Waste, Recycling & Compost

Service brochures for City of Emeryville are linked below for review or printing purposes. 

What Goes Where?

Waste Reduction 

Alameda County Organics Reduction and Recycling Ordinance 

California's Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Act, commonly referred to simply as SB 1383, was signed into law in 2016 and went into effect on January 1, 2022. This law aims to reduce the amount of food and compostable materials, or "organics," out of landfills to reduce associated methane emissions. SB 1383 has been implemented and is enforced in Alameda County under the Organics Reduction and Recycling Ordinance (ORRO). View more details about ORRO below through StopWaste. 

Organics Reduction and Recycling Ordinance

China's Blue Sky and National Sword Policies Reduce Markets for Recyclables  

China has set limits on recycling materials they receive from the U.S. and elsewhere, reducing the amount of contaminated materials they will accept in bales of paper and plastic. For more information about China's Blue Sky and National Sword Policies, visit the StopWaste link below.

China's Blue Sky and National Sword Policies

What should I do about this? Keep Recycling! Most of what goes into your recycling bin is still good stuff, but make sure to keep it clean and reduce your use of paper. China doesn't want contaminated paper and plastics, so be sure to....

• Empty and wash out food and beverage containers
• Stop junk mail, print double-sided, and sign-up for paperless billing

Alameda County Reusable Bag Ordinance 

On January 1, 2026, California's Statewide Bag Ban, or SB 1053, will go into effect. This means that most stores will only be allowed to distribute or sell recycled paper bags to customers for a minimum fee of $0.10 per bag. All city and county ordinances remain in effect despite state referendum. The Alameda County Reusable Bag Ordinance has been in effect since 2013, and as of May 1, 2017, all retail establishments, including grocery stores, ceased providing single-use plastic bags to customers and are only allowed to provide paper bags for a minimum fee of $0.10 per bag. 

Single-Use Foodware Accessories Available by Request Only

As of January, 2022, California state law AB 1276 requires that single-use foodware accessories and condiments are provided to customers by request only. Items that are covered under the law include single-use utensils, straws, chopsticks, stirrers, and condiment cups and packets. This includes accessories made from bioplastics, compostable plastics, bamboo, and paper. 

AB 1276

Eco Food-Ware Ordinance

 All food vendors, such as restaurants, cafes, delis, and caterers, who use disposable food service-ware must switch to compostable or recyclable food service-ware by January 1, 2008. The ordinance covers all food prepared within City of Emeryville for eventual sale either in or outside of the city limits. For more information and resources, visit the links below. 

Alameda County Waste Characterization Study 

If you've ever wondered what kinds of waste Alameda County produces, check out the Alameda County Waste Characterization Study for 2023-24 to find out. 

Resources

Hauling Services

Waste Management of Alameda County is the franchised hauler for trash, recycling, and organics collection for businesses, residents, and most construction and demolition waste in Emeryville. Learn more below. 

Alternative Hauling 

Review City of Emeryville's Municipal Code for alternative hauling requirements. 

Chapter 4. Collection of Solid Waste and Recyclables

Neighborhood Bulky Spring Clean-Up 

Emeryville's annual neighborhood Spring Clean-Up takes place Monday-Tuesday in mid-April, on your regularly scheduled trash pickup day. All Small residential accounts (1-3 units) and any size residential accounts in the designated zone can participate in the annual free spring clean-up event. Place your bulky items, no more than 16 trash bags or 2 cubic yards, at your curb on your regularly scheduled pickup day for removal. Large apartment complexes or buildings without available curb space should contact their apartment manager for removal instructions. Please check back here for additional pickup guidelines. 

Designated Pickup Zones

In addition to the Spring Cleanup event, all residential account holders in the cleanup area are entitled to one additional free on-call bulky pickup annually. Residential and Multi-Family account holders outside of the cleanup area are entitled to 2 free on-call pickups annually. Properties with 500 or more units are entitled to 4 free pickups. Account holders should contact Waste Management of Alameda County to schedule bulky items pickup.

Holiday Tree Collection 

Please set your unadorned, clean, real tree out at the curb for collection on your collection day in the month of January. Wooden stands can be placed in your green cart, but all other tree adornments must go in the trash. If you are a resident of a large multi-family building, please contact your property manager. If you are a property manager of a large property, please contact Waste Management of Alameda County to arrange collection for your property. 

What Should I Do With This Item?

Mattresses can be properly disposed of several ways. Every residential address gets 2 free bulky pickups per year, including the Spring Cleanup and an additional pickup scheduled at your discretion. Contact Waste Management of Alameda County to schedule your pickup. Mattresses can also be brought to the Davis Street Transfer Station or the Berkeley Transfer Station. 

Bye Bye Mattress!

Batteries are prohibited from trash collection. Place used batteries in a plastic bag ON TOP of your GRAY recycling cart and Waste Management will collect them. If you do not have a gray recycling cart, use the StopWaste RE:Source search tool to find out where you can properly dispose of batteries. 

