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Where to Recycle in San Mateo

Where to Recycle in San Mateo?

This is a GreenCitizen resource information page to help businesses and residents of San Mateo to recycle properly and live a greener life.

You will find recycling centers info of the nearest place for San Mateo residents and businesses to recycle the following items: electronics, automobile oils, batteries, construction materials, garden debris, glass, hazardous materials, household items, light bulbs, metals, paper, plastic bottles, paints, furniture, medicine, styrofoam, single-use alkaline batteries, mattresses, VHS, DVD and cassette.

San Mateo Recycling Centers

GreenCitizen has always been about making every day Earth Day for the businesses and people we serve. Since 2005, we’ve offered computer recycling business pickup services and electronics drop-off at our recycling center. We service businesses and residences within 40 miles from our location.

Our Burlingame location is at
GreenCitizen Recycling Center/EcoCenter
1831 Bayshore Hwy, Suite 2
Burlingame, CA 94010
We're open Monday to Friday, 10 AM to 6 PM.

Our Burlingame center is more than an electronic recycling center for residential drop-offs and a place to schedule business pickups. It's also an EcoCenter where residents and businesses can learn actionable information about living a greener life and reducing damage to the Earth. We also offer secure, certified hard disk destruction; tape recycling and destruction; IT asset disposition; product destruction; and styrofoam recycling.

Unlike the Best Buy recycling drop-off, where you're limited to five items per household per day, there's no limit to what you can bring to GreenCitizen's recycling center. If it a computer or an electronic and,it runs on batteries or plugs in the wall if doesn't contain harmful chemicals or require a medical license to operate, chances are that we can help you recycle every item. Please check our list of what we can accept at our EcoCenter.

For business pickup, you can find more info on the business recycling pickup page.
For consumer drop-off, please check our recycling center to see list of acceptable items.
San Mateo County’s Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Program helps residents reuse, recycle, or responsibly manage residential hazardous waste for free. County residents may drop-off a full range of HHW at collection events year-round every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (except major holiday weekends).

Go to https://smchealth.org/hhw to book an appointment at their main facitlities in San Mateo or their periodic events in Daly City, East Palo Alto, La Honda, Menlo Park, Pacifica, Portola Valley, Redwood City and South San Francisco.

What is HHW?
HHW is waste from your home, that is toxic, corrosive, flammable or reactive, based on its chemical properties. Products such as paint thinner, toilet bowl cleaner, batteries, and rat bait are considered hazardous waste. It’s illegal and unsafe to dump this waste in the trash or down the drain.
Discarded rechargeable and single-use batteries, in all shapes and sizes from AAA, AA, C, button cell, 9-volt, and lithium-ion batteries are hazardous waste and must be recycled right to protect our community and the environment.

There are several ways you can deliver batteries for recycling in San Mateo. You can use the HHW Program, 70+ retailers or put your batteries in a bag and put them on top of your garbage cart. Follow this link for more information about recycling of batteries in your city (https://smchealth.org/batteries).
Fluorescent lights save electricity and are a good choice for energy conservation. However, all fluorescent lights contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. This means the lights are toxic and can’t be put in the trash.

Some local businesses that sell fluorescent lights will take used ones back from their customers for proper disposal. If you follow this link you will find a list of local businesses in San Mateo that provide this service (https://smchealth.org/general-information/where-recycle-fluorescent-lights). Here you also will find important information on how to handle lights if they break. If you have less then 10 lights you can also deliver them at a HHW drop off.
You can recycle clean Styrofoam (EPS Number 6 only) Monday to Friday from 10 to 6 at:

GreenCitizen EcoCenter
1831 Old Bayshore HWY, Suite 2
Burlingame, CA 94010
650.493.8700 x103

You can also include Styrofoam in an electronics recycling pickup request with GreenCitizen.
Schedule a pickup here:
https://greencitizen.com/business-recycling-pickup-items/
You can recycle your VHS, DVD, or cassettes Monday to Friday from 10 to 6 at:

GreenCitizen Eco Center
1831 Old Bayshore HWY, Suite 2
Burlingame, CA 94010
650.493.8700 x103

