The Downtown Tyler Recycle Center at 418 N. Bois D'Arc Avenue is a free, self-service drop-off open six days a week, and the city is explicit that it is not restricted to Tyler residents — anyone in the East Texas region may use it. That makes it one of the more useful facilities in the region for people who live outside a city with kerbside recycling.

Materials must be separated before you arrive; there are clearly marked bins for each stream. The centre takes newspaper, magazines, phonebooks and advertising mail, cardboard of any type broken down flat, aluminium and tin cans, mixed office paper, rinsed plastics numbered 1 through 5, cell phones and chargers, ink and toner cartridges, and clear, green and brown glass bottles and jars rinsed with the lids off. Metals including copper, aluminium, brass and steel are accepted, as are automotive, lawnmower and tractor batteries and used motor oil, hydraulic fluid and antifreeze. The site will even take a whole vehicle, provided you bring the title as proof of ownership.

A short list of items carries a charge. Televisions and computer monitors are $5.00 per item for residential customers and $8.00 each when they come from a business, school or hospital. Refrigerators, air conditioning units and microwave ovens are $5.00 each. Tyres run $5.00 without rims and $10.00 with rims for sizes 13 to 28 inches, rising to $10.00 and $15.00 for 30 inches and up; the centre reserves the right to refuse a tyre on size or condition. Furniture and mattresses are taken for a small fee.

The payment rule is unusual and worth knowing before you drive over: where an item carries a fee, the centre accepts cash, cheque or money order only. No credit or debit cards are taken, and no note larger than $20 will be accepted.

Not accepted at all are PVC pipe, styrofoam, hardback books, paint and general household trash, and the glass stream excludes mirrors. Aluminium pie plates, baking tins and kitchen foil do not belong with the cans. Hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm and Saturday 8am to noon, closed Sunday and most holidays.