In addition to educating Charlotte on the circular economy and how to close the loop on our waste, the Innovation Barn actively collects material from the public to be recycled, up-cycled, and/or put back into the circular economy.

Before we dive into what you can bring, it is important to know where it’s going.

Currently in Mecklenburg County, single-family residences have a green curbside bin which collects the following materials:

These items are collected by the City and taken to a County-managed Material Recovery Facility (MRF) where they are sorted, baled, and sold to the commodity markets to make new products.

If everyone did this correctly, the MRF would hum right along and every one of these items would be recycled into new products. News Flash – People Can’t Follow the Instructions. “Wishful Recycling” is when someone “wishes” that something is recyclable and places it in the curbside bin incorrectly. This contaminates the process at the MRF and can cause material otherwise recyclable to be sent to the landfill.

For those residents that don’t have a green curbside bin but would like to recycle correctly, the Innovation Barn has partnered with Mecklenburg County to provide a blue bin for the material listed above and a yellow bin specifically for glass. You can drop this material off at the Innovation Barn 24/7.

Envision Charlotte collects different types of plastic not collected by the City or allowed in the aforementioned curbside bin. If clean and contamination-free, Envision Charlotte can shred, extrude, mold, and turn this plastic into new products. We work with partners like Sealed Air to turn air cushions and bubble wrap into new air cushions and bubble wrap.

For its Plastics Lab at the Innovation Barn, Envision Charlotte collects the following material:

• CLEAN #5 plastic (Polypropylene)
  • This program has grown from takeout food containers to all shapes and sizes of #5 plastic
  • PLEASE DO NOT BRING other numbered plastics
  • PLEASE DO NOT BRING dirty plastic or those with labels, stickers, or food residue. WE CANNOT PROCESS THIS!
• Paktech beverage can holders
  • Please remove any labels or price tags.

These items can be dropped off in the PINK collection bins at the Innovation Barn.

Other Materials Currently Collected at the Innovation Barn (as of Aug. 2024):

• Clean t-shirts

The Bulb Market, a cherished tenant and partner at the Innovation Barn collects the following items for use in their popup mobile markets:

• 10 – 12oz berry containers
• 6oz fruit containers
• pint berry containers
• Egg cartons, any material, 12 eggs
• Plastic bags AND reusable bags

These items can be dropped off inside during The Bulb’s specific collection bins during open hours. 

NOTE: Please ensure when you are dropping off items for The Bulb that you do not contaminate the collection streams of Envision Charlotte.