Always a lovely trip that makes you feel good! My daughter and I have been coming here for close to 15 years now. We are Sunnyvale residents, I have always felt so lucky to have such an clean and organized recycle center close by. The staff is very helpful and knowledgeable. They always explain the rates and count everything with you to ensure you understand the value of your recycled goods. As a Girl Scout troop leader/volunteer mom for 8 years; they were always so help and obliging to my request for an annual tour of the center with the girls - to earn their recycle & be green badge It's beyond me why anyone would have a negative experience or bad review - this place is literally paradise of the recycle world. Perhaps they have never been to the others in the Bay Area. Bonus: if you are a Sunnyvale or Mountain View resident you can pick up free wood chips and compost dirt for your garden. They provide two gallons for free per week with proof of residency. read more

SMaRT Station - Recycling Center Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

Santa Clara County's official .gov website is telling SCC residents that this is a station that will help you with recyclables. Upon visiting, the clerks will tell you they only serve specifically Sunnyvale residents and no one else. 1. Go to https://hhw.sccgov.org/home 2. Search for "Drop-Off Locations" 3. Click on "Battery and Fluorescent Bulb Drop-Off Locations" as an example 4. It will bring you to a map with recyclable location icons and lists SMaRT Station Sunnyvale as an eligible place WITHOUT mentioning any residency restrictions. Also, good luck trying to reach anyone by phone. I spent a good 15 minutes calling multiple times but to no avail. No one is accepting Fluorescent Bulb recycling anymore it seems. Home Depot won't take it, neither will Lowe's. Also the map is incredibly outdated, there's a lot of hardware stores listed like Ace Hardware that closed up shop many years ago. If people can't find out a way to properly recycle these materials it just increases the likelihood they will trash it and thus harming our environment and overall community. Santa Clara County and city of Sunnyvale need to figure this out. read more

Third time is the charm I suppose. I went to dump my usual stuff a year after my 2nd visit and it was the smoothest experience so far. I knew where to go, I knew what to do, there weren't many people or recycling trucks there, and I was in and out very quickly. Still not fun being in the area with all the debris and machinery, but can't help that given the stuff I am dumping. Regardless, it was a better experience than before. read more

Easy...but smelly dumped various items and helpers in each area, helpful. I've used for recycling at special events-holidays too. Grateful you're close by. read more

Sofa $24 each, mattress or box spring $17.50 each, refrigerator, freezer or AC unit $64. College dorm yard sale? Try SMaRT station disposal fee. Sunnyvale has gone to the dumps. For Sunnyvale, Palo Alto and Mountain View residents only. I guess the Palo Alto and Mountain View dumps are filled, so they have to use the Sunnyvale dump! Disposal is by the cubic yard, with a $20 minimum fee. No tires, and no smoke detectors accepted. Free dumping at the SMaRT Station over 2 weekends in the spring and fall: April 6,7,13,14, 2019 and October 5,6,12,13, 2019. For Sunnyvale residents only. Up to 4 automobile tires. Free paper shredding up to 5 legal size boxes on 3 Saturday mornings 8am-noon: March 16, July 13, and November 2, 2019. For Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Palo Alto residents. Details on these events and household hazardous waste disposal, mercury thermometer exchange, compost workshops, and litter cleanup events at https://sunnyvale.ca.gov/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?blobid=23701. When my current wife moved in with me in 2003, we had no less than 4 sofas. Had to get rid of 3 sofas. and tried getting the Salvation Army to pick them up. They stopped doing that, so I called up the city of Sunnyvale at 408-730-7400, or https://sunnyvale.ca.gov/property/recycling/default.htm. They sent a flat top truck with a small crane and mobile furniture crusher to squish my ex-wife's furniture! In 2014 my 14 year old 19" CRT TV kicked the bucket. Took the TV and a couple of old CRT monitors to the SMaRT station for recycling. Had to unload the 50 pound TV by myself, as SMaRT people don't want to hurt their backs by doing any lifting! Wife is having a luncheon for AAUW at our house, and is nagging me to get rid of the broken microwave oven eyesore at our doorstep. Wrestled the 40 pound oven into the car, and head on over to the SMaRT station early on a Sunday morning. Don't want to come here on a weekday, and face the 237-101-Mathilda expressway 7 way traffic light triple intersections, full of Lockheed-Martin and Google commuter traffic. The SMaRT station is right next to the Bay Trail and a place where I would watch fireworks from the top of the hills on July 4. Once here, I had to wrestle the 40 pound microwave not only out of the car trunk, but up and over the 5 foot lip of the dumpster. I do not look forward to the day when my wife's 35" aging CRT TV break downs. Guess who will have to lift that 200 pound TV out of the car and over the five foot lip of the dumpster! read more

