Recycling and hazardous waste disposal

Goodwill of Silicon Valley
1080 N 7th St., San Jose. Goodwill collects electronics (anything with a chip) working or not, palletizes it and sends it to Electronic Recyclers of America/Electronic Recyclers Intl. Goodwill does not resell any of the electronics in its stores. Drop-off locations include: 580 Showers Drive, Mtn. View; 2380 Embarcadero Road (inside Palo Alto Recycling Center), Palo Alto; 4085 El Camino Way, Palo Alto.
E-mail: contactus@goodwillsv.org.
Call 408-869-9198.

GreenWaste Recovery
GreenWaste Recovery contracts with the City of Palo Alto to provide garbage pickup and curbside recycling, including yard trimmings, plastic bags and rigid plastics.
Call 650-493-4894.

Hazardous Waste Program
2501 Embarcadero Way, Palo Alto. Hazardous waste dropoff for Palo Alto residents first Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to noon at the Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP). Proof of Palo Alto residency (driverŐs license or current utility bill) is required. Waste accepted: pesticides, mercury (thermometers, thermostats, switches), latex- and oil-based paints, medications (no controlled substances), gasoline, paint thinner or other fuels and solvents, fluorescent-light ballasts, asbestos (double bagged, 2 bags maximum), road flares, propane tanks (tanks used for BBQŐs and camp stoves), cleaners, bleach, pool chemicals, household injection needles (must be in rigid container with a sealed lid),15 gallons or 125 pounds of household hazardous waste per visit.
Call 650-496-6980; for appointment drop-off: 650-496-5904.

RecycleWorks - County of San Mateo Program
555 County Center, 5th Floor, Redwood City. RecycleWorks offers comprehensive waste reduction, reuse and recycling information to residents, businesses, students and visitors of San Mateo County. The website contains information on resource conservation, waste reduction, water and energy conservation, green building, green business, composting, school-site waste reduction, and other solid waste and environmental issues.
Call 888-442-2666.

San Mateo County HHW Product Give-Away Program
310 Pine St., Redwood City. Latex paint and chemical products in good condition are available at the Give-Away Warehouse in Redwood City.
Call 650-372-6200.

San Mateo County Household Hazardous Waste Program
32 Tower Road, San Mateo. Provides safe opportunities for residents to dispose of paints and other household chemicals that are hazardous. Collections by appointment only.
E-mail: EnvHealth@co.sanmateo.ca.us.
Call 650-363-4718.

Santa Clara County HHW Program
1555 Berger Drive, Bldg. 2, Ste. 300 (office, dropoffs not accepted here), San Jose. Paints and other household chemicals that are hazardous disposed of in the trash, down drains, on the ground, in street gutters or waterways will contaminate the Bay, soil and groundwater. To dispose of safely and legally, call the hotline for an appointment.
E-mail: hhwstaff@deh.sccgov.org.
Call 408-299-7300.

Santa Clara County Home Composting Program
Learn how to compost at a free monthly workshop or purchase a discounted home compost bin.
Call 408-918-4640.

Santa Clara County Recycling Hotline
San Jose State University Center for Development of Recycling, 1 Washington Square, San Jose. The Center for Development of Recycling (CDR), a nonprofit, university-based recycling resource, operates a recycling hotline and website for Santa Clara County. CDR uses a database, the Recyclopedia, to manage information about the availability and services of recycling and reuse centers, city recycling programs.
E-mail: info@recyclestuff.org.
Call 800-533-8414.

Computer Recycling Center
Sunnyvale. Only business pickups, for free. No residential pickups. Accepts computers, software, telephones for recycling or donation to schools. Call for nearest dropoff location.
Call 888-887-3372.

GreenCitizen
2500 W El Camino Real, Suite D, Mountain View. Free recycling of laptops, desktops, servers, TVs, cell phones, ink cartridges and DVDs/CDs. Accepts broad range of electronics including audio/visual, telecom, game consoles and other hard-to-recycle electronics for 50 cents/lb. No Styrofoam blocks, batteries, or lightbulbs. Business pick-up available.
E-mail: info@greencitizen.com.
Call 650-493-8700, ext. 101; or 877-918-8900, ext. 101.

Mountain View Recycling Center
935 Terra Bella Ave., Mtn. View. Accepts cardboard and regular curbside materials. Gives cash for empty glass bottles and jars, empty plastic bottles and tubs (marked #1-#7), metal and aluminum cans, lids, caps and foil, clean newspaper and clean cardboard, and household batteries.
Call 650-967-3034.

Recology
225 Shoreway Road, Gate 2, San Carlos. Allied Waste Services buys aluminum, glass and certain types of plastic. Non-redemption recyclables -- cardboard, paper, plastic bottles, etc. -- can be dropped off. Accepts electronics, used motor oil, antifreeze, sharps, cooking oil, oil filters, latex paint, fluorescent lighting tubes, cell phones, household batteries, hardback books, computer monitors and TVs. Some restrictions on quantities.
Call 650-595-3900.

Sierra Pacific Recycling
2700 Middlefield Road, Redwood City. On-site buy-back center and commercial pick-up service that handles all grades of paper, cardboard, newspaper, non-ferrous scrap metal and all CRV aluminum cans, glass bottles and plastic.
Call 650-364-3333.

SMaRT Station
301 Carl Road, Sunnyvale. Materials recovery and refuse-transfer facility shared by Mountain View, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale. Provides buy-back and drop-off services for bottles and cans. Accepts regular curbside-type materials, sharps and cooking oil. Free compost for Mountain View, Palo Alto, Los Altos and Sunnyvale residents.
Call 408-752-8530.

Stanford Recycling Drop-Off Center
701 Serra St., Stanford.
Call 650-321-4236.

Zero Waste Palo Alto
P.O. Box 10250, Palo Alto. Aims to eliminate waste sent to landfills by 2021 through consumption reduction, reuse, recycling and buying recycled content products. Programs include compost workshops, recycling drop-off center, online Recyclopedia and free technical assistance. Palo Alto Recycling Center, which accepts materials that may not be accepted at the curb, is located at 2380 Embarcadero Road.
E-mail: zerowaste@cityofpaloalto.org.
Call 650-496-5910.