Best recycling center in OC. Good fair price for recycled material. Girls at the register are very polite and nice. Been going there for years. Wouldn't go anywhere else. I'm a 50 year old Santa Ana all my life resident and proud. MM read more

Located off Adams Avenue on the grounds of Orange County Community College, OC Recycling Center has been my go-to recycle center. It is so conveniently located and easy to pull-in and get out. They've finally reopened under new management and I couldn't be anymore enthused to recycle again. Today was a Sunday and I was excited to see they were open till 345p. I already had recyclables separated. The guy helping me was super nice and quickly weighed my three loaded trash cans. I asked if the recycle used batteries, but they do not. Still great they take many other materials including cardboard. The cashier was very friendly as we bonded over the time change. With that said, I was in and out in less than 10 minutes. Current CRV Rates: #1 Plastic $1.470 CRV Glass $0.102 Alum Cans $1.650 Highly recommended. read more

OC Recycling - Recycling Center Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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My number 1 spot to recycle, great employees they're fast, friendly and helpful. I had questions and Carlos helped me out. They also have good prices I highly recommend this spot read more

I have been to recycling places before so I at least know what to do. I am not sure if they were short staffed or because it was about an hour before closing but there were not a lot of workers there. I got in and out fast so my experience was just fine. I just was worried if someone there for the first time went... it would have been intimidating for them. I received a lot more money than I thought I would but then again... i haven't recycled in years. read more

What a huge mistake. I can't believe I tried this place again on a sunday. What a terrible terrible experience. I get there and I'm able to find a parking spot and at least I wasn't waiting cars in the street this time. However I see about 40 people with the men's full waiting to get their cans wade. Then I look over and realize there's no empty cans or bins to fill with my cans. Then I look even further and see that there's about 35 people waiting to get the empty cans. I got back into my car and drove to Irvine and only waited 5 minutes. I will never ever go to this place again. How can they run out of cans and how can they not have enough help to keep the lines down. And funny thing is I called earlier and they said it was out of busy day. read more

Drove up and smell killed me so much so that I wanted to leave. You also have to keep your recyclables longer than I'd prefer to fill these huge bins to get anything out of it. read more

We started collecting cans/bottles to recycle with the funds being donated to our temple this place is really convenient with a nice parking lot with a very easy recycling process read more

I enjoy bringing my recycle here. I've been going here for over 8yrs. Great customer service.

I had a very disappointing experience during my last visit (April 14th, 2026). I arrived at 4:46 PM, and the gate was still open. There were several customers still unloading their recyclables, so naturally I assumed the center was still accepting people. I only had one small bag of cans and began unloading, but I was quickly told that no more customers were being accepted and that I needed to leave. I understand that businesses have cutoff times, but in that moment, it was genuinely confusing, especially seeing others still being helped while I was turned away. What made the situation more disappointing was the lack of any clear notice. If there is a strict 4:45 PM cutoff, it would really help to have a visible sign at the entrance. Leaving the gate open while customers are still unloading sends a mixed message and puts people in an awkward position. I've been to this location multiple times without any issues, which is why this experience stood out. It wasn't just the inconvenience, it was the inconsistency and lack of clarity that made it feel unfair. I hope this can be improved so future customers don't run into the same situation. read more

My dad has been coming here for several years and recommended I come recycle my cans and bottles. I've been here over a dozen times and it's convenient because of where I live but it's not my favorite. There are ALWAYS nails on the ground every time I come. The floor is absolutely disgusting..I know it's gonna get sticky because of the recyclables but does it hurt to power wash the ground from time to time? There's a trashcan by the window where you get paid and it's always overflowing with bags that fall onto the ground. There's a mini sink but never any soap. This place also requires an ID card in order to get your cash back. Not sure if the return is worth it but it's definitely convenient. read more

Today i was desapointed,, took 4 teams to get recycled,, but some how the guy that was weighing my cans somehow got confused and gave me another person recipe added to mine and when it came to correcring it it took a while the value of the recipe was only $24 mine was mixed , Then they decided to give. Me $9 from the recipe that was $25, So i got Distracted the Cashir Called that light skin guy that Drives the GM whid 2022 license plates,, But somehow his way of exp wasn't so good just maid me mad inside how he tried to explain trying to to seem that he was taking care of the situation but just maid me walk away and so they kept my Money what ever they decided to give me at the end not sure if a should call it theft seens i gave them my Cans and i came home whid no money from there just a tough that he was trying to impress that young Cashier read more

