Sign Up for Curbside Recycling
To sign up for curbside recycling, click the Recycling logo, the button below, or call the Public Works Department at 270-444-8511. The Paducah Water account number associated with the address is required to complete the registration process. The person responsible for that account must be the one requesting the recycling service.
Effective July 1, 2025, curbside recycling for one 96-gallon recycling container is included in the monthly Solid Waste Fee which appears on the property owner's Paducah Water bill. The Solid Waste Fee includes garbage collection, curbside recycling, and yard debris collection.
Sign Up for Curbside Recycling
Paducah's Program
The City of Paducah offers voluntary, single-stream, curbside recycling for its residential customers. Customers MUST sign up to receive the service.
- Residential service only.
- Voluntary subscription.
- Sign up at any time.
- Single-stream (no sorting necessary for accepted items).
- FEE - Effective July 1, 2025, there will no longer be a separate fee for curbside recycling unless additional containers are required. If additional recycling containers are needed, each one is an additional $3 per month charge.
- Collection at curbside/roadside (no alleys).
- Uses 96-gallon blue rollout containers.
- The recycling collection day may change due to holidays. Visit Holiday Schedule for more information.
- Collection twice per month on Mondays. If your normal trash collection day is either Tuesday or Wednesday, recycling will be collected on the first and third Monday of the month. If your normal trash collection day is either Thursday or Friday, recycling will be collected on the second and fourth Monday of the month.
View the Interactive Map to find out your garbage and curbside recycling days based on address.
MAP - Garbage and Recycling Collection Days
Quality is Key
This is a single-stream program which means all accepted recyclables can be placed in the recycling rollout together. There is no need to sort. Place items loosely in the recycling rollout. Do not use plastic bags since the bags can get caught in the mechanical parts during the single-stream sorting process. Please rinse containers and flatten boxes. Keeping recyclables clean, dry, and loose in your container - free from contamination - helps ensure materials recycled today have a useful second life.
- My recycling is rinsed, clean, and dry.
- I put food waste in the trash, NOT with the recyclables.
- My recycling is loose in the rollout and NOT bagged.
Accepted Items 
Be sure to place these items loose in the rollout. Do NOT use plastic bags which can tangle in the sorting and processing machinery. Please rinse containers and flatten boxes.
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Office Paper, Newspaper, Junk Mail, Catalogs
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Cardboard and Paperboard (cereal boxes, etc.)
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Steel and Aluminum Food and Beverage Cans
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Plastic bottles, Jars, Jugs, and Containers
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Aseptic Containers
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Pizza Boxes
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Do NOT Include These Items 
The list of items below should NOT be placed in the recycling rollout due to a variety of reasons including the risk of tangling in machinery along with processing and market limitations. If these items are found mixed with recyclables, the materials could spoil the recyclables and turn the entire load to garbage.
If unsure on whether an item can be recycled, please don't put it in the recycle bin. It could contaminate the load!
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Food or Liquids
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Shredded Paper
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Foam or Single-Use Cups, Containers, and Utensils
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Plastic Bags or Plastic Film
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Glass
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Electronics (e-scrap) or Batteries
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Household Hazardous Waste or Medical Waste
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Yard Waste
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Clothing, Furniture, or Carpet
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Tires or Waste Oil
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Hoses or Items that Tangle
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Dirty Diapers
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Processing of Recyclables - What Happens to My Recyclables?
Step 1 – The City of Paducah Solid Waste Division crews collect the curbside recyclables and take them to the Green for Life (GFL) facility located at 400 State Street in Paducah. The City of Paducah has a contract with GFL for the transfer and proper disposal of solid waste and for the transfer of recyclables to a processing facility.
Step 2 - Once GFL has a full load of recyclables, the recyclables are hauled to Waste Management (WF) River Hills Material Recovery Facility in Nashville, Tennessee for processing.
Step 3 – At WF in Nashville, the recyclables are sorted and processed for market or properly disposed.
Confidence in Processing – The WF River Hills Material Recovery Facility is required to be permitted through the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation. The Facility receives quarterly state inspections. WF also takes the extra step of contracting with a third-party inspector for monthly inspections to ensure all standards are being met including storm water and material storage.
Recycling Drop Point Location
In addition to the residential curbside recycling program, the City offers a recycling drop point location at Green for Life (GFL) located at 400 State Street. The drop point location is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon. There is no charge for the general public to drop off recyclables.
Efficiencies for Program Success
The keys to the program’s success are public participation and the efficiencies gained in the Public Works Department through a restructuring of the brush and yard waste collection program. Residents should manage some of their yard waste/grass clipping at the household level by mulching or by using the garbage rollout for smaller volumes of twigs and bags of yard waste. To request a collection of yard waste or brush, call Public Works at 270-444-8511.
The City of Paducah’s voluntary, single-stream, curbside recycling program launched with the first collection on Monday, January 22, 2018.
The City of Paducah is committed to providing a responsible and efficient curbside recycling program that enables our community to make a positive impact on the environment.
