The City of Albany provides both residential and commercial collection services for recycling, organics and trash. The ultimate goal of the collection program is to reach the locally adopted Alameda County goal of a 75iversion rate by the year 2010.
To help reach this Alameda County goal, the City recently implemented a new collection program that includes food scraps collection within the organics cart for composting, and a commingled “all-in-one” recycling container. Details on these new programs can be found here:
City of Albany Residential Collection Brochure (PDF, 1898Kb)
City of Albany Commercial Collection Brochure (PDF, 977Kb)
Food Scraps Brochure (PDF, 195Kb)
Recycling Guide: Learn how and where to recycle almost any type of household material, from electronics to scrap metal. Also included is a comprehensive A-Z resource of what is recyclable and locations to recycle.
Recycling Guide
Bulky Goods Collection
The City holds a Spring Cleanup event occurring annually during the month of June. Announcements will be mailed to all residents before the date of the event. Additionally, residents may contact Waste Management at (510) 613-8710 to schedule an extra on-call cleanup as needed.
Holiday Tree Recycling
Reduce waste and be sure to recycle your tree. Holiday trees are picked up at the curb during the holiday season.
Program Updates:
Organics Update-Albany Residents Organics Collection Rate Tops the Chart!
Based on recent audits, approximately 32% of Albany residents are participating in the food scraps program. This is one of the highest participation rates within Alameda County! This new program began in May 2004, and allows residents to put food scraps in the green organics container along with yard trimmings. Organics are then processed into compost, which is available for purchase at the Davis Street Transfer Station in San Leandro.
Food Scraps you can put in your green organics container include:
* All food products including meat and bones,
* Coffee grounds and tea bags
* Food soiled paper such as pizza boxes, paper towels, paper plates, paper
napkins and waxed paper containers
WHY IS FOOD SCRAPS COMPOSTING SO IMPORTANT?
Two easy answers: reuse of resources and landfill space. The new program allows for composting of food scraps that not too long ago were tossed out as trash. Trash accumulation at our local landfills continues to be a concern given that landfills will eventually reach capacity, meaning that we will run out of landfill space. By taking food scraps out of the waste stream, we can minimize the amount of trash going to the landfill. Additionally, composting of food scraps provides for a reuse of a variety of food products and containers, allowing the resources that went into the production of these items to be returned to soil for production of new products.
TRY THESE FOOD SCRAPS COLLECTION TECHNIQUES:
* Keep a paper bag alongside you in the kitchen while cooking and after the meal. Scrape all your food scraps into the paper bag instead of the trashcan. Take it out to your organics container during dish washing.
* Empty milk container? Rinse it out, cut the top and use it as a catchall in the kitchen to take out to the organics container when it is full.
* Pizza night! Bulky pizza boxes clogging up your trashcan? Well, here is a way to keep your trashcan space – toss those pizza boxes into the organics cart!
* Newspaper delivery? Use already read newspaper to wrap up your food scraps. It is easier to carry to your green organics cart and less messy.
“Paper or Plastic?” Using plastic bags to collect your food scraps? Don’t use them! Plastic can’t be composted, and leads to contamination of the organics material, making it impossible to compost. So, next time say “Paper” if you’d like to use bags to collect your food scraps before placing in the green organics container.
Recycling Update
What Goes In Your Recycling Bin?
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