Great location to drop off your cans! Quick service, you park take your items to the drop off, they sort and weigh the cans for you and give you cash for the cans! Would definitely return the next time I need to recycle my cans. read more

I went here to drop off bottles sometime long ago and the two guys in their 20s working here were EXTREMELY rude, no friendliness whatsoever. I was nothing but friendly to them and trying to be as efficient as possible and was met with nothing but coldness and it put my day off to a pretty sour start. Won't be going back here again read more

I still love this CRV recycling center! Friendly. Helpful. Competitive prices. Plenty of parking. Helpful employees. Fast and easy.

Came here when it was slow . The guy up front is not welcome whatsoever . Throws half of your bottles away claiming they aren't recyclable. Not worth the amount of cans/bottles you recycle . Glass doesn't get weighted correctly either . read more

After being treated like garbage at OC Recycling in Santa Ana, & their horrible service, with refusing to let me in, I told myself I needed to find a new recycling home so I was determined to find one in Irvine. Well lucky me, this is so close to home, a 5 minute drive! I had no idea this was so near & it's sorta hidden. This place is off of barranca, off the beaten path. It's basically the hidden industrial area of Irvine. I've been here twice & no complaints at all ! My favorite part ? How the employees handle the cans for you - no need to touch gross sticky bins or fight with bees & flies like you do at OC Recycling. OC Conservation Corps is so clean! You won't ever have to wait in line either ! It's a fuss free process. They do close at 4 so get in before that & get that cash. Highly recommend ! read more

My go to spot for recycling bottles. Never had a problem with the service here. Would highly recommend!

Super quick and friendly service. The cashier was really personable and made the experience a lot more enjoyable. The actual collection area isn't very big so I can imagine there being a good wait during peak times. Luckily I went on a Saturday right before closing and was the only one their. Everything was sorted and weighed for me. I got paid and went on my merry way. Would come back here to recycle! read more

So happy that this place is open again. As they were closed during the initial COVID phase, I explored other option. There is no one else in close proximity that I could find as clean, effective and friendly. read more

Orange County Conservation Corps - OCCC Hours and Address - Recycling Center Near Me - Irvine, California

For some time now I have the suspicion that this center does NOT reimburse the full CRV value. Each time I go I keep getting less money for roughly the same amount of bottles and cans. For 6 or 7 trah bags I would get between $13 to 15 and some change. TODAY I got $9.53!!!! How is that preventing possible? read more

This is probably one of the easiest reviews I will ever write. This place is located in the construction circle here in Irvine. You'll know when you're close........when you smell it. And by smell it I mean ALL the trash... so it's quite glorious. LOL!! But you pull up and park. Bring your CRV eligible items to the attendant and dump them on the big silver "table." They will separate the different kinds for you but it's even easier if you do so (you're done even faster). So you can get paid for all your stuff by the pound exclusively and they have their rates or you can have them do it per container (only up to 50 of each type). So if you had 100 cans, 200 bottles and 82 glass containers. They would take the 50 of each item, pay you per container and the remainder will be paid out by weight. It's pretty straight forward. They pretty much follow the guidelines mandated by the stated regarding what they can and can't do. They are open 10am-4pm, Tuesday-Saturday. More state info can be found here: https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/BevContainer/Consumers/CashingIn/ But this place is fast and efficient. I would come back for sure. read more

My husband and I have bags and bags filled with cans in our garage. Once we run out of space, we hurry our bootys over here to the OC Conservation Corps, and get cash for cans. What's the process like? 1. Unload your car and drag your bags of recyclables to the canopy area. 2. Someone will dump your cans and bottles out on the table and sort them all out for you. *Note: if you want to get even MORE money, have your cans, plastics, and glass bottles presorted. 3. All your recyclables get dumped into a blue trashcan, that then gets weighed on a big scale. 4. Take slip of paper to the counter, where they give you the cold, hard CASH. The staff here are super friendly and we always leave with a good chunk of change! Love this place! read more

