🌱 CompostNo — but food-soiled paper towels go in the green compost cart.
Used paper towels and napkins are not recyclable — the fibers are too short and they're almost always soiled. The good news: in LA County, food-soiled paper towels and napkins go in the green organics/compost cart, not the trash.
Paper towels or napkins with food, grease, or drink on them are compostable organics — put them in the green cart with food scraps and yard waste. This is required under California's SB 1383 organics rules.
Cleaning-chemical soaked → trash
Paper towels used with bleach, disinfectant, glass cleaner, or other chemicals should go in the black landfill cart — you don't want those chemicals in compost.
Never the blue cart
Even a clean, unused paper towel can't be recycled — the paper fibers are already too short to remake into new paper. Compost it or trash it, not recycling.
Paper Towels — quick FAQ
Are paper towels recyclable?
No — paper towel fibers are too short and usually soiled. In LA County, food-soiled paper towels go in the green organics/compost cart, not recycling.
Which bin do used paper towels go in?
Food- or grease-soiled ones go in the green compost cart. Ones used with cleaning chemicals go in the black trash cart. Never the blue recycling cart.
Can you compost paper towels and napkins?
Yes — food-soiled paper towels and napkins are compostable and belong in the green organics cart under California's SB 1383 rules.
What about paper towel tubes?
The cardboard tube is recyclable — flatten it and put it in the blue cart.
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