The city of Surprise is preparing to reintroduce a curbside recycling program and is encouraging residents to get back into the habit of recycling wise with a pre-launch program.

Starting this week, residents are encouraged to prepare and separate recyclables into blue recycle curbside bins.

On Monday, July 24, the city will begin collecting the blue recycle bins with a recycling truck rather than a trash truck. These bins will need to be at the curb by 6 a.m. and will be picked up on regularly scheduled trash pickup days.

Remember to place both recycle and trash bins in the street against the curb, with the handle side closest to your home. Ensure both containers are at least four feet away from each other and from nearby fences, light posts, mailboxes or other obstacles. Also, keep all vehicles a minimum of 15 feet away from the bins.

Although materials should be prepared to go to a recycling facility, they will continue to be landfilled until the curbside recycling program officially begins. This will allow the city’s public works team to check recycling bins for unacceptable materials and leave educational tags on them to help residents avoid violations when the recycling program officially begins.

During this pre-launch period, the city’s drop-off recycling program will remain available for those who want their items recycled. Residents can bring their recyclables to the Public Works North Yard, 17274 N. Litchfield Road, from 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Find tips on how to “Recycle Wise” at surpriseaz.gov/Recycle.