Each week, I have the pleasure of leading tour groups through our Cincinnati Material Recovery Facility (recycling center). Each group stands in awe of how a series of machines and workers quickly separate hundreds of tons of recyclables by type. But what amazes groups even more are some of the weird items – like shoes or dog houses – that our customers try to recycle.

Our recycling team recently compiled a list of some of the strange items our customers have tried to recycle over the years. Here is our top 10:

1. VHS video cassettes

2. Family Photo Albums

3. Bowling Balls (as well as tennis balls, baseballs, basketballs, etc)

4. Lingerie

5. Chain Link Fencing

6. Power Tools

7. Toilets

8. Refrigerators

9. Prosthetic leg

10. A Nile Monitor Lizard (we called the Cincinnati Zoo to collect this one)

We applaud our customers for making the effort to reduce their waste and increase their recycling; however, trying to recycle the wrong items often leads to damaged equipment and other problems in the recycling facility.

Please review our acceptable items list, and as always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. Also, feel free to ask your questions on Facebook or Twitter.

About the author: Molly Yeager is a corporate communications coordinator at Rumpke.