Recycling centers in Berkeley

Berkeley Recycling, run by the nonprofit Community Conservation Centers, Inc. (incorporated in 1974), operates both a drop-off center and a buyback center at Gilman and Second Streets. Drivers enter from Second Street, turn left into the drop-off area, and put materials in the marked bins, with recycling aides in safety vests helping unload. Drop-off takes cardboard, mixed paper, newspaper, aluminum and steel scrap, small and large appliances without refrigerant, glass sorted by color, #1 and #2 narrow-neck bottles, and household hazardous items such as fluorescent bulbs and household, tool, and automotive batteries. Window glass, Pyrex, and drinking glasses are refused. Drop-off is open Monday through Saturday.

Berkeley's city-run transfer station on Second Street takes mixed refuse, construction and demolition loads, and compostable organics, charged by load size or tonnage. There is no pedestrian access: every customer arrives in a vehicle with a covered, fastened load. Construction material must come loose rather than bagged, and the recycled stream covers clean wood, drywall, tile, brick, dirt and rock, concrete, metal, cardboard, rigid plastics, and toilets, sinks and bathtubs. Appliances, mattresses and box springs (whole units only, two free for residents), tires, propane tanks and electronics are handled as special items. The station pays for used motor oil brought in containers of five gallons or smaller. Hazardous waste, explosives and ammunition are refused, and organic loads kept separate from other waste avoid a mixed-load surcharge.

Formerly the Alameda County Computer Resource Center, the Computer and Technology Resource Center runs a nonprofit e-waste drop-off at 620 Page Street in Berkeley, with a sister site in Novato once known as the Marin Computer Resource Center. Drop-offs are free at both, need no appointment, and count as tax-deductible donations. The charity refurbishes computers and gives them free to schools, nonprofits, and individuals, and recruits volunteers at both sites. Anyone donating a 2020 or newer MacBook Pro or Air gets a free drive wipe, and the centers now accept floor model copiers, printers, and plotters. Berkeley drop-off opens weekdays at 9 AM and Saturdays at 10 AM.