Real Value

Recology Employee
Recology provides 20 recycling separate and distinct recycling programs in San Francisco, far more than any other city in the U.S. Why so many? Because garbage is a little different everywhere you go, so you need a different program to maximize recycling.

Rates charged to residents and businesses in San Francisco are highly competitive compared to other Bay Area cities. And Recology provides far more services and programs. That spells real value for customers in the City.

How can San Francisco, which has the highest recycling rate in the country, further reduce landfill? Let us count the ways:

  1. PERFECTLY GOOD (REUSE PROGRAM): Recology employee-owners pull items in good condition from loads brought to the transfer station by small contractors and self-haulers and send them to a repair facility where they are reconditioned and then delivered to thrift stores.
  2. COMMINGLED RECYCLING: Curbside collection (blue bin) for all bottles, cans, paper, and rigid plastics (cups, tubs, lids, buckets, and toys without wires or metal parts).
  3. COMPOST COLLECTION: Curbside collection (green bin) for food scraps, soiled paper, and plants.
  4. RECYCLEMYJUNK.COM (BULKY ITEMS): Special collections for bulky items such as furniture, appliances, scrap metal, wood, cardboard, and electronics. Residents can call to schedule the service.
  5. CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION DEBRIS RECYCLING: As buildings are constructed, remodeled or demolished, metal, wood, sheetrock, rigid plastic, and other construction materials are captured in debris boxes on site then taken to Recology's construction debris recycling facility for sorting.
  6. MATTRESS RECYCLING: Mattresses from residents, hotels, and designated collection trucks are loaded into trailers at the transfer station and transported to a local company specializing in mattress recycling.
  7. CLEAN TEAM SATURDAYS: These special events in each of the city's 11 districts allow residents to drop off items too big to fit in the regular bins.
  8. E-WASTE RECYCLING: Most electronic waste is banned from landfill in California. Fluorescent tubes, monitors, TVs, computers, and other electronics are collected from drop-off locations, curbside collection appointments, and the transfer station then shipped to facilities specializing in recycling specific types of e-waste.
  9. SELF-HAUL RECYCLING: Recology operates a special sorting line to recycle wood, metal, rigid plastic and other construction and demolition materials brought to the transfer station by small contractors and people completing big cleaning projects.
  10. HOUSEHOLD BATTERY RECYCLING: Customers place batteries in zip-lock bags and place them on top of their (black) landfill bins. Collectors at the transfer station put the batteries into containers that are shipped to facilities specializing in battery recycling.
  11. PAINT, MOTOR OIL, HOUSEHOLD CLEANING, GARDENING PRODUCTS: San Francisco residents can take such items to the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility or even make an appointment for a special pickup. All material collected through this program is identified and sorted by type and most of it is reused or recycled.
  12. COMMERCIAL WOOD, SCRAP METAL, AND LARGE PLASTIC RECYCLING: Broken pallets from warehouses, wood scraps from cabinetmakers, and car doors and bumpers from auto shops are collected, sorted, and recycled.
  13. COMMERCIAL WOOD, SCRAP METAL, AND LARGE PLASTIC RECYCLING: Broken pallets from warehouses, wood scraps from cabinetmakers, and car doors and bumpers from auto shops are collected, sorted, and recycled.
  14. SUSTAINABLE CRUSHING: Recycles concrete, bricks, and asphalt rubble from large construction, road replacement, and earthquake retrofit projects in the Bay Area.
  15. SPECIAL EVENT RECYCLING: Recology provides recycling and compost collection services to neighborhood festivals and major functions such as the Chinese New Year Parade.
  16. TIRE RECYCLING: Used tires are handled separately at the transfer station and then taken to a company that shreds and recycles the rubber.
  17. BUY-BACK CENTERS: We operate buy-back centers for customers who want to bring in bottles and cans for deposit redemption.
  18. WINDOW GLASS RECYCLING: Glass from window shops and commercial customers is collected.
  19. CHRISTMAS TREE RECYCLING: trees collected separately from other material the first two weeks of January, chipped, and used as boiler fuel at waste to energy facilities.
  20. STYROFOAM DROP-OFF: Residents and businesses can drop off Styrofoam at the transfer station for recycling. Recology San Francisco operates a special densifier that condenses loose pieces of Styrofoam into ingots, which are recycled into base boards and moldings.