How will YOU make San Mateo County Greener?

We'd love to hear from you. Send us your pledge of action, and join your neighbors in making a greener San Mateo County!

If you're looking for ideas, consider that one man's trash is another's treasure.

We all have items that we no longer want or can use. Too often useful items are thrown in the garbage, where they cost money to send to landfill. The alternative? Reuse!

Before discarding any useful items, check to see they can be repaired, or redistributed to someone else in the community. There are many resources (see links below) in the County for Repair and Reuse:


Where can I DONATE reusable items?

ReUse Guide

Give your usable items a second life. Download our free guide for an extensive list of places to donate your unwanted stuff.


Where can I REPAIR?

Bike Repair
Woodside Bike Shop - http://www.woodsidebikeshop.com/
Campus Bike Shops - http://campusbikeshop.com/
Broadmoor Bicycle - http://www.broadmoorbicycles.com/

Computer Repair
GreenCitizen, Inc. - http://www.greencitizen.com
Strawflower Electronics - http://www.strawflowerelectronics.com

Small Electronics Repair
Tri City Electronics Inc. - http://www.tricity.tv VCRs, tape players, camera's, cd players
West Bay Television - (650) 368-3384 DVDs, CD players, camcorders, VCRs, radios
Menlo Vacuum & Fix-it - http://www.menlovacuum.com
AAA Vacuum and Sewing - http://www.aaavacsew2.com/

Furniture (Repair)
Expert Woodworking - http://www.expertwoodworking.com
John Franco Furniture Service - http://www.johnfrancofurnitureservice.com
Furniture Medic by CNR - http://fmbycnr.com

Furniture (Upholstery Services)
Calico Corners - www.calicocorners.com/
Jan's Recovery Room - 367-7774
Loza's Upholstery & Furniture Restoration - http://www.lozaupholstery.com/
Rothe Upholstery - (650) 548-3565


RECHARGE Your Batteries

  • A rechargeable battery can be recharged up to 1000 times.
  • They cost more to purchase than single-use batteries, but save the consumer money long before they wear out.
  • Like single-use batteries, rechargeables contain some heavy metals and may not be placed in the trash.
  • Stores in California that sell rechargeable batteries must take them back. The stores ship them for free to the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation www.call2recycle.org, a non-profit funded by manufacturers to ensure collection and recycling.

Green Your CAR CARE

Care for your car to help the environment
http://www.flowstobay.org/cs_automobile_care.php

Recycle automobile oil and oil filters
http://www.flowstobay.org/cs_usedoil.php
No internet access? You can also call 1-800-CLEANUP for a list of local used oil and filter recycling locations.

Curbside Pickup of Oil & Oil Filters
Your oil & filters can be picked up from your home, in many cases:
Allied Waste Services of Daly City (oil only), Allied Waste Services of Half Moon Bay (oil only), GreenWaste, Recology of San Mateo County, Recology Coastside, and South San Francisco Scavenger offer curbside used oil collection for single-family residences.

Check with your garbage service above for maximum limits (between 2 and 5 gallons) and acceptable containers accepted. Do NOT mix with antifreeze, transmission fluid, water or anything else. Contaminated oil will not be accepted. To recycle contaminated oil please contact the San Mateo County Household Hazardous Waste Program.

Reduce impact on the environment with your next oil change.

Looking for an alternative to virgin crude oil that you can buy at your local auto parts store for your next oil change?

The availability of buying recycled oil in quart containers is limited. However, using recycled oil reduces the need for new drilling, cuts fossil fuel use, lowers emissions and reduces environmental impact while still meeting high performance standards. Therefore, for your next oil change try a recycled motor oil product such as Valvoline "NextGen" brand which is made from 50% recycled oil and is now being sold at a few retailers here in San Mateo County, such as Autozone and O'Reilly Auto Parts. More retailers (such as Walmart) and auto parts stores are expected to carry this product soon. Look for it at your favorite auto parts store.

For more ideas on how to make San Mateo County greener, go to RecycleWorks.org or for a list of items that are too toxic to trash visit the San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program or call 1-800-CLEANUP.

Funded by a grant from the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). ©2011 by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). All rights reserved. This publication, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced without permission from CalRecycle.