New Bedford Issues Thanksgiving Warning About Pyrex

I’m convinced Thanksgiving leftovers are what heaven is made of.

Whether you’re loading up on turkey sandwiches, reheating stuffing, or diving back into the mashed potatoes for round three, there’s one kitchen item almost everyone reaches for: Pyrex.

Before you toss a chipped or cracked Pyrex dish into the recycling bin this week, New Bedford Recycling wants residents to pump the brakes.

It turns out one of the most common Thanksgiving containers is not recyclable, and the reason isn’t as obvious as you might think.

Why Pyrex Can’t Go in the Recycling Cart

According to New Bedford Recycling, Pyrex glass containers – though durable, convenient, and practically a leftover staple – are not accepted in curbside recycling. Over time, Pyrex can chip, crack, or break. When that happens, it must go in the trash, not the blue bin.

The Only Glass That Is Accepted

The city clarified that the only acceptable glass items in your recycling cart are:

Bottles
Jars
Jugs

Cookware, drinking glasses, and Pyrex don’t qualify and should never be mixed in.

A Simple Rule for a Cleaner Recycling Stream

If your Pyrex container breaks – no matter how big or small the crack – its final resting place is the trash can.

Mixing in the wrong type of glass can contaminate an entire load of recycling, which means more waste headed to the landfill.

So as you dig into those delicious leftovers this holiday season, take comfort in two things:

Your leftovers will stay perfectly fresh in that trusty Pyrex.
You now know exactly where it belongs when it finally chips, and it’s not the recycling cart.

A small step, a cleaner city, and one less recycling mystery this Thanksgiving.

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