Easy and painless. Friendly operators and efficient operation. Uniforms are a bit dirty but given the environment and what they are dealing with, it's unreasonable to expect hospital standards. read more

Going Green has never been so easy!! Why go there to recycle? I'll give you a long and short version just in case you're not in the mood to read my long winded dissertation on why they're so awesome, lol! Short Version: They're really friendly, helpful, fast and you get a lot of cash for your cans and bottles. Just drive up and hand them your bags and they'll do the rest! http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/mngKg08EhqlGWmdPs83NUg?select=tl0Sou3bnH5jFxMLX0DWbQ Where you pick up the cash after they're done weighing: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/mngKg08EhqlGWmdPs83NUg?select=ZHKLqtDIHZANPtFRtZDAhg Long Version: These guys help the environment and the community at the same time! I know its long, but I copy-pasted their Mission Statement from their website just because I'm really impressed with how much good they do. "The Orange County Conservation Corps serves young, at-risk adults through employment, training and educational programs that build self-sufficiency and benefit the community through conservation-related projects. The OCCC's approach to employability teaches teamwork and cooperation by utilizing work projects that are beneficial to the community and the environment by creating an atmosphere where corpsmembers have the chance to develop on an educational, professional and personal level." They are located in an industrial / construction sector of Irvine, but super easy to find. Working from a sorting table, they then place all your recyclables into bins for weighing. Just walk up to the shack and claim your good-deed prize money! This sure beats the Greenopolis Kiosks that used to be a Whole Foods Market!! read more

Orange County Conservation Corps - The sorting tables - Recycling Center Near Me - Irvine, California

See all

I work in the Environmental field, so any place that does something good for the environment automatically gets 5 stars, but this place exceeds it...10 stars!!! This is gem, more like jade or emerald ... because it goes GREEN!!! If you have a bags of cans, bottles, glass piled up in your garage waiting to be recycled (AND YA'LL BEST DO!!!) this is the place. Instead of going to the market where you recycle each bottle at a time, this place throws it all in a bin and weighs, it and you get CASH!!!! So you can go down to The District to speeeend it!! It's a little hidden, but you'll be able to find it, it's where that huge concrete batch plant you always see driving down Jamboree off Warner. Anyways, what makes this place great is the people!! There's a young lady that works there, she's SUPER SUPER nice and she really BELIEVES in recycling! That's just so AWESOME!!! read more

Orange County Conservation Corps - Open Tu-Sat 10-5 - Recycling Center Near Me - Irvine, California

See all

5 stars because you are literally in and out very quickly. I brought in a dozen giant trash bags of plastic bottle and aluminum cans. They separated everything for me. I was out in 15 minutes. People kept on coming in but the employees have a system down to minimize wait time for people coming in. Pros: in and out QUICK, they give you cash right then and there, they separate recycles for you, employees seem helpful and nice, you don't have to take off caps from plastic bottles. Cons: they do not take plastic water bottles without the label on it. So don't tear off the labels. They don't take milk/juice/yogurt plastic bottles. I would recommend this place. I will go back here from now on. Today this was what the rate was: $1.28 for plastic water bottles and $1.60 for aluminum cans. read more

I accumulate a lot of large and weirdly shaped bottles that make recycling machines very inconvenient and time consuming. This place dumps it in a trash bin and weighs it. Does it smell bad and are there roaches? Yes. Are the bottles weighed and sorted super fast even if you have multiple large trash bags of them? Also yes. read more

Pro: Very fast. Most of the time there are no line or the line would be moving very fast. The workers over there would help you to sort out the items. There were usually two to three people working. This really speed up the process. The price they paid were competitive when compare to other place that also count by weight. The workers were usually friendly and helpful. They paid you cash on site rather than take a vouncher and redeem somewhere else. Con: Do not refund bottle with no CRV label. Will not accept non CRV so I would had to take them back and dispose of them. Overall, this would be my place to do recycle. read more