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If you're a resident of Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Los Altos (?) you're able to throw out some recyclables here. I came with a truckload full of cardboard, and it was really nice to be able to dump so much. They do send someone over to monitor what you're dumping and make sure you're not mixing materials, but it's understandable considering they're not going to sort through it later. Driving in I also saw some large mounds of free compost. You just need to bring your own shovel/bags, so I'll be back for that. read more

Friendly staff. Easy to know where to go, just follow the signs or other cars. The workers make it so easy.

The Sunnyvale Smart Station is a garbage and recycling center for residents of Sunnyvale, Mountain View, and Palo Alto. The station not only sorts garbage to divert recyclable materials, it also process collected materials for resale or disposal. They take almost anything except hazardous materials and liquids which have to be disposed of in other facilities. They also have a redemption center for bottles and cans. They main reason we go there is for the compost. I do a fair amount of home composting to the point I do not even set that bin out. However, sometimes you need more. For residents of the above cities, you can come on in and load up on finished compost for free. There are a few limitations however. You can come once a week an you are limited to 96 gallons of the stuff. Its phenomenally good compost and is excellent in the crappy soil many of us have on the Peninsula. The only catch? you have to shovel and bag your own. Aside from that they do offer group tours of the facility if you are super interested in the whole recycling process. read more

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They are improving what recyclables they take. One improvement that needs to happen is in plastic wraps vs just bottles. I'm never sure if plastic bottle lids should be left on or not ... how can we help them do better? I'm a huge environmentalist! read more

Went here today to offload a TON of cardboard. So I'm based in Los Gatos (outside of their catchment area). But I didn't realize (until I called), for recyclables they don't care if you're out of area! AMAZING, I offloaded all my cardboard, paper etc, worth the visit! read more

This is the place where Sunnyvale garbage and compost end up, so it stinks! Yes, it's free for Sunnyvale residents, but you get what you pay for. The employees speak very bad English, are rude and bossy. Also, I was dropping off some electronics (a couple of laptops, a TV and a DVD player, etc). At the weigh booth at the entrance an employee inspecting my trunk asked about one item, if it's still working and if she can take it (!) At the e-waste drop-off site they didn't have a container that would fit my TV set, so the lady forwarded me to the garbage site (the stink got really bad at this point), where some guy in an orange vest told me where to unload the TV and again asked if it works. I get it, the pay is not great there, but there's got to be some minimal work ethics. Don't behave like jackals and if you do, at least try to be polite. WARNING: I would NOT recommend this place for dropping off any hard drives or laptops (unless you took out and/or destroyed the disks) because you never knows who goes through your stuff and what they are looking for. read more

Only come here to waste your time and be treated so unfairly . I was curious to see if they are hiring and was grilled about it . Not friendly service , not sure how this helps our community over the phone and in person . Rosa Flores was not helpful at all . read more

