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Wondering what packaging can be recycled? Here's how Instagram can help

Portland Metro's Recycle or Not program can help you easily figure out what to recycle.

PORTLAND, Ore. — With all the presents this holiday season, there's a lot of packaging and a lot of questions about what and what cannot be recycled.

If you live in Portland, finding the answer to that question is as easy as an Instagram post.

It's actually part of the Recycle or Not program launched by Metro this past summer.

At the program's website, RecycleOrNot.org, you can get quick answers as to whether something can be recycled in your curbside bin or not.

The bottom line: if it's color coded blue, it can be. If it's pink, throw it in the trash.

And then there's the Instagram account.

The next time you're unsure whether or not something can be recycled, take a picture of that item and then go to @recycleornot on Instagram.

Click on message, and then attach the photo and hit send.

"It's very handy, it's very visual, people like that," explained Metro recycling specialist Patrick Morgan. "We have a phone line where we can answer a lot of these questions but having that picture of something really helps us know exactly what you have ad be able to answer your question accurately that way."

But don't expect an answer right away. Metro gets so many Instagram questions, it might take day or two for a recycling specialist to get back to you. But they will.

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