Just moved to the area and had a ton of cardboard boxes to get rid of, so I went here to recycle them (better than slowly putting them in a bin at home!). I also brought some plastic bottles and cans I had, since why not? You separate the two into the yellow trash bins, they weigh 'em and give you cash. Hardly anyone was there when I went, so I did everything in about 5 minutes. Yay to recycling! read more

OC Recycling - you just throw your cardboard boxes here (but flatten them beforehand!) - Recycling Center Near Me - Santa Ana, California

I wish I had read the reviews before I went here. I had several items for EWaste because I missed a collection event at a local high school. I brought in a Lenovo tower, iPad, 2 laptops and a kindle. I saw him only look at the tower, he printed the receipt and I asked him about the other items and he said he included them. Guess what, I got $1.28. I really wasn't there about the money, I wanted these items securely recycled. Now I wonder. You can be sure, I will never be back and I do hope that karma runs its course. I try to stay positive in my reviews, but have to say this is the lowest review I have ever written and encourage you to find another recycler. read more

I've been coming here for years now!! You're in and out in a flash. Everyone is very friendly and professional. I definitely recommend coming here read more

I had the most terrific service provided by your employee Carlos! He went out of his way to help me find the information I needed with great communication skills. He followed up more than a couple of times, he was there when he said he would be, so very time conscious, responded very quickly, better than to be expected considering how busy he was and I could tell, the place was hopping and everybody was very kind, more than what I would consider to be excellent service. If every business could be this good, wow!, especially in these times. It was very refreshing to me after being so frustrated with everything I had been dealing with lately, and seemingly going to hell in a handbasket. I love you guys, especially Carlos! You guys are lucky to have an employee like him, I would hire him away from you if I was in need, he was that good! I'm sending everyone I ever speak with to you for a fantastic experience and to get a lesson in service, on how it's supposed to look and feel like. Great Job, keep it up! read more

Great service Fast and reasonable Brought my e-bike that lost the front wheel They replaced it the same day read more

good place to recycle your copper fast and easy and good price had no problems with anyone there everyone nice and respectful

Just stop by this morning to recycle some cooper. Great customer service and price! I recommend this business to anyone.

Convenient recycle center with ample space and quick service. In n out quickly and got the job done. read more

Francisco and the crew at the Costa Mesa location on Adams are fantastic! I appreciate their hard work, and all the bull they deal with everyday! It does not go unnoticed! THANK YOU! read more

Very easy to recycle some cans and bottles and staff was helpful. First time and it won't be the last.

I have a recycling center 5 minutes from my house but after I discovered OC Recycling I don't think twice about a 20 minute drive. Easier ingress and egress, plenty of knowledgeable staff to help and if you ever have any special circumstances where you need to speak to management, Carlos is a great guy! They are very professional and polite and I only recommend OC Recycling to anyone looking for a recycling center. read more

They try to buy your clean copper at $1.80 lb But I show the cashier that the rate for it is around $3.18 and he said that will give me A litte more At the end the diferencie was $240 more That the original receipt . What a scam from them .. read more

No RESPECT!!! & No professionally I had arrived at 4:22pm and was rushing to unload my cans off my truck. Keep in mind I have been coming here from the year 2007 to the day of today it seems like they where all in a rush to leave witch it's understandable but their was a young adult at the scale who seen me their unloading and comes up to me and says We CAN NOT TAKE YOUR CANS BECAUSE We ARE NOW CLOSED. So I said I have been here from 4:22pm and didn't sneak in just now you can SEE I HAVE THE YEllOW CONTAINERS FULL and still mages to say well WE CANT TAKE IT because we close at 5:00pm. Keep in mind it's was still 4:55pm So I said okay can you help me take this to the scale and decided to wine about it so I said the more we stand here and talk the more time consuming we are delaying for all of us to leave. Further more he did his job. Now I go to the register and the female their with no respect decides to ignore me at the window and keeps looking away to not attend me at the window. Now with in all that time of her ego to not attend me at the window was just more time being a problem for everyone!! So I said CAN YOU CASH ME OUT and her response is yelling at me with and attitude like what type of respect is that to end the conversation with her I said I don't want to ARGUE with you. furthermore another young employee named Jose walks up to the window and tells me that they can't cash me out because their system is now down so I said okay. What's the best thing I can do to cash this out he replies with come back tomorrow so I said okay. I asked for their names to make this review and yet Jose or don't know if that's his name now gave me falls information not bothered at all but very confused with how the owner decided to let these people talk to their regular customers. Now the manager seemed to be onsite and I ask him politely that they can't cash me out and what to do. So he aggressively replies they told you to not scale no more and that he over heard. confused of me now because he was no where around but inside the building so I said I been here from 4:22pm unloading as he replies with doesn't matter what time your here we are now closed. To not argue I said then fine but there seems to be no professional character here as he replies with I AM JUST A TRASH PICKER and don't care. Not bothered at all to each their own but what type of manager says that. I hope the owner and any local people can see this and hope that this don't happen to you maybe pick a better area as I will or be a victim of their unprofessional actions. Here is the manager who I am speaking of. If I could do no stars that would have been it or a negative one. read more

