We like to clear our home of unwanted items every year before the holidays to make more room for our friends and visitors, and to start the New Year feeling more organized (as well as virtuous). We are lucky to live in our extraordinary community where there is a commitment to environmental sustainability, and we can take care of such a task with maximal ease and efficiency.
One incontrovertible proof of the passionate commitment of our community to environmental sustainability is the wonderful El Cerrito Recycling and Environmental Resource Center. This resource provides residents and businesses a place to recycle a wide range of conventional and hard-to-recycle items, to exchange good reusable items such as books and toys, and to obtain information about other environmental concerns and efforts.
For items they do not take, there is a handy list on their website. The Center doesn’t buy back items, although the Berkeley Recycling Center does. For a list of locations that will pay for bottles and cans, please visit: CallRecycle
No matter where you live, you may use the recycling bins in the Center’s circle. However, for recycling fluorescent bulbs, or the hazardous waste facility (only on Tuesday) you must be a WCC resident.
The Berkeley Recycling Center takes a wide variety of items, and has the benefit of having their drop-off location right next to the Berkeley Transfer Station (aka “the dump”). The Recycling Center offers buyback services for a wide range of recyclable materials, including glass bottles and PET plastic, by the pound. Please visit the website before visiting for a list of acceptable materials, current rates, and proper preparation of buyback and drop-off materials.
For more information on recycling, check Recyclemore (Contra Costa County) and Stopwaste (Alameda County). For more information on where to properly dispose of household hazardous waste, check West Contra Costa County HHW or Alameda County HHW. (Proof of residency is required at HHW facilities.)
Merry Recycling and a Happy New Year!
