Residential Recycling and Waste Reduction

Reuse

Free Product Room at the Environmental Center. 

Check out the Free Product Room at the Environmental Center to take home products such as paints, stains, automotive fluids, and household cleaners. Visit the Environmental Center Product Room page for more information including location and hours.

Repair common household items. 

Watch Washington County Fix-it Clinic volunteers demonstrate simple repairs and maintenance of everyday items in a series of YouTube videos.

Donate, sell, and buy secondhand. 

Find quality, unique home goods and apparel items by shopping local secondhand stores. Donate items you no longer need, or sell them to secondhand stores. Washington County provides a list of local charities, thrift shops, and consignment stores where residents can donate, purchase, or sell secondhand items. 

Rent and share.

Save space and money by renting and sharing items. 

• Washington County libraries – Borrow books, audiobooks, music, movies, and more. 
• Minnesota Tool Library – Tool lending library with locations in northeast Minneapolis and in St. Paul.
• Minnesota Rental Association – Rental store locator.

Recycle

Recycling is available to all households in Oakdale. 

Empty and rinse containers before placing them in your recycling cart. Place items directly in your recycling cart or in a paper bag – do not put recyclables in a plastic bag.

• In general, recyclable items include glass bottles and jars; metal food and beverage cans; certain plastic bottles and containers (check with your hauler for # details); cartons; and paper and cardboard. Visit the Washington County household recycling page for more information about what is and is not accepted in your curbside recycling bin. Contact your waste hauler directly for items not listed.
• Residents can also bring recyclables, as well as electronics and hazardous materials (including batteries), household sharps, food scraps, plastic bags and wraps, and other items to the Environmental Center. 
• Can’t recycle something at home or at the Environmental Center? Check out the Washington County disposal directory for more disposal options at washcorecycles.com/disposal. Type the name of a waste item into the directory and you’ll be told how to recycle or dispose of it.

Medication drop-off

Washington County provides medication drop-off services. Visit the medication drop-off page for a list of drop-off locations, accepted items and items not accepted. There are also periodic medication collection events available through the County.

Event recycling 

Borrow a recycling container from Washington County for your next event! The Department of Public Health and Environment provides recycling containers on loan for collecting bottles and cans at small, single-day gatherings such as graduation parties, family reunions, block parties, and similar events. Learn more here and complete a reservation form online.