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Black plastic containers
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In Calgary, put this in the
Black cart — Garbage
Black plastic cannot be sorted by optical scanners — place it in the black cart.
Also searched as: black plastic, black takeout tray.
Why the black cart?
Recycling facilities identify plastic types by bouncing near-infrared light off each item. Black plastic absorbs that light instead of reflecting it, so the scanners literally cannot see it — it sails through unsorted and ends up rejected.
Get it right
- This applies to black takeout trays, black plant pots and black microwave meal trays.
- The container’s recycling symbol doesn’t matter here — the colour defeats the sorter regardless of resin type.
- Some garden centres take black plant pots back for reuse — worth asking before tossing.
Related items
🗑️ Chip bags and candy wrappers♻️ Plastic water bottles🗑️ Plastic straws🗑️ Styrofoam♻️ Plastic bags and overwrap🗑️ Cling wrap
Know your pickup days too
Look up your black, blue and green cart collection schedule by address.
Find my collection day