You can also include VHS, DVD, and cassettes in an electronics recycling pickup request with GreenCitizen.
https://greencitizen.com/business-recycling-pickup-items/
If you are looking for a location to drop off bricks, concrete, dirt, sand, wood, metal, roofing or drywall, you could do it at:
Blue Line Transfer Station
500 East Jamie Court
South San Francisco, CA 94080
650-589-4020
https://ssfscavenger.com/transfer-station/
San Carlos Transfer Station
333 Shoreway Road
San Carlos, CA 94070
650-802-8355
https://ssfscavenger.com/transfer-station/
We recommend checking pricing and opening hours before you go.
San Francisco Goodwill have 25 donation sites in the Bay Area. There are two sites in San Mateo that both accept furniture:
Goodwill San Mateo
28 W. 25th Avenue San Mateo, CA 94403 650-293-8500
Goodwill Burlingame
1215 California Drive Burlingame, CA 94010 650-373-1235
Goodwill accepts a range of different items:
  • Furniture
  • Bedding
  • Bath linens
  • Throw pillows, curtains
  • Lighting (table floor, and wall lamps and shades)
  • Pictures, painting and sculptures
  • Computers and networking equipment
  • Televisions
  • Consumer electronics
  • Kids’ toys and games, and stuffed animals
  • Bikes and boards, and wetsuits
More information about donations to Goodwill you can find here https://sfgoodwill.org/.
Shoreway Environmental Center
333 Shoreway Road
San Carlos, CA 94070
650-802-8355
http://www.sbrecycling.net/transfer-station/
Mattress Disposal+
Pickup Service San Mateo
877-446-2371
https://mattressdisposalplus.com/san-francisco/san-mateo/
Shoreway Environmental Center
333 Shoreway Road
San Carlos, CA 94070
650-802-8355
http://www.sbrecycling.net/transfer-station/

Medicine

San Mateo County now has over 50 medicine disposal locations available for residents to dispose of medicine safely. By taking your unwanted or expired medicine to one of the convenient kiosks listed below, you are protecting the environment, preventing overdoses and errors, and helping keep drugs away from kids and teens.

Pharmacies and Police departments should have safe medicine disposal sites. Here is a few of the locations you could drop off medicine safe in San Mateo

San Mateo Medical Center
222 West 39th Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94403
San Mateo Police Department
200 Franklin Parkway
San Mateo, CA 94403
(650) 522-7710
San Mateo Neighborhood Pharmacy
9 37th Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94403
CVS San Mateo
77 Bovet Rd
San Mateo, CA 94402
+1 650-349-6303
Walgreens (Burlingame-El Camino)
260 El Camino Real
Burlingame, CA 94010
(650) 342-2977

You could find more information and locations for Medicine Disposal here https://www.smchealth.org/rxdisposal

Needles

If you want to disposal needles, you must do it at an approved sharps container. Sharps waste includes:
  • Hypodermic needles
  • Pen needles, intravenous needles
  • Lancets
  • Other devices that are used to penetrate the skin, for the delivery of medications

Here are two locations where you can disposal needles and sharps safe in San Mateo

San Mateo Medical Center
222 West 39th Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94403
San Mateo County Household Hazardous Waste Facility
32 Tower road
San Mateo, CA 94402
You could get more information about Needle Disposal here https://www.smchealth.org/general-information/safe-home-needle-disposal
Make sure to call the drop-off location prior to bringing your used oil & filter to ensure the shop is open. Bring the used oil and filter to a collection center employee. Never abandon used oil or filters outside of the business when the shop is closed.

Here are three locations in San Mateo you can recycle motor oil and filters

H & D Auto Repair
1471 E Third Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94401
650-342-8818
Jiffy Lube
407 S. Delaware Street
San Mateo, CA 94402
650-344-8242
Reeds Service Center
1641 Palm Avenue
San Mateo, 94402
650-341-6675

For more locations check https://www.smchealth.org/usedoil
Make sure to call the drop-off location prior to bringing your antifreeze, auto batteries and/or tires for recycling to ensure the location is open. Never abandon these items outside of the business when the drop-off location is closed. A fee may apply for some items.

Here is a short list of locations

Big O Tires
2160 S. El Camino Real
San Mateo, CA 94403
650-212-2446
Accepts antifreeze, auto batteries and tires
H & D Auto Repair
1471 E Third Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94401
650-342-8818
Accepts antifreeze and auto batteries
Reeds Service Center
1641 Palm Avenue
San Mateo, 94402
650-341-6675
Accepts antifreeze and auto batteries

If you want more information or locations look here https://www.smchealth.org/autorecycle
San Carlos Transfer Station
333 Shoreway Road
San Carlos, CA 94070
650-802-8355

http://www.sbrecycling.net/transfer-station/
Shoreway Environmental Center
333 Shoreway Rd.
San Carlos, CA 94070
(650) 802-8355

http://www.sbrecycling.net/transfer-station/