How to Recycle Correctly in San Jose Curbside Pickup

Recycling is more than just a green habit—it’s a civic responsibility that directly impacts the environment, public health, and the efficiency of municipal waste systems. In San Jose, where over one million residents generate millions of tons of waste annually, curbside recycling plays a pivotal role in diverting materials from landfills and conserving natural resources. However, despite widespread access to recycling services, contamination rates remain high, leading to entire truckloads of recyclables being rejected and sent to landfills. Correct recycling isn’t about placing everything with a recycling symbol in the bin—it’s about understanding local rules, material types, and processing capabilities unique to San Jose’s system. This comprehensive guide walks you through every step of recycling correctly under San Jose’s curbside pickup program, offering actionable advice, real-world examples, and essential tools to ensure your efforts make a measurable difference.

Step-by-Step Guide

Recycling correctly in San Jose begins with knowing exactly what goes into your bin—and what doesn’t. The city’s program, managed by the Department of Public Works in partnership with Waste Management, follows strict guidelines to maintain the integrity of the recycling stream. Follow these seven steps to ensure your recyclables are processed successfully.

Step 1: Obtain the Correct Bin

Every household in San Jose is provided with a standardized 96-gallon green recycling bin. If you don’t have one, or if it’s damaged, request a replacement through the city’s online service portal or by calling the Public Works department. Do not use personal containers, bags, or other bins—only the official green bin is collected. Labels on the bin clearly indicate acceptable materials. Keep the bin lid closed during collection to prevent litter and contamination from rain or wind.

Step 2: Know What Goes In

San Jose accepts the following materials in curbside recycling:

• Paper: Newspapers, magazines, catalogs, office paper, junk mail, and paperboard (like cereal boxes). Remove plastic windows from envelopes.
• Cardboard: Flattened boxes only. Remove all tape, packing peanuts, and plastic liners. Pizza boxes with minor grease stains are acceptable; heavily soiled ones should go in the trash.
• Plastics: Bottles, jugs, jars, and tubs labeled

  1 (PET), #2 (HDPE), #4 (LDPE), and #5 (PP). Rinse thoroughly. Caps and lids can be left on—this prevents them from becoming litter during sorting.

• Metal: Aluminum and steel cans (food and beverage), empty aerosol cans (no residue), and clean foil. Rinse and crush cans to save space.
• Glass: Bottles and jars of all colors. Remove metal lids and recycle them separately with metal. Do not include drinking glasses, ceramics, light bulbs, or mirrors—they are not recyclable in this stream.

Always rinse containers to remove food residue. Even small amounts of grease, sauce, or dairy can contaminate entire batches of paper and cardboard.

Step 3: Know What Doesn’t Go In

Contamination is the leading cause of recycling rejection. Avoid placing these items in your green bin:

• Plastic bags and wraps: These tangle sorting machinery. Return them to designated drop-off locations at grocery stores.
• Styrofoam: Even if labeled

  6, it cannot be processed in San Jose’s system.

• Electronics: TVs, computers, batteries, and cords require special e-waste recycling. Schedule a free pickup or drop off at city-approved locations.
• Textiles: Clothing, towels, and shoes belong in textile recycling bins—not curbside.
• Diapers and sanitary products: These are biohazard waste and must go in the trash.
• Light bulbs and fluorescent tubes: Contain hazardous materials. Take to a household hazardous waste facility.
• Broken glass or mirrors: Can injure workers and damage equipment.
• Food waste: Compost separately if you have access to the city’s organics program.

If you’re unsure, ask: “Would a worker at the sorting facility be able to identify this as recyclable?” If the answer is no, leave it out.

Step 4: Prepare Materials Properly

Preparation is key to preventing contamination and maximizing recovery rates.