Wow! Surprisingly simple and quick to exchange recyclables for cash! Everyone is working super hard with great attitudes. A bit hard to find but there is lots of parking... brought all of the recyclabes to a sorting table, employees sorted and weighed everything within a few minutes, went to a window and picked up $17. So easy. I used to take all of my bottles to a rePlanet behind Ralphs on Culver... waiting in lines and dealing with grumpy personnel. Never again. read more

Love them but they lost my transcripts now I have to start ALL OVER! This is so so bad

So easy to recycle here, I love it! just bring in your bags and dump them on the sorting table. Staff takes care of the rest. So much better than sorting your own materials into separate bins (I dislike having to haul around separate containers for my 5 glass bottles and 3 Al cans...mostly I have plastic to recycle. Done going to other recycling centers as this is heaven on earth (for recycling, anyway...sans the smell from WM sorting center across the street). Thank you staff! read more

Quick and easy place to get $ for your recyclable plastic bottles and cans. They pay by weight so you won't get full CRV value. Workers are very nice. Located in the Construction Circle industrial area; it ain't pretty but they get the job done. read more

Today I finally decided to take the 30+ bags of bottles we had building up in our garage to be recycled. So I searched Yelp! for a close recycling place and behold! I found this one. So I loaded up the car and took it all down to the recycling center. I thought I was going to have a hell of a time finding this place, but it was actually really easy. When I pulled up, they greeted us and asked us if it was our first time. I said "yes" and they let me know how the process works. The employees were really friendly and they chatted it up with us as they were sorting, weighing and calculating. After All the bags they had to sort and bottle's they had to weigh in, I was in and out in 20 minutes. In the end, they gave me my mula and a detailed receipt showing what was weighted in. read more

I never thought I'd be reviewing a recycle center, but I came here so often I established a rapport with the employees. I'll miss this recycle center, the employees were all so helpful and friendly. When I didn't understand why a container wasn't recyclable they were the ones who could explain it to me. Did you know, wine bottles are not recyclable for any cash back? Or plastic containers for Orange Juice or other juices over 64 .oz, are also not recyclable for cash? I didn't. Also, if a container does not have the CA Refund on the label, they're not to accept it. Strange, right?! Anyhow, these guys are wonderful, it's easy peasy to get in and out super quick. Everyone should take their recycling here, if they want their money back, care about the eco system, environment, what they breathe and the health of the planet they live on!! read more

Best recycling experience ever! Pros: friendly, really helpful, quick, efficient, clean Cons: none Useful links: The first link is a pdf of the nearby recycling centers in Irvine with their contact info, hours of operation, and map. You can print this out for your fridge. http://www.cityofirvine.us/pop_up/rrr/IRVINE_BuybackPostcard.pdf This link is just more information about recycling in Irvine. http://www.cityofirvine.us/News_Announcement_1.php# Here's how Easy (with a capital E) it was: 1. Get in my car with my bottles/cans/other stuff of uncertain "recyclability" and drive there 2. Park 3. Take recyclables from car (They offered help, but I did it myself anyway) 4. They sort and count for you!!! 5. They educate you about what is recyclable. 6. They pay you and give you a detailed print-out receipt. It tells you how many lbs of each type of recyclable you brought in and how much you received for each type. The best part of the experience wash how genuinely courteous and friendly everyone was. I would definitely recommend bringing your bottles, cans, and newspapers here. read more

Nice and clean place. Very approachable and people there are very gentle in their work . Fair pricing as compared to other recycle centres . They are transparent and kind people to deal with. read more

I don't like giving low scores unless the business deserves it but today it does. I came here at 433pm at 6/14/14. The sign says you are open from 10am-5pm. I got ZERO service. That's because everyone went home early for the day. Don't lie about your hours. Your sign should state: We are open from Tues-Sat from 10am-5pm but we may go home early if we feel like it. So call first before coming. read more

