a multifamily residential unit wishes to receive a smaller number of a larger cart, we will work with them to meet their needs. Our goal is to maximize our recycling tonnages.
Check the cart lid for what goes in and what does not.
Do not place food contaminated containers (unless rinsed), shredded paper, styrofoam, plastic cards, hard cover books, window glass, mirrors, ceramics, light bulbs, paint cans, or any electronic devices in the cart.
Click the “beyond the cart” link to find other ways to recycle items not allowed in the recycling cart.
Empty and rinse containers. Flatten or cut cardboard so it fits in the cart without taking up a lot of space. Papers and magazines are placed in the cart loose.
Solid waste and garbage are not allowed in recycling cart.
Yes, all residents living in 4 family and smaller residential properties are expected to participate in the program.
Contact the Customer Service Department 262-636-9171
“Your cart will be delivered to you at your next recycling pick-up” ON A RECYCLING PICK UP DATE.
A $25 fee is charged for the switch and the cart is delivered to you at your next recycling pick-up.
Additional carts may be paid for as a lump sum by the property owner based upon the actual cost of the cart. Additional carts reduce collection speed and, therefore, the costs should be borne 100% by the person requesting these additional carts.
No, the cart is assigned to the property and remains there.
Every cart has an RFID tag embedded chip that will identify the cart. Once found, the city will return it to the owner at no cost.
You may qualify for special collection, at no cost to you, after completing forms available at the Customer Service Office.
Solid Waste
You can sign up online to get text, email or phone calls to receive collection reminders. You can also get them embedded into your calendar or can print the annualcalendar. These are all available at /SolidWaste/LookUp/
You can download the calendar at the above website. Calendars and up to (10) stickers can be picked up at the following sites:
- City Clerk’s Office, City Hall, 730 Washington Avenue Room 103
- Pearl Street Facility, 9th & Pearl Street
- Department of Public Works Field Office, 800 S. Marquette Street
Residents are only allowed to place bags out in addition to a full cart. If the cart is not utilized for collection, we will not collect bags.
You are required to provide a clear path to the items after a snow storm for the safety of our collectors.
HBI stickers are only to be used for Bulky Items that won’t fit in the cart, such as furniture, mattresses and prepared carpet. Items such as the (3) 42 gallon bags allowed do not require the HBI sticker.
This provides a more cost effective means to provide the same waste collection services and reallocates personnel to provide the needed street maintenance services.
You can bring the HBI materials to the transfer station 6300 21st St for a fee of $25.00 per item, Tuesday – Saturday 10:00 am – 5:45 pm Closed Holidays.
You either exceeded the maximum allowance of 5 HBI’s per week, the item was not eligible for collection or you didn’t have it placed out for collection by 7:00 a.m.
You can bring the HBI materials to the Pearl Street Facility, at no charge, Tuesday through Saturday between the hours of 10:00AM and 5:45P.M. You can also hold them and place them out the following week as long as they have the HBI stickers on them at that time.
We do collect branches in the spring and fall during a specific time; a flyer is usually posted with days of collection. (unless they are not going to do this anymore)
The days and hours are on the flyer as such for Pearl St:
Drop Off Site – 800 Pearl St
Hours: Wednesday 10:00 am to 5:45 pm Saturday 7:45 am to 3:45 pm – Closed Holidays
Accepted: Maximum 2 cubic yards of material, branches less than 6-inches diameter
Not Accepted: Brances over 6-inches in diameter, tree stumps, or root balls
*No dump trucks, dump trailers, or trailers longer than 8 feet
Disabled and elderly customers may apply to have their solid waste and recycling collected from their back door if no one in their household is physically able to carry their solid waste to the curb line or alley for collection.
Application forms can be downloaded here .
