What Goes Where? - Recology Sonoma Marin
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What Goes Where?

What Goes Where?

Find out how to properly dispose of your items by viewing the tabs below. You can also view or download the printable sorting guides. If you’re unable to find what you’re looking for, please reach out!

We accept only green waste, plants, and RAW fruit and vegetable scraps in the composting cart. Contact us to change the size of any of your carts.

Accepted Compost Materials
Unaccepted Compost Materials

Plants

  • Branches and brush
  • Flowers and floral trimmings
  • Grasses and weeds
  • Leaves
  • Tree trimmings (less than 6 inches in diameter and 4 feet long)

 

 

 

 

RAW Fruit and Vegetable Scraps

  • Any uncooked and unprocessed fruits or vegetables
  • Food scraps (no cooked fruit or vegetables, meat, eggs or eggshells, pasta, or grains)
  • Aluminum foil or trays
  • “Biodegradable” plastic (not labeled “Compostable”)
  • Cat litter or animal feces
  • Cooking oil
  • Glass, metal, plastic, including plastic bags, wrappers, or film
  • Wood – plywood, pressboard, painted or stained wood
  • Poison Oak, Yukka tree trimmings, Bamboo, Cactus, Palm fronds

Please do not place recyclable materials in plastic bags, as the recycling facility is unable to process those materials. Paper bags are acceptable.

Accepted Recycling Materials (Empty, Clean, and Dry) Unaccepted Recyclables
Glass (no liquids or food)

  • Glass bottles and jars only (metal caps and lids too)

Metal (no liquids or food)

  • Aluminum cans
  • Aluminum foil and trays (ball foil up to softball size)
  • 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 bottles, tubs, and jugs (rinsed) 

  • Bottles (leave caps on)
  • Containers and clamshells
  • Laundry detergent bottles
  • Tubs and lids (yogurt containers and Tupperware)
Paper (clean, dry, and unsoiled)

  • Bags (paper only, no plastic)
  • Cardboard (non-waxed)
  • Cereal boxes
  • Computer and office paper
  • Egg cartons
  • Envelopes (windows okay)
  • Juice or soy milk type boxes with foil liner
  • Junk mail and magazines
  • Newspapers
  • Packing paper
  • Phonebooks
  • Sticky notes
  • Waxy paper milk or juice cartons
  • Wrapping paper
    (non-metallic)

  • Batteries
  • Ceramic dishware or glassware
  • Clothing, linens, and rags
  • Coat hangers
  • Electronics
  • Foil-backed or plastic-backed paper
  • Food scraps
  • Glass mirrors and windows
  • Incandescent, Fluorescent, LEDs, or HID Lightbulbs
  • Plastic bags, wrappers, or film
  • Plastic items mixed with metal, fabric, or rubber
  • Plastic labeled “Compostable” or “Biodegradable”
  • Soiled paper
  • Styrofoam
  • Waxed cardboard and paper
  • Wood
  • Yard trimmings

Few things, once they are used, are actually trash. Among such things are non-recyclable plastics and other complex materials that were not designed to be recycled.

Accepted Landfill Items Unaccepted Trash Items
  • Cat litter and animal feces (bagged)
  • Ceramic dishware or glassware
  • Clothing linens and rags
  • Cigarette Butts (extinguished – run under water prior to disposal)
  • Dental floss
  • Diapers
  • Feminine Hygiene Products
  • Foil-backed or plastic-backed paper
  • Glass mirrors and windows
  • Incandescent light bulbs
    (no fluorescents or HIDs)
  • Mylar (shiny metal) bags (potato chips, candy bars, balloons, etc)
  • Pens and pencils
  • Plastic bags, wrappers, and film (not labeled “Compostable”)
  • Plastic items mixed with metal, fabric, or rubber
  • Plastic labeled “Biodegradable” only
  • Rubber bands
  • Six-pack ring holder – please cut up
  • Sponges
  • Styrofoam
  • Twist Ties
  • Wood – small pieces of plywood, pressboard, and painted or stained wood

  • Appliances
  • Asbestos
  • Batteries
  • Construction debris
  • Cooking oil and grease
  • Dirt, rocks, or stone
  • Electronics
  • Fluorescent, LED, or HID lightbulbs
  • Household hazardous waste or chemicals
  • Large items (furniture, metal, plastic, wood)
  • Liquids or ice
  • Motor oil
  • Needles or syringes
  • Paint
  • Tires
  • Toys with electronics or batteries
  • Treated wood

It is illegal to put items such as electronics, batteries, fluorescent bulbs, pesticides, and other chemicals in the trash. When household hazardous wastes end up in a landfill, they can cause serious threats to humans, wildlife, and the environment.

Recology hosts annual household electronic drop-off events. Please check this website and your mail periodically for details on upcoming events.

For recycling and drop-off options visit Marin County’s household hazardous waste website.

    • Treated Wood Waste Now Accepted: Starting August 31, 2022, treated wood (any wood that has been treated with a chemical preservative to protect the wood against attacks from insects, microorganisms, or fungi) is accepted for disposal and considered hazardous waste per California State law. It must be disposed of properly. Find a disposal site near you.

      • Batteries: Recology offers curbside pickup of household batteries for those in Marin County (except Novato and Point Arena). Please place batteries in a sealed plastic bag on top of your recycling cart on your service day. Your recycling driver will collect them separately from your recyclable materials. Cell phone and laptop batteries are NOT allowed.