StopWaste Re:Source Search Tool

Medications can be dropped off at an Alameda County kiosk for proper disposal. 

Kiosk Map

Household Hazardous Waste is disposed of at the Alameda County Household Hazardous Waste Facility. Please visit our Household Hazardous Waste tab for more information on disposing items such as paint, solvents, chemicals, pesticides, and sharps. 

Legislation & Requirements 

All commercial businesses are required to subscribe to trash, recycling, and organics services or have an approved waiver. Details on commercial requirements can be found below.

Requirements for Businesses, Nonprofits, & Institutions

Resources

FREE Signage and Training 

Free signage for your business and training on proper waste sorting for your employees may be available. Contact Environmental Services staff for more information. 

Alameda County Green Business Program 

If you are interested in working towards a Green Business Certification, visit the page linked below for more information or contact Carolina Miranda at carolinam@cultivatingcapital.com or 510-485-9164. 

Green Buildings & Businesses

Household Hazardous Waste Disposal 

Alameda County's Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Facility provides proper disposal of solvents, chemicals, paint, pesticides, syringes, and more. 

HHW Drop-Off Locations

How Should I Dispose Of....

Syringes or "sharps" must be properly disposed of to keep everyone safe. A list of free local drop-off sites is linked below. 

Sharps Drop-Off Sites

Motor Oil can be disposed of at the free used motor oil recycling depot at the fuel dock at the Emeryville Marina. For more information, call 510-654-3716. 

Paint can be dropped off for safe disposal at a variety of nearby locations. 

Paint Drop-Off Sites

For guidance on automobile parts, automobiles, and other items banned from landfills, please visit StopWaste's Re:Source Search Tool linked below. 

StopWaste Re:Source Search Tool

Waste Diversion Requirements 

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

Beginning July 1, 2019, property owners, demolition contractors, real estate developers, and anyone planning to demolish a structure built or remodeled between January 1, 1950 and December 31, 1980 in the San Francisco Bay Area will face stringent new permit requirements aimed at reducing the amount of PCBs entering San Francisco Bay. These new regulations affect demolition activities involving structures built during that period (excepting wood frame buildings and single-family residential homes) in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties, as well as the cities of Vallejo, Fairfield, and Suisun City.

The Model Package provides information on these updated requirements.

Diversion Requirements for Projects Receiving a Building Permit after November 2, 2017

A project must divert 65% of waste materials removed from the site from the landfill, excluding Alternative Daily Cover (ADC). The City continues to enforce California state requirements, but, in addition, the City will not allow ADC to be counted as diversion, since ADC is material that is placed on the active face of a landfill at the end of the day. In addition to California Building Code requirements, City of Emeryville will include demolition-only projects as subject to the City requirements.

Exemptions: Projects generating less than 2 lbs. of waste per square foot of project space and residential remodeling projects that don't increase the livable space of the building will be exempt from this requirements. All other permitted construction and demolition projects will be subject to the above requirements.

To increase project diversion overall, if a facility does not divert at least 65% of mixed materials without ADC:

1. Consider salvaging items or materials for reuse either onsite or elsewhere.
2. Sort and haul single materials such as metal, concrete, and wood, which are diverted at nearly 100%.
3. Ask your facility what their diversion rate is WITHOUT ADC, then plan how to achieve 65% diversion for the entire project. 

Fees for Waste Management Plans

Green Halo Systems

Submit Your Plan Online: $161 through Green Halo Systems 

Paper Submittal: Available upon request

Green Halo Systems

Important Documents 

Everything a contractor needs to know about Waste Management Plans (WMP) for City of Emeryville is linked below. Remember to save all weight tickets to submit with the final WMP. Please see the City's Master Fee Schedule for fees associated with submitting a WMP. 

Contamination & Overage Surcharges

Recycling Industry Changes 

Increased regulation of landfilled waste and changes to international recycling markets have caused waste sorting requirements to become more stringent. Material previously sent to overseas markets to be recycled is no longer accepted and local facilities cannot process loads of materials contaminated with non-recyclable items. Additionally, overages in containers cause a significant impact to local systems through scattered litter, clogged drains, and polluted runoff and debris entering the Bay. Please see the FAQ section below for more details. 

Avoid Contamination

Rates Begin January 1, 2021

To avoid a $25.00 per cart and $75.00 per bin, per incident surcharge (after two warnings), $50.00 (cart) and $100.00 (bin) charge for every incident after that, keep your recycling and organics carts/bins clear of contamination.

Review the resources below to avoid contamination and learn how to properly sort waste. Visit the StopWaste Re:Source Search Tool to learn where to put various items you might have questions about. Visit 

Avoid Overages

New Rates Begin January 1, 2021

To avoid a $8.71* per cart, $65.75 per bin, per incident surcharge, keep lids closed on your carts and bins when serviced.

*Lids should be flat. Charges are based on a typical 13 gallon trash bag ($.67 per gallon).

