Single-stream recycling is offered at no additional charge. Now, with single-stream recycling, you can place all your recyclables: newspaper, junk mail, magazines, office paper, milk and juice cartons and cardboard in with your plastic, aluminum and glass containers into one wheeled blue cart or bin. No sorting!

Recycling Buddy Bags are available to residents of multi-family dwellings (apartment and condominium complexes with 5 or more units) free of charge. These sturdy large capacity bags can be placed in kitchens or any convenient location to hold all recyclables until residents are ready to empty them into the main Recycle cart or bin on the property. If you would like Recycling Buddy Bags for your building, speak with your property manager or contact us.

Metal

• Aluminum cans
• Aluminum foil and trays
• Caps and lids from bottles, jars and steel/tin cans
• Paint cans (must be empty or dry)
• Spray cans (must be empty)
• Steel (tin) cans

Plastic (no bags or black plastics)

• Coffee cup lids
• Plastic bottles and caps, tubs and lids and containers, including clamshells, numbered 1-7
• Plastic buckets

Paper Clean, dry and unsoiled

• Bags (paper only, no plastic)
• Cardboard (non-waxed)
• Catalogs
• Computer and office paper (all colors)
• Egg cartons (cardboard)
• Envelopes and junk mail
• Magazines
• Milk and juice cartons
• Newspapers
• Packing and craft paper
• Phonebooks and soft cover books
• Sticky note paper
• Shredded paper (In a folded paper bag labeled "shredded paper" and placed inside your blue Recycle cart or bin.)
• Wrapping paper (non-metallic)

Glass

• Glass bottles and jars, lids ok

• Automotive parts and products
• Batteries and cell phones
• Black plastics and plastic cutlery
• Diapers
• Drinking glasses
• Flower and Nursery pots
• Food
• Garbage
• Garden Hoses
• Hazardous waste
• Juice, soup or soy milk type boxes with foil liner
• Light bulbs (Incandescents, Fluorescents, and HIDs)
• Plastic bags
• Plastic corks
• Plastic and wire hangers
• Plastic film, shrink wrap, pallet wrap and bubble wrap
• Soiled paper (paper cups, plates, napkins, towels,
  take-out boxes and greasy pizza boxes)
• Styrofoam packaging, food containers and packing peanuts
• Waxed Cardboard or Paper
• Window glass

Other Items:
There are several items that we can't take in our recycling program, but we don't want to see them end up in the landfill either. Visit our Hard to Recycle section to learn more.

Recycle Cart Graphic Download a PDF version of the graphics on top of your Recycle Cart.
Recycling Guides Chinese English Spanish	Recycling Poster Chinese English Spanish

You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these files.

For more general recycling and waste reduction information, please visit RecycleWorks of San Mateo County.

Questions? Please contact us.

Language Assistance:
We offer a free Language Line with over 170 different languages through our Customer Service Department. Please contact us for more information.

Recology San Mateo County provides recycling, compost and garbage collection services to the 12 Member Agencies in the RethinkWaste service area.