It’s a good time to take a closer look at what you’re tossing in the trash.

Much of what is thrown away can be recycled — paper, cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, magazines and the list goes on. While it’s important to separate recyclables from trash, residents also must pay more attention to what they’re taking to the recycling center.

Beginning Monday, the Powell Valley Recycling Center will no longer accept plastics No. 3-7, such as containers for yogurt, butter and sour cream.

“Powell Valley Recycling really regrets having to do this,” said Mary Jo Decker, manager of the local center. 

Unfortunately, the center didn’t have any other options. “The plastic mills just won’t take it,” Decker said last week.

You can blame low oil prices, which are making it cheaper for companies to create new plastic instead of using recycled materials. As a result, recycling organizations have struggled to find a market for low-grade plastics and centers across the country, like Powell’s, have stopped accepting them.

If No. 3-7 plastics are brought to Powell Valley Recycling, they’ll have to be thrown away — and the nonprofit center can’t afford added garbage costs.

The good news is that it’s business as usual for all other items, including No. 1 and No. 2 plastics (such as milk jugs and water bottles) and cardboard, paper and metals.

It’s also a good reminder of the value of sorting your recyclables: Every item you recycle is one less item that is hauled across the state line and buried in the Billings landfill. Plus, it benefits Powell Valley Recycling, an asset to our community as well as others around the region.

While you can drop off recyclables at the center any time, residents have an unusual opportunity to take hazardous household waste there on Friday. It’s a chance to safely dispose of old paint, cleaners, pesticides, antifreeze, oil and batteries cluttering the garage. 

The center will host a “no questions asked” collection day for hazardous household waste from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 17,  thanks to Park County Weed and Pest, Park County Landfills and the City of Powell. A similar collection day takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, at the Cody Recycling Center.

Rather than just tossing household chemicals out, it’s important to dispose of them in an environmentally safe way.

Let’s do our part to be mindful of what we throw away. It may seem like a small thing — a milk jug, an aluminum can, a cardboard box — but when we all recycle, it can make a big difference.