June 13, 2025
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
Bethlehem’s Theis-Cornfeld Recycling Center will shut down at the end of business on Saturday, June 14, for maintenance.
The center on Illicks Mill Road will reopen July 1 at 10 a.m. It is closed on Sunday and Monday, so Saturday is the last chance to get rid of recyclable waste. Emphasize, “recyclable.” The center is not a dump and taking stuff there doesn’t make it recyclable.
See the center’s website for information about what accepts, and below is a cut-and-paste version.
Keep in mind, the center is subject to the whims of the recycling market. What it can accept may change, and while something may be accepted somewhere else, that doesn’t guarantee Bethlehem can take it.
If the staff says “No, we don’t take that,” they aren’t being rude. They are doing their job.
From the website:
These items are accepted at The Theis/Cornfeld Recycling Center on Illick’s Mill Road:
- Clear, green and brown glass (with labels and caps). We do not accept ornamental glass, drinking glasses, porcelain dishes, ceramics or window pane glass.
- Food-grade cans of steel, tin, bimetallic and aluminum; empty aerosol cans; no formed aluminum containers
- MOST # 1 through #7 plastics (remove caps and crush) (NO plastic bags, film, plastic toys) All items must be SMALLER THAN a 5 gallon bucket
- Newspapers (including inserts) tied in manageable bundles or in brown paper bags
- All books (hard & soft cover), magazines, catalogs, gift wrap, cards and shiny paper
- Corrugated cardboard and flatboard (tears brown, gray or white) PLEASE SEPARATE CORRUGATED CARDBOARD FROM FLATBOARD. All materials must be DRY and not soiled (ie: paint, oil, food moisture, chemicals, etc). Wet cardboard and flatboard will not be accepted.
- Mixed office paper, envelopes (with or without windows), index cards, manila folders, carbonless forms, shredded papers, calculator tape, copier and computer paper, etc.
- Telephone directories
- Scrap metals (includes anything that’s at least 50% metal) We DO NOT accept any type of TANK-this includes oxygen tanks, propane tanks, helium tanks, welding tanks, air compressor tanks, NO sealed vessels, NO PAINT CANS, motorized equipment such as lawn mowers, snow blowers, weed wackers must have gas and oil drained completely.
- No electronics (televisions, computer equipment, cellphones, etc.)
- Textiles: old clothes, paired shoes, belts, handbags/purses, drapes/curtains, towels, sheets & pillow cases, blankets, table cloths. Not accepted: Pillows, carpet or carpet remnants, canvas and rags. Materials should be not be soiled or shredded and must be in clear plastic bags.
- White Goods, IE: Large appliances such as washers, dryers, ovens, stoves. We DO NOT ACCEPT dishwashers, air conditioners, refrigerators, freezers or any type of appliance that uses freon.
- We do not accept mattresses or old furniture
WE DO NOT ACCEPT ANY STYROFOAM MATERIAL AT THE THEIS/CORNFELD RECYCLING CENTER LOCATED ON ILLICK’S MILL ROAD.
THE CITY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REJECT CERTAIN RECYCLABLE MATERIALS BASED UPON CONSTANTLY CHANGING MARKET CONDITIONS. WE SUGGEST YOU CONTACT OUR OFFICE FOR CLARIFICATION IF UNSURE OF ANY ITEMS YOU WISH TO RECYCLE AT OUR FACILITY.
For the safety of all our residents, employees and your beloved animals, pets are not permitted in the Theis/Cornfeld Recycling Center.
*****
Be aware of your surroundings and be safe. The recycling center is not a playground, it’s a small industrial site with lots of vehicles coming in and out.
The Theis-Cornfeld Recycling Center is named for Edwin Theis Jr. and Lewis D. Cornfeld. Theis, then 80, and Cornfeld, 71, worked at the facility in 2002. They were struck and killed by a pickup truck at the site.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 
With restricted hours, and restricted materials accepted, WHAT type of so-called “maintenance” is needed? Especially in JUNE? Why not do it in December? They are just metal bins. Clue us in here, please!
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Good question. I don’t know what the plans are, but they have a baling machine and a can sorter in addition to the big bins. Doing it in December would be more difficult because of the weather and late December is a very busy time with people disposing of packaging, etc.
The city has discussed having the recycling center at the same site as the compost center, on Schoenersville Road. I don’t think there is any imminent plan to do that.
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