What can be recycled in Kent County, and how to do it — tooth paste tube & cap

The soft plastic tube and hard plastic tip of toothpaste. (WKTV)

By WKTV Staff and Kent County Department of Public Works

What can and cannot be recycled in Kent County, and how do it. And what happens to everything else? WKTV Journal, working with Kent County Department of Public Works Resource Recovery Specialist Lauren Westerman, are working to look at specific consumer products and other items and give you the answers.

In this post, we look at that soft plastic tooth paste tube and cap. Does the tube need to be cleaned — can it actually be cleaned? Or is it medical waste? And the cap; hard plastic but is it too small? Here is the lowdown from an expert:

The toothpaste tube and cap are both trash. Even though both the tube and the cap are plastic, neither are able to be recycled at the Kent County Recycling Center. Here’s why:

The toothpaste tube is considered a soft, non-rigid plastic. The Kent County Recycling Center only accepts rigid plastics because soft plastics will not process correctly through the sorting machinery at the facility. The toothpaste cap is considered a rigid plastic but is still not recyclable because of its size. Items that are smaller than about 2 inches by 2 inches will also not process correctly at the Kent County Recycling Center.

Do you have a question about a specific consumer product or other item? Contact WKTV at ken@wktv.org. Please send a photo of the product and the recycling label if available.