Garbage is serious business. I mean, it's gotta go somewhere and you can't really chuck all your crap into your backyard. Well, I guess there are some people who seem to! But for the rest of us, places like the Sunnyvale Materials, Recovery and Transfer (SMaRT) Station help sort all that garbage so that not all of it ends up in a landfill. Because otherwise, the over-trashed world of Wall-E is going to become a reality a whole lot sooner. Behind the scenes, people at the SMaRT Station are working hard daily to sort recyclable and compostable material out from the garbage produced by the cities of Mountain View, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale. And every day, 30 semi-trucks' worth of compacted garbage gets hauled down to the dump in South San Jose. That's a lot of garbage! The SMaRT Station also has a recycling center where residents can drop off hazardous materials like fluorescent bulbs, batteries, electronics, cooking oil, motor oil and antifreeze. Because that stuff should NOT be put in the regular trash (with the exception of small amounts of cooking oil). Please dispose of it properly! There's also a buy-back center that will take your cans, plastic and glass and give you actual money for them! And all that organic material that gets pulled out of the garbage? That gets turned into compost, which is then provided on-site for residents of Los Altos, Mountain View, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale to take for FREE. How cool is that?? Kudos to the SMaRT Station for dealing with all of our crap! read more

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Should be called the StuPID Station. Came in Sunday 9/1 to recycle cans as Ranch Town Recycling was closed. We were "greeted" by a portly man in a hard hat to whom we had to explain multiple times that we were trying to recycle cans. It finally sank in, and he said "ok, area is full, you wait in line here" We waited 15 minutes in a line of 7 cars waiting to get in to the area so I could unload - not one car went in or out in that time. This is when I started to loose patience with the whole thing. I only had x4 bags of cans, so simply unloaded from my trunk while in the line, had my wife swap seats, and proceeded to take my cans in for redemption. There were two customers in line, so I didn't understand why there was such a long line of cars to get in and immediately lost confidence in the professionally of the facility. It was then that portly man waddled over and prevented me from redeeming my cans "excuse me, you need to wait in the line" I just dropped my bags of cans and left. What a shit-show... read more

Very helpful and friendly customer service. We are repeat customers. We have suggested this place to many of our friends. On-time scheduled-- just book a time online and show up. They take it from there, and you are there and done. read more

Parking varies on the day and time. One day, I had to park close to the end of the recycle center when all the spots were occupied. Otherwise, service is quick. read more

WORSE CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER! Saw a guy trying to fill his truck bed and one of the employees said he was getting too much, it wasn't even half full! Complete bullshit because how can you tell it was over 96 gallons?!?! Cuz as soon as the dude ask how he can tell, the employee said he didn't. SO WHAT WAS THE POINT?!?! Customer service is rotten and I recommend going elsewhere for compost and recycling read more

Only recycling center that does appointments every 30mins. So they could only handle 1 person within a 30min period? Some customers have 2 bags at max for recycling and it takes less than 5mins. Talk about milking that hour pay rate. Go to Danny's recycling center quicker service and no appointments necessary!! read more

I shredded a bunch of confidential papers here on one of their free days and it was super convenient!

Booked by appointment only so call and make an appt to drop off ur recycling. Who knows how long this will happen but they r booked until july 14 already. Recommend going to dannys recycling in santa clara read more

Went here on one of the selected free weekend dump days. Easy to get to, simple directions. Basically just followed the vehicles going in and the cones leading the way. Someone just checks what you have to dump and if it's not chemicals you just head towards the generic dumping area. Wait for someone to flag you over and once a spot is open you just back in to the trash mound and toss your junk on the pile. I was in and out in 15 minutes or less start to finish. So easy. And just leave following the cones and exit signs. Best to not wear your best shoes haha. Wish they had more free dump days but even so I still would return when needed. read more

You can throw away infinite amounts of cardboard, plastic and aluminum containers, and ewaste for freeeeeeeeee. For all other waste, they charge by volume. If you have something that isn't particularly dense, like carpet remnants, Leo recycling in sj might be cheaper because they charge by weight. read more

