PENDLETON — Toward the end of June, Pendleton Sanitary Service Inc. dropped off big blue containers at the end of driveways all around town.

Residents in Pendleton who receive curbside garbage service also will receive curbside recycling starting the week of July 6. PSSI trucks will pick up the recycling every other week the same day as the garbage.

The service addition is part of a state mandate for bigger cities to provide the curbside service.

Denise Hodson, district manager of Pendleton Sanitary Service Inc., said Pendleton residents have been able to recycle for decades at local depot sites, so the big change now is the addition of curbside service.

When is recycling starting? How often will it be picked up?

Recycling service throughout Pendleton will start July 6, but different parts of town will have their first pickups during the course of a week and a half.

There are two recycling trucks with their own routes, Hodson said. One will start its route the week of July 6, while the other will start July 13.

After that, Pendleton Sanitary Service will pick it up every other week. Recycling pickup takes place the same day as garbage, and the trucks look the same as garbage trucks.

PSSI published the schedule to its Facebook page:

North Hill area — July 6 and 7 (Monday and Tuesday)

Southgate area, Sherwood area, behind Burger King — July 8 (Wednesday)

Southeast Hill, southwest Hill — July 9 (Thursday)

McKay area — July 10 (Friday)

Northeast flats, Riverside area — July 13 (Monday)

Tutuilla Creek Road, Southwest Marshal Avenue and Nye Hill, Grecian Heights — July 15 (Wednesday)

Southwest flats — July 16 (Thursday)

What can I recycle? What isn’t allowed?

Broadly, paper materials, hard plastics and metal materials are all recyclable, if they’re clean of food or liquid.

This includes cardboard and paper bags, as well as empty, dry plastic tubs or jugs larger than 2 inches by 2 inches and metal cans or small scrap metal, such as baking trays, weighing less than 10 pounds and measuring smaller than 18 inches.

Motor oil containers may be placed curbside, but not in the recycling bin. The oil gets recycled separately, Hodson said.

Otherwise, cans of stain or paint, or anything with liquid, are not recyclable. Plastic bags, such as grocery bags, also are not recyclable. The same goes for batteries, hoses, cords or wires and yard waste.

Glass containers cannot be recycled curbside. Glass may be recycled at one of the depots in town or Pendleton Sanitary’s transfer station.

Residents who put nonrecyclable items into a curbside bin will receive educational materials but, eventually, Hodson said, the company may fine those who continue to violate the guidelines.

More information is in a flyer on Pendleton Sanitary’s webpage on recycling. Additional information is on recycling acceptance list from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

Will my bill go up?

Yes, people living within Pendleton city limits will pay an additional $8 a month for the curbside recycling service. Residents of Umatilla County outside the city limits are not going to receive the service.

Pendleton Sanitary Service also is switching to a new account holder, so its payment portal is changing.

Hodson said most customers who use auto-pay had their information transferred. She recommended people log into their new accounts to double check. New account information went in the mail to customers in late June.

The new website’s account dashboards also show upcoming trash and recycling days.

Doesn’t recycling just end up in the trash?

Pendleton Sanitary has offered commingled recycling at its depots since Oct. 1, 2025, Hodson said, but has offered recycling in some form for decades.

Curbside service is starting because of the state Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act. The act requires cities with more than 4,000 residents to implement at least some recycling program elements, depending on the size of the city and its distance from Portland.

For Pendleton, which has more than 10,000 but fewer than 50,000 residents, the city must provide at least four of the elements, which include a recycling bin, consistent collection, recycling education and depots for recyclable materials.

Pendleton’s recycling will be baled at the transfer station and delivered to Pioneer Recycling Services in Clackamas, Hodson said.

“A good portion of it is recycled,” she said.

Though it’s true some recycled items end up in landfills due to contamination or nonrecyclable items, Hodson said Pendleton’s recycling program is separate from its garbage services and the recycling does make it to a facility for processing.

Other cities in Eastern Oregon also are preparing to start their curbside recycling service or have recently implemented it, including Hermiston, Umatilla and Baker City.