A new law takes effect Oct. 1 that bans plastic bottles from landfills in North Carolina, the first state in the southeast U.S. to pass such a ban.
The ban includes all water bottles, milk jugs, soda bottles, shampoo bottles and juice bottles.
"Any of those bottles where you see the neck taper in and they have a wider base, we will be glad to take them," said Johnnie Taylor, with the City of Winston-Salem's recycling program.
Not all plastic containers are included in the ban, however. Food trays, plastic buckets, flower pots and crates aren't bottles and the type of plastic they're made from can't be recycled.
Waste Management, the company that manages Winston-Salem's recycling program, says they're trucks bring in six to eight tons of plastic every day. And each year, the city recycles more than 500 tons of plastic bottles.
Come October, city leaders hope the truck loads to the recycling center increase. Winston-Salem leaders estimate more than 90 percent of the city's residents already recycle their bottles, but statewide estimates show less than 20 percent of plastic bottles actually get recycled.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Wednesday that any enforcement efforts will be aimed at haulers who show up at landfills with big loads of banned materials.
The state hopes to recycle 2 million tons of bottles, cans and other materials each year by 2012. The rate now is about 1.3 million tons a year.
"What we are hoping for is that we can get overall cooperation from everyone," said Taylor.
Multiple-family dwellings like apartments and town homes are included in the ban but aren't required to offer recycling receptacles. In Winston-Salem and Greensboro, landlords can request larger bins and pickup service from the city's recycling trucks.
If residents of Winston-Salem apartments don't have access to a recycling bin, they can drop off bottles at one of three recycling centers in Forsyth County: Hanes Mill Rd. in Winston-Salem, Lindsay St. in Kernersville, Yadkinville Rd. in Pfafftown.
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