My wife and I are opening an F45 exercise gym on Grant Rd in Mountain View. During renovations the city required us to upgrade the existing fluorescent lighting to LED, which, even though it really stretched our budget, we didn't mind too much as we are environmentally minded. Instead of just throwing the old fixtures, tube bulbs and all, into the large construction or strip-mall dumpsters as we often see, I took the time to disassemble each one and remove the tube bulbs since they are supposed to contain trace amounts of mercury. I bundled the 20 or so bulbs in a plastic bag and went off to Home Depot as I remembered them recycling such bulbs. On arrival they told me they recently changed their policy to only take compact fluorescents not tubes (ironic as they still sell tubes). So I loaded them back into the car and did a quick web search which came up with: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/rwr/hhw/Documents/Fluorescent%20Light%20Drop-Off%20Locations_Rev.12.13.2018.pdf "drop off limited amounts of fluorescent bulbs/tubes (compact bulbs/CFLs, circular, spiral, U-bent tubes, and straight tubes) at any of the listed locations for FREE" and on the list: Recology Mountain View (650) 967-3034 So off I went to Mountain View Recycling - only to find them closed for some extended Thanksgiving vacation that was different than what their website said. On Tuesday, December 3rd, I went there again but they also told me that they too no longer take tubes but that the nearby Sunnyvale SMaRT station would no problem. So I loaded the bulbs back into the car again and drove to the SMaRT station. There I followed the signs to recycling. No one was around but I found a large shelf of fluorescent tubes so dropped my bulbs off there. As I was driving away a lady stopped my car and said that she needed to see my ID and she said I had to take the bulbs back since I'm a Cupertino resident and SMaRT only covers Sunnyvale, Palo Alto and Mountain View (even though its parent company Recology also covers Cupertino). I said "but they are from a small gym in Mountain View" and she said "commercial is not allowed" to which I replied "that's for commercial demolition and construction companies who have other ways to dispose of these things. They are in the safest place for them, which our taxes paid for." and I drove away. Two days later the police show up at my house saying that Recology is accusing me of dumping hazardous waste. I told the officers this story and they were very sympathetic that I was trying to do the right thing but they said they were just the messenger and that they were supposed to tell me to go collect the bulbs or that Recology would press charges. Furthermore the officers said Recology gave them the impression that what I dropped was more dangerous than what they recycled which is a blatant lie - as I was dropping off 48 inch Philips T8 bulbs identical to what was already on their recycling rack. Now the bulbs are dangerously rattling around the back seat of my wife's compact electric car while we continue to search for another drop off location (from which ironically the bulbs will most likely end up back at SMaRT). I went to great effort to get the bulbs to the safe place directed to by Mountain View and paid for by our tax dollars and only got legal threats in return from Recology. They are not providing the services that Mountain View is contracting them for. Worse, contrary to their recent green-wash rebranding as REcycling + Ecology, they are clearly choosing profit by driving costs away versus doing the correct thing for the environment. No wonder most people just throw such bulbs in the trash. read more

I love this recycling place because it is very organized and pay very well for your plastic bottles and can. I frequent this place once a month to recycle the plastic bottles and cans we used everyday (yes, we should cut down on those). I normally come on weekdays morning (before 10 am) where there is no one else at the station, parked my car next to the booth/counter, picked an empty bin and empty my bags and put the bin on the weighing machine. It is very much self-serve and once the staff weight all the bins, they will ask you to sign and tell you how much you will get. If you not lucky, you might have to wait if someone bring over 1,000 recycle cans from restaurant and you have to wait for 20-30 minutes but they are fast so it is basically like Drive-thru recycle service. Once you have the receipt, you drive to the office building to get your cash. They have special parking spot for Recycle customer on the buy back program. Love it. I would give them 5 stars if they allow non-Sunnyvale residents to drop the electronic stuff and the get compost for my backyard. Santa Clara and Sunnyvale are neighbor so what is the problem with us picking up some compost. Did I mentioned you that you can also drop your used batteries and old florescent bulb? read more

