Bay City rolled out its new 96-gallon recycling carts during the month of December. Caitlyn French | MLive.com

BAY CITY, MI - Bay City gave its eco-conscious residents a Christmas gift this month.

Residents should have received new recycling carts with bright green lids in December. The new 96-gallon carts are meant to replace the small 18-gallon bins that residents currently use.

But the city is reminding residents to not put the new carts on the curb for pick-up. Even if your new ecycling cart is starting to get full of Amazon boxes and other holiday recyclables, you will need to hold off just a little longer before you put it on the curb.

The city will not begin collecting recycling from the new carts until Jan. 2. Until then, residents are asked to use the small green bins that they have been using.

The recycling schedule will change a bit with the new program, moving from every other week instead of weekly. Regular trash will still be picked up on a weekly basis. See the new recycling calendar below:

The following is the new recycling collection calendar for Bay City residents. The recycling schedule is moving from every other week instead of weekly thanks to the new 96-gallon carts. The schedule changes will start on Jan. 2. Photo by city of Bay City.

Only recyclable materials can be placed in the cart including glass bottles and jars, aluminum and steel cans, food and beverage cartons, paper products (including newspapers and flattened cardboard), and empty plastic bottles and containers. To help limit contamination, give food and drink containers a quick rinse and then place them directly into the recycling cart.

The city received a grant for the new carts from The Recycling Partnership, a nonprofit organization that works with city governments nationwide to transform their recycling programs. The grant from The Recycling Partnership, with support from the American Beverage’s Every Bottle Back initiative, helped to fund 15,000 new carts as well as education and outreach about the new collection process.

Bay City received $240,000 in funding from the beverage industry and nearly $1.2 million in community and state funds for the expansion of this program.

Read more about the program and the upcoming changes at BayCityRecycles.org.

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