Placer Recycles

Organic 'trash' into treasure!

Turn your organic ‘trash’ into treasure! Food scraps, cardboard, paper, and green waste can all be turned into gardener’s gold - aka compost. Compost provides nutrients to plants and increases the water-holding capacity of soil! 

Learn more about composting at home from the Placer County Master Gardeners.  

And, did you know that organic wastes can create methane - a potent greenhouse gas - when they decompose in a landfill? Green waste received at the Western Placer Waste Management Authority and the Eastern Regional MRF is chipped for use as mulch or compost.   

Save the Food!

According to the US EPA, 31% of US food goes uneaten every year – ending up in our landfills where is creates methane as it decomposes. Simple food waste prevention tips will save you money and help the planet!

  • prepare your menu,
  • shop according to the number and age of guests,
  • have a plan to seal & store leftovers,
  • properly dispose of waste to keep wildlife out,
  • enjoy!

Placer County is proud of our One Big Bin program which is made possible by our Materials Recovery Facilities, known as MRFs. Garbage and recycling can be put in your garbage can; it will all be sorted at one of our two MRFs, the eastern Placer MRF near Truckee or the western Placer MRF near Roseville. The county’s mixed waste collection program provides convenient services for trash and recycling and ensures 100% participation. 

So, thanks to all County residents and businesses who recycle everyday by using One Big Bin. Reduce and reuse when you can, but with One Big Bin, you toss, we sort; together we've got recycling covered!

See for yourself!

Recycling big and small!  

We Recycle with BBM logo FinalDid you know that more than 75% of a mattress can be recycled into other products? Recycling the springs, foam filler, fibers and wood keep these materials out of the landfill - and give them new life!

In partnership with the Mattress Recycling Council’s Bye Bye Mattress program, there are two locations in Placer County that provide FREE mattress and box spring drop-off for residential customers: 

  • Recology Auburn Placer, starting April 1st
    Auburn Transfer Station
    12305 Shale Ridge, Road Auburn
    Daily 8 am to 4:45 pm
  • Western Placer Waste Management Authority Materials Recovery Facility
    3195 Athens Avenue, Lincoln
    Monday – Friday from 7 am to 5 pm
    Weekends 8 am to 5 pm

Call Recology at (530) 885-3735 or visit wpwma.ca.gov to learn more.  

battery fire graphicSome batteries are tiny, but no matter the size or what type, in the wrong situation they can cause BIG problems!  

That’s why it is illegal to put household batteries in the trash. The toxic and corrosive materials inside batteries can contaminate our environment and start fires! 

Also, some batteries contain valuable materials such as cobalt, lithium and graphite that are in limited supply. Recycling batteries ensures these resources will be available for generations to come.

Tape the end of used batteries to prevent sparking, place them in a clear bag, and find out about free pickup and/or drop-off options near you at:  TahoeOneBigBin.com, wpwma.ca.gov, or www.recology.com/recology-auburn-placer/.

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) - Keep out!

There are a few things that should not be placed in your garbage - HHW like paint, light bulbs, electronic waste, batteries and items labeled “danger”, “caution” or “poison”. If you have HHW that needs to be disposed of, there are locations in both eastern and western Placer County where you can do so on a regular basis - click on Eastern or Western (below) to find more details! 

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Eye Spy

Did you know that sorting all waste with One Big Bin also creates opportunities to identify markets for materials you may not know are recyclable? Items like doorknobs, bicycles, skis and bowling balls can be recovered and diverted away from the landfill; a unique opportunity provided by the simple fact that human eyes are on all materials sent through the MRFs. 

Recycling is about more than bottles, cans & boxes!

Green waste that decomposes in landfills creates methane gas, a potent greenhouse gas. In 2020, Placer County used your green waste, whether it was dropped off separately, collected from a green waste bin, or recovered from your garbage at one of the MRFs, to create over 20,000 tons of compost! So go ahead - you toss it, we’ll sort it and then we’ll transform your green waste into a rich compost that can be used to add nutrients to soil. Want to take a more hands-on approach? Learn how to compost at home here.

Paper-less Habits – Worth Keeping

Many of us picked up paper-less habits while working remotely! Some of these habits are worth keeping, even when we’re in the office together. 

4 easy tips for mindful paper usage:

  • Avoid pointless printing! Consider emailing agendas to meeting participants instead of printing copies that end up left on the table as trash.
  • Ditch the notepad – bring your laptop to meetings, a quick “save-as” on the emailed agenda makes notetaking a breeze.
  • Skip the hardcopy – send digital copies of work products to colleagues instead.
  • When you can’t avoid printing, consider paper-saving tricks like using a slightly smaller font to maximize the words per page, reducing margin sizes or printing double sided.