About Berkeley’s Curbside Recycling

The Ecology Center has been recycling in Berkeley for over 35 years. We were the first in the US to operate a curbside recycling program. We are one of the few nonprofit recycling collectors still operating today. The Ecology Center began recycling 30 years ago because of our desire and belief in saving natural resources. As recycling has grown into its own industry and has become an opportunity for big garbage companies to profit, we have battled to stay alive and recycle for the right reasons. There are several aspects of our operations that are unique.

Highest Standards

We guarantee that whatever we collect will be recycled. It will not be buried in a landfill because market prices fall below a profitable level. We maintain and insist on the highest standards possible to assure that the materials we collect are actually recycled back into the highest end-use possible. This helps close the loop when a glass bottle becomes a glass bottle again rather than asphalt or sand.

Resources Stay in the Community

The Ecology Center currently holds a contract with the City of Berkeley to provide curbside recycling services. No income earned through this contract goes to corporate headquarters elsewhere. The resources stay in the community, providing good green-collar jobs and supporting our community in reaching Zero Waste, climate action, and food policy goals. As a mission-driven multi-issue nonprofit, we view recycling as part of a whole urban environmental system.

Berkeley is lucky to have a model environmental resource center that it can share with neighboring communities. The combination of our recycling program and membership support helps keep that resource alive.

Advocacy

As a nonprofit, we are mission-driven. We participate in advocacy efforts around Zero Waste and Extended Producer Responsibility and support policies that end the age of waste.