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SMart Station saved me from going crazy! I hate mess and my garage was full of it! But With Smart Station's scheduled for "free dumping" I was able to clean out my garage and kept it from looking like a hoarder lived in it! FOR FREE! We threw bed mattresses, TV, tons of tapes, shoes and clothes, cardboard boxes that we boxed up for years! The staff at Smart Station deserves a big round of applause for their hard work, smiles and uplifting spirit even in the middle of all the nastiness of our trash! Their were friendly! What will we do without these fine men and women?! It was an easy process but take note: once you park your car at the dumping site, you have to take out your own trash out of your car. The location is easy to find and it's ironic to say that the area is clean and organized. You will never guess it's a dumping area by the nice streets and entrance to the site. It's well kept. My advice is though, prepare to wait. With everyone taking the free dumping into their advantage, the line of cars can be quite long which means a long wait. Otherwise, Smart Station is the place to recycle and to get rid of all types of garbage! read more

You can recycle cardboard, light bulbs, batteries, plastic bottles, glass, aluminum, e-waste, medical supplies here. You can even donate clothes and pick up fresh compost for your gardening use here. read more

SMaRT Station - Free Compost! Just check in before taking away - Recycling Center Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

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for Palo Alto Residents as of 2022. SMaRTSTATION PAPER SHREDDING event (Jun 25, 2022) will NOT accept Palo Alto residents. I was turned away after waiting in line (wasting gas) for one hour. Guard told me that they had stopped serving Palo Alto residents in 2022. I am not sure about other service. Wanted to let other Palo Alto residents know. read more

Funny that anyone would review a recycling station, but I felt like adding my $0.02 here. This place is an excellent resource for the community. You can recycle just about anything here, and can pick up some fine compost for your garden too. In the fall and the spring they have extra dump weekends, when you can haul your oversize junk for disposal without any extra fees. It is sad, however, to see such enormous quantities of detritus being disgorged into the dump. The only thing this place lacks is the capability to recycle expanded polystyrene (a.k.a. Styrofoam). You can always bring the packing peanuts to a mailbox-type store or give it away on Freecycle, but the foam blocks that are commonly used to cushion electronics equipment and large appliances have no place to go. You can take it to the Palo Alto dump, though; they don't check IDs at their recycling station. read more

If you can stand the smell, this place is convenient. Gives you the ability to pull your car right up and dispose your junk. Each bin is labeled so you know what to put and not put in there. I imagine that going to a place like this would be intimidating for some...I urge you to check it out if you need to get rid of stuff. It's easy! They also have mulch that one can pick up. I have not done that yet... read more

SMaRT Station - Mulch pile in late Feb 2015 - Recycling Center Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

This place is serious so be ready.. no sorting on site. No liquids. Open on sun so good alternative but they be strict.

This place is such a great resource. I love that you can drop off electronics like old laptops and such. And there's free compost available if you bring your own shovels and containers. For whatever your own curbside recycle and waste pickup services can't handle, there's the SMaRT Station. read more

I just went for the free compost, as I'm a budget-minded gardener living in the S'vale/Mtn View/Palo Alto area (the only cities allowed free compost from this SMaRT Station). It was my first time there. Initial signage to the compost area could be a bit clearer (thus the four, not five, stars), but signage became better as we neared it. I had to stop and speak with the person at the entrance, as I needed to show ID and ask how the process works. It's very straightforward - once the entrance person verifies you live in one of the three cities, they'll direct you to one of six compost stations. You back up into the station (of course), and load up (I believe the max per week is 96 gallons?). The compost itself is excellent - very dark and rich, with little odor. I will definitely be going back when I need more. Thank you, city services! read more

They weren't kidding about the compost nazi. God help you when you get there with one of those people. First we were told right off the bat after getting out the vehicle that three full bins is the limit, nothing more. Ok that's fair. We proceeded to split each bin into three bags which are actually less than the full bin. After awhile the agent came around and saw the several bags in the truck and called out "THATS IT YOU GOT YOUR LIMIT". Lol what?? The bags were way less than the three-bin limit and while we tried to reason with her, she wouldn't hear of it. It was her way or the highway. read more

Because I am a Santa Clara resident, the refused to take electronic recycling. Guy was rude too.