OC Recycling - Recycling Center Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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This is by far one of the best recycling places I've been to. They are super efficient and have the bins ready to be grabbed so you can put your recycled materials. The best time to go is in a weekday early morning. I went on a random Tuesday at 830am and there were only 3 people there. I came with my bags already separated (separate at home for efficiency) and emptied them in a bin. The employer took my container and weighed it and printed the receipt. I took it to the window and got my money! Check the website as they do have coupons (which I did). You don't have to print it out! You can just show it from your phone. I will be going here to recycle my things now! read more

Very simple place to do recycling at, highly recommend it for people to get in and out. Drums have wheels on them for easy transportation and weight system is super quick and easy. read more

I go here for all my recycling needs, they give you a good price and the customer service is great! I highly recommend this place.

First you must separate your items. They weight your items and then they give you a receipt for your payments. Cashier were very fast. Recommend this facility. read more

I checked on some heavy brake parts for price give Said 10-20cents per pound, after sitting in that filth and noise for almost an hour I got exactly $5 for almost 100 pounds of metal !!!! DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

made it easy and quick to drop off electronic waste for recycling; helped unload, very friendly, efficient, and knowledgeable!

If you need to recycle this is the place you want to go to. Everyone is so helpful, I noticed they give all of their customers the same experience. Aside from the good quality employees, you get all your moneys worth when it comes to recycling at this location. It's the only place I'll recycle at. read more

Quick and easy no hassle. Kid did a great job with the process. Good to not feel nickel and dimmed.

Horrible service , cashier slowest ever. Rude employees a management as well. They don't answer the phones employees not train properly to avoid this type of experience. Needs better management and lots of customer service training read more

Reducing waste & getting money in return? why not! There are many benefits to recycling, half the battle is having motivation to drive to the recycling center to drop them off. Ever since moving back to Irvine, I have been looking for a recycling facility closer to take all the cans in. Thanks to Yelp, this place seemed legit so I ended up going here. I went on a weekend & it was pretty busy. I ended up turning in about 54 lbs of cans, paying $1.65/lb. I ended up getting a little over $27 which is about average every time I go. My only complaint about this place is that the bins you use to put your recyclables in seemed dirty & I didn't like touching them. I get it, recycling can get messy. But maybe provide paper towels or something to avoid touching the bins. I'll definitely be back here since it was an easy process overall. read more

OC Recycling - receipt - Recycling Center Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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Simple, easy process. Didn't get much for what I was recycling, but better than nothing. I ended up giving the cash to somebody else in line as they clearly needed it more than me. read more

sorry, I meant to post this earlier but I got locked out my car. I was so excited about decluttering everything that I accidentally left my keys in my trunk. doh! I highly recommend OC Recycling. Friendly staff, super efficient. Great energy all around - both the staff and the customers. Ryan - I praise you for your wonderful team and for saving the environment. Thank you so much! I'll be returning next week to recycle the plastic bottles! Yay! :) read more

OC Recycling - thank you for helping me declutter! good energy all around. I will be returning next week with the bottles! :) - Recycling Center Near Me - Santa Ana, California

I brought electronic equipment, 8 computers, 6 printers and 4 monitors to have recycled. They gave me $1 dollar for all that equipment. When I got home I called the center and spoke with Carlos. He said he saw what I brought and they would pay me more when I returned. When I went back, he would not give nothing. I will not be bringing anything to this center anymore. read more

If you are trying to sell polyester, go to different Recycling center, because you will never ever going to get paid!! read more

Great service. If you ask they will try to help and escalate to someone who knows when they don't.

We have been collecting most of our cans and bottles during COVID and I finally had a chance to take them in to the center. The system was very organized with bins for your items (you must separate them yourself), a line to weigh them, and a cashier station to cash out your receipt. PRO TIP: bring latex gloves since everything is covered in a thin layer of grime from all the recycling residue. read more