Review the resources and tips below to learn how to avoid overages. 

Helpful Tips to Avoid Overages:

• Breakdown cardboard boxes
• Place recyclables loose in cart - never bag 
• Keep appliances and Household Hazardous Waste out (please visit the "Household Hazardous Waste" tab to learn more)
• Increase cart size if overages are a reccuring issue 

If you regularly have excess materials, Waste Management is here to help you put a lid on overages. Call Waste Management of Alameda County Customer Service at (510) 613-8710 to help you right-size your service. 

Proper Cart Placement 

Place the cart in front of your house with the wheels against the curb, away from any obstructions and neighbors' carts. 

 Tools & Education 

Waste Management Customer Communication 

Visit the links below to update your contact information, review important service information, and view waste sorting guides. 

Waste Management Customer Education 

Visit the links below to view service brochures, explore Waste Management's Recycle Right website, and explore StopWaste's Re:Source guide for answers on what is accepted in Emeryville. 

Video Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

 Is this the first time cameras have been used on a Waste Management collection truck?

No, Waste Management has used cameras on trucks for almost ten years. They use mounted cameras to improve safety by assisting drivers with rear and side-view perspectives and documenting driving incidents. 

How can you tell if a cart is contaminated?

Mounted cameras record the containers serviced. The picture below shows a sample image identifying the contents of a contaminated container that was collected from a service address and placed in the truck.

What happens when Waste Management Smart Truck technology detects a service issue?

A dedicated team of service consultants reviews the images from each route daily. They look for a variety of conditions including overfilled containers, contamination, damaged containers, graffiti, recorded service levels and more. Depending on the issue identified, a repair ticket is created, a customer notification is generated and/or a charge is applied to a service account.

What about privacy?

Waste Management will not share the images or customer information with third parties for marketing or data mining. The photographs or videos are used to educate and inform customers and the city to improve collection service, recycling and diverting materials away from the landfills.

What kind of quality control is in place to ensure accuracy?

Waste Management service consultants are trained to carefully identify service issues, such as overage, contamination and damaged carts. We have standard protocols for assessing every situation with built-in checks and balances to ensure accuracy.

Can a customer dispute a charge?

Yes, customers are encouraged to contact Waste Management's Customer Service. The Customer Service phone number is provided in the email or letter notifying a customer of an Overage or Contamination incident. Trained Waste Management staff will review the incident images with the customer. If a mistake has been made, the charge will be removed and records will be updated to avoid the error in the future.

Waste Changes

A franchise agreement extension and amendment went into effect beginning January 1, 2021 and included several changes to waste hauling in Emeryville including: 

• Increased enforcement of residential  cart overages (after two warnings)
• Fees for major contamination of recycling or organics containers (after two warnings)
• A one-time 10% increase in cost to maintain hauling service levels

Rates for discards collection continue to be some of the lowest in the entire Bay Area, and are well below neighboring cities, as shown below. These changes are the result of new State regulations and updated costs to reflect the actual cost of waste and recycling processing. 

Table 1 - Comparison of Rates with Neighboring Cities [2018] 

Source: StopWaste Recycling and Solid Waste Collection Report 9-13-18

To find out more about contamination and overage fees and how to prevent them, visit the "Waste Contamination & Overages" tab. 

Why Did Services Change?

Increased regulation of landfilled waste and changes to international recycling markets have caused waste sorting requirements to become more stringent. Material previously sent to overseas markets to be recycled is no longer accepted and local facilities cannot process loads of materials contaminated with non-recyclable items. Additionally, overages in containers cause a significant impact to local systems through scattered litter, clogged drains, and polluted runoff and debris entering the Bay.

In September 2016, Governor Edmund Brown Jr. set methane emissions reduction targets for California (SB 1383, Lara) in a statewide effort to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants and combat the climate crisis. Organics like food scraps, yard trimmings, paper, and cardboard make up half of what Californians dump in landfills. Organic waste in landfills emits 20% of the state’s methane, a climate super pollutant 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and air pollutants like PM 2.5 which contribute to health conditions like asthma.

SB 1383 targets include:

• Reduce organic waste disposal 50% by 2020 and 75% by 2025.
• Rescue for people to eat at least 20% of currently disposed surplus food by 2025.

To achieve these targets, CalRecycle developed a series of  rules for cities to implement in their waste services. In addition to this, Waste Management (WM) contracts for recyclables and compostables require them to maintain very low levels of contamination to enable them to be processed. Reduced contamination acceptance levels are largely due to the change in recycling exports due to China's National Sword policy and increased reliance on new recycling facilities. 

How Do I Learn More?

Questions about which items can be recycled and composted can be answered by StopWaste's RE:Source tool. Additional contacts are listed below. 

StopWaste Re:Source Tool

Contact Waste Management of Alameda County 

Customer Service 

csnorthbay@wm.com

(510) 613-8700 - Business

(510) 613-8710 - Residential