This is a great place to recycle your cans, glass and electronics. The staff is efficient, nice and fairly quick. The lines can get long on the weekends though. There are also bins for you to throw non-crv, cardboard and electronics. read more

This must be the dirtiest place on earth, or at least the Silicon Valley. But I needed to do some recycling and I googled this to be the closest location. Like a bag lady on a Sunday afternoon, I took all the cans/bottles/glass that I collect in my cube to exchange for cash, so that I can fill the candy bowl that everyone steals from at work. Yes, I am subliminally promoting recycling by enticing people with candy. As soon as I opened my trunk at the Smart Station, what must have been the most well fed fly darted it's way in making me have to climb in to chase it out. Then 10 more flies happily rested from the heat all over my car. But the one good thing was that this place "seems" to pay better for all the goods, than your local Albertsons. I got like 13 bucks for not a lot of stuff! They also take monitors, fluorescent lighting, microwaves, but those are only for Sunnyvale/Mtn View/Palo Alto residents (and they don't pay for those.) read more

I was really happy to learn that I could drop off food scraps at this recycling station, given that I don't live in a single family home, so I don't have a composting bin. I'm always looking for ways to recycle better, as I hate the amount of waste that is easily generated otherwise. I came here for the first time a week ago to drop off food scraps, When I got here, I initially had some trouble finding where I can drop off food scraps, and the directions given to me at the front were a little vague. Turns out it was just a green bin in the same location you can pick up compost, which I got to know after I went into the office next to the recycling section and asked for help. One lady was kind enough to walk me directly there, I wish I remembered her name, but I wanted to say that I really appreciated that she went out of her way to help me! Now I'll know exactly where to go to drop off food scraps, and I don't even need an appointment. In general, I appreciate the fact that this recycling center exists! We generate so much waste, a lot of it is usually just sent straight to landfill, and it's not even biodegradeable! Sunnyvale's website has such a helpful guide for how to dispose of anything, which is a treasure for an avid recycler like myself. read more

*** FREE Shredding Event *** Real simple, drive up, show your valid ID, pull up to an open shredding truck, and let them shred ALL your important documents in minutes right in front of you....for FREE!!! This service is usually big bucks if you have paperwork (home documents, film negatives, stock/bank statements, or anything else that contains a SS# or account numbers on them). With identity theft on the rise, don't be careless disposing your important paperwork in the trash. Dumpster divers and white collar thieves are lurking. This SMaRT location is only open to Palo Alto, Mtn View, and Sunnyvale residents for free. There might be additional fees if you're not a local, double check to confirm. I know that other cities are implementing more recycling and shredding "events" for more awareness and community clean ups! These trucks were provided by Cintas (also known for their uniform cleaning services), but in Sunnyvale, I know Shred-it shreds on site too! Don't risk a company transporting it to their main facility, you never know what might happen on the way there!!! Happy Shredding!!! 2011 Free Shredding Events: 8am- Noon April 30, July 30, and December 03 read more

This place is so convenient to anyone cleaning their house and have tons of trash! They charge you for the trash so bring cash/card! Also they check your ID and I think to make sure if you're from around the area! Workers were helpful. read more

I love the SMART station - they organize hazardous waste dumps twice monthly and you may bring just about any recyclable here for disposal for free. As others have mentioned, the facility is fairly well run, open for long hours, and comprehensive. If you have batteries in your home, bring them here for disposal! Save the planet! The best part is they've gotten rid of the nasty speed bumps so my sports car that's 3" off the ground can actually make it into the facility. read more