Wow. Like everyone else who has reviewed this place, it's wonderful! So fast! I'm so glad I found this place. Will be coming here from now on read more

I've been to this recycling center a few times now and always have a pleasant experience. I never had to wait in line until this morning when I arrived a few minutes after it opened. Guess that's what happens when they aren't open on Sunday and Monday (and I guess everyone had parties this weekend from Easter? ^_^) I am always suprised to find how much money I get back from recycling water bottles and soda cans since we don't really drink much soda. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get credit for a lot of the wine bottles and beer bottles that I brought it. Isn't that under "glass" sigh. I remember getting credit for it in the past. Oh well, it's nice lunch money. (~$10-15/month) read more

I love this CRV recycling center! I have tried others but always end up coming back to this place, even though I now live about 20 miles away. Friendly. Helpful. Competitive prices. What more do you need? read more

Completely deserving of 5 stars. For a messy, smelly task, the team here is ALWAYS kind. They work with a smile, always ask if you'd like to keep your bags, and thank you for stopping by. They'll even take some containers you can't normally recycle in the self-service machines. Always a pleasure to visit. Best way to arrive is via Jamboree, exiting Warner (as if you were going to the District). read more

This place is awesome. They are so efficient. You will be in and out in minutes. You place your recyclables on a sorting table and they will sort and count for you - in minutes! AND they give you money on the spot unlike some places where you have to get a receipt redeemed. This is now my go to place for me. read more

Easy place to return your recyclables for deposit. My only issue is why do they have to use so much paper for a recycling place? Everyone who gets cash back has to sign a full-page receipt and another slip for the initial count. read more

Wow. Awesome friendly service. These guys are awesome!! Pro tip: they will sort your bottles and cans for you, so don't worry about pre-sorting if you don't have the time. Seriously the most friendly service ever. read more

They separate your recycled goods for you and pay cash on the spot. What else can you ask for. Easy peasy.

Made another stop here to trade my recyclables for cold hard cash...well to get back the CRV money that they charge when you buy the stuff... Always very friendly service and a quick transaction, unless there is a line of people also trying to recycle. Thankfully when I arrived there was no wait, but as I left there were 3 or 4 groups of people that had just arrived. Oh, just so you know, cans are by far the most valuable beverage container to recycle. And beware of spiders. I keep my recyclables outside and found a bunch of those little buggers hanging out with the bottles this trip. read more

Decided to try a place closer to my home. Took 2 large bags to be recycled. Left with $10. I would have left with $20+ dollars. If I would have taking this amount to my spot in Tustin/Santa Ana border. My preferred place always comes out to help me too. This spot didn't even look twice. Never again. read more

These dudes are sooo chill. I look forward to coming here because the workers are really friendly and the recycling return rate ($$) is really good. read more

Orange County Conservation Corps - No caption needed - Recycling Center Near Me - Irvine, California

Fast and friendly people. Great place to epcieallly if you have a lot of recyclables.

The best place in Orange County to recycle your CRV cans and bottles. You can sell up to 50 of each type by count, or you can sell unlimited by weight. The workers are fast and friendly. They will pay you in cash. Very conveniently located near The District in Tustin/Irvine. read more

This is by far the best and fastest recycling center I've been to. You drive up, park, and bring your items over. Yes, they help you sort, but I always show up with it sorted for even faster in and out. Your items get separated into bins, weighed. and you get paid. That's it. Some reviews mentioned that those small yogurt drink bottles (like the Yakult kind are not accepted). I was there a few weeks ago with a few bottles of that kind and the guy took them and placed it a separate bin off to the side. He mentioned that it's because they're a different kind of plastic than those other water bottles. But I BELIEVE he paid me for them. It just wasn't weighed, I remember the receipt had a count for 4 bottles or something. Just double check with them. read more