Green Building

Looking for information on construction and
demolition debris? Visit our C&D section.

construction and demolition

Recycle Works Green Building Program

San Mateo County is home to a number of innovative, energy efficient green buildings — and a countywide program to promote the reduction of environmental impacts from new construction.

San Mateo Countywide Sustainable Buildings Guide

A countywide committee has spent two years developing a guide to encourage builders, architects, and owners to design and construct buildings that are friendly to the environment and community. The RecycleWorks Green Building section of our new website is based on the Sustainable Buildings Guide and offers additional links and information to what you will find in the guide.

Architects, builders, building or business owners and residents of San Mateo County may request a print copy from RecycleWorks or pick up a copy at any permitting counter in the county. The guide and checklist may also be downloaded.

Green Building Book
San Mateo Countywide Sustainable Buildings Guide
download full pdf
download checklist only

Technical Assistance

Ask An Expert is a free hotline that can answer your green building questions. Try them out! This is a regional service for the Bay Area. The service is provided by Build It Green in Berkeley and paid for with a state grant. They can answer everything from general green building to specific technical questions. Ask An Expert Hotline: 1-888-40-GREEN

If your question is about where to find a specific product you might start with our resource database and guides, especially the Green Building Materials Guide or check out the other online resources found on our Building Material and Professional Databases page. If it's an unusual item that is probably not available in San Mateo County or nearby, then the Ask An Expert hotline will help you find it.

Drop us a note at greenbuild@RecycleWorks.org and let us know how you like this service, whether you found what you were looking for and got the help you needed. We are always looking for ways to improve our service and information.

Sign up for our green building announcement e-list

Would you like to stay up-to-date on green building events, opportunities, and news? Add your email address to the RecycleWorks GreenBuilding list.

Email Address:
GreenBuilding
(For announcements of workshops, classes, opportunities and local information on green building, energy efficiency, and waste reduction.)

Learn more:

Green Resource Center

GreenHomeGuide:
GreenHomeGuide offers unbiased green building product reviews and project advice from professionals and homeowners. Know-How articles answer the important questions - why remodel green, what to do, and how to do it - about your kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, or nursery remodel. Every week a new interview, tips list, or case study is published. GreenHomeGuide also offers a Product Directory juried by green building professionals.


Eco Dsign Resources

Eco Design Resources, 633 Quarry Road, San Carlos
A showroom and store of green building and decorating materials and other environmental products. Shop here for paints and finishes without VOCs, less toxic cleaning products, bedding, as well as floor coverings, kitchen counters and cabinets, tiles, furniture and much more. If you are looking for a place that only sells products that are good for your home, your health, and your family, start here.


Einvironmental Building News

Environmental Building News:
The highly respected newsletter on green design and construction.


US Green Building

Ecological Building Network:
EBNet is a nonprofit project of the Tides Center. EBNet publishes materials on construction materials such as straw bales, rammed earth and fly ash concrete.


US Green Building

U.S. Green Building Council:
The USGBC is a national coalition of architects, designers, government agencies (including the County of San Mateo), engineers, contractors, financial institutions, and others. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system is an internationally recognized set of performance standards that can guide the development of a green building. LEED certification for a building is one way to show how green it is.


National Renewable Energy Laboratory

National Renewable Energy Laboratory:
The U.S. Department of Energy's premier laboratory for renewable energy research & development and a leading lab for energy efficiency R&D.