Oakland Recycles - Your Recycling Team

What Goes Where

Make it Easy to Sort Your Recycle, Compost, and Trash
girl holding recyclable and compostable items

Sorting Right

Oakland needs everyone to do their part to keep recyclables, food scraps, food soiled paper, and plant debris out of our landfills.

Download a printable sorting guide to help you at your residence and at your business.

recycling items

Recycle

Placing recycle materials in the recycle cart is good for the environment, as it gives recyclable items a second chance to become new things.

What goes in Recycle?

compostable items

Compost

Placing only food scraps, food soiled paper and yard debris in the compost carts helps fight climate change and create compost to nourish farms and gardens!

What goes in Compost?

trash items

Trash

Place only non-recyclable, non-organic materials, and non-hazardous materials in your trash container. Consider reusing or recycling unwanted items before you throw them away.

What goes in Trash?

Hazardous and E-waste

Hazardous & E-Waste

Many common household products, such as used motor oil, leftover paint, pesticides and fertilizer products, and electronics are considered hazardous waste and should never be disposed of in the recycle, compost or garbage containers. Household Batteries and motor oil can be recycled curbside. Consider scheduling bulky junk service for e-waste recycling.

What is Hazardous?

Construction and Demolition debris

Construction & Demo

Construction and demolition (C&D) debris includes wood, soil, cardboard, asphalt, concrete, glass, metal and other materials. C&D materials account for up to 25% of the disposed waste stream in California. Keep C&D debris out of landfills through reuse and recycling.

Construction & Demo Debris

Bulky items include mattress, tire, TV, monitor

Bulky Items

Have items too large to fit in your curbside cart or bin? All Oakland households can directly schedule a drop off and a curbside pickup appointment. Call 1-888-WM-BULKY or make an appointment online. Consider reuse or recycling before throwing items away.

Bulky Service Program

Reduce & Reuse

Preventing waste starts with simple changes—like making grocery shopping lists so you buy just what you need to avoid wasting food. Or stashing reusable shopping bags next to your door or in your car. Reducing and reusing keeps money in your pocket and can do a lot of good for our communities and the environment. Visit StopWaste.org for easy tips you can implement today.
StopWaste

SB 1383: Compost and Recycling Law

A new California state law (SB 1383) effective January 1, 2022, was enacted to help keep compostable materials out of landfills. In Alameda County, the Organics Reduction & Recycling Ordinance has been put in place to help residents and businesses comply with the regulations set by the state.

Acceptable Food Service Ware for Restaurants

In order to reduce the amount of single use items that end up in the landfill, the City of Oakland has created food service ware requirements for restaurants. We have provided resources and options in the commercial services overview page

3 bins for sorting trash, recycling and compost

Your Sorting System

Whether it is for your home, office or your customers, setting up a good system for sorting goes a long way in diverting materials away from the landfill. Review your workflow to determine where waste is most generated, including both kitchen, common and customer areas. You’ll want a set of three bins—recycle, compost, and trash. One bin does not fit all! Make them different colors or place stickers on them as a helpful guide. Visit StopWaste.org for more information and resources for setting a successful sorting station.

Not sure where it goes?