• Flatten cardboard: Break down boxes so they lie flat. This saves space and allows more material to fit in the bin.
• Rinse containers: A quick rinse with leftover dishwater is sufficient. No need to scrub—just remove visible residue.
• Remove caps from glass: Glass jars should have lids removed and recycled with metal. Plastic caps go in the plastic stream.
• Keep items loose: Do not bag recyclables. Plastic bags, even clear ones, jam sorting equipment. Place items directly into the bin.
• Do not crush aluminum cans: While crushing saves space, it can confuse optical sorters. Leave them intact unless space is extremely limited.

Step 5: Place Bin Correctly for Collection

Collection day varies by neighborhood. Check your schedule via the city’s online tool or mobile app. Place your bin at the curb by 6 a.m. on your collection day. Ensure the bin is at least three feet away from obstacles like mailboxes, trees, cars, or other bins. The lid must be fully closed. If the bin is overfilled, overflowing, or has non-recyclable items sticking out, the truck may skip it entirely. Never place items beside the bin—they won’t be collected.

Step 6: Understand Collection Frequency and Holidays

Recycling is collected weekly in most areas of San Jose. However, holidays such as New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas may shift collection by one day. The city publishes an annual holiday schedule. If your collection day falls on a holiday, your pickup will be delayed by one day for the rest of that week. Use the city’s “My San Jose” app to receive real-time alerts about delays or changes.

Step 7: Monitor Your Bin for Feedback

San Jose uses color-coded tags to provide feedback on contamination. If your bin contains unacceptable items, you may receive a red “Oops!” tag explaining what was wrong. A yellow “Good Job!” tag means your recycling was clean and properly sorted. Use these tags as learning tools. If you receive a red tag, review the list of acceptable materials and adjust your habits before the next collection. Repeated contamination may result in a warning or temporary suspension of service.

Best Practices

Beyond the basic rules, adopting advanced best practices can significantly improve recycling outcomes and reduce your environmental footprint. These strategies are backed by data from the City of San Jose’s Waste Diversion Program and the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).

Practice Source Separation

Separating recyclables at the source—meaning you sort them before placing them in the bin—reduces contamination by up to 60%. While San Jose uses single-stream recycling (all materials in one bin), contamination still occurs when items are improperly prepared. Take five minutes after unpacking groceries to rinse containers, remove lids, and flatten boxes. This small habit prevents costly errors downstream.

Reduce Before You Recycle

Recycling is the last step in the waste hierarchy. The most effective way to help the environment is to reduce consumption. Choose products with minimal packaging, buy in bulk, use reusable containers, and avoid single-use items. For example, switching from bottled water to a reusable bottle saves over 150 plastic bottles per person annually. Reducing waste at the source means fewer materials need recycling—and less energy is used overall.

Compost Organic Waste

San Jose offers curbside organics collection for food scraps, yard trimmings, and compostable paper products. If you’re eligible, sign up for the program. Food waste makes up nearly 40% of landfill material. When composted, it becomes nutrient-rich soil instead of methane-emitting landfill gas. Use a countertop compost bin to collect scraps, then transfer them to your brown organics bin weekly. Acceptable items include fruit peels, coffee grounds, eggshells, tea bags, and paper towels.

Recycle Electronics Responsibly

San Jose residents can drop off e-waste at designated locations for free, including the City of San Jose Recycling & Environmental Resources Center. Items like smartphones, laptops, printers, and chargers contain valuable metals and toxic substances. Never place them in curbside bins. Instead, schedule a free pickup or visit one of the city’s three permanent drop-off sites. Recycling electronics prevents hazardous materials from leaching into groundwater and recovers rare earth metals for reuse.

Donate or Repurpose When Possible

Before tossing an item, ask: Can this be reused? Furniture, books, clothing, and working appliances can often be donated to local nonprofits like Goodwill, The Salvation Army, or San Jose’s ReUse Center. Repurposing extends the life of products and reduces demand for new materials. A single donated couch can prevent the use of 100 gallons of oil and 200 pounds of CO2 emissions that would be required to produce a new one.

Educate Your Household

Recycling is only as effective as the least-informed person in the home. Create a simple cheat sheet with accepted materials and post it on the fridge. Involve children by making recycling a game—reward them for correctly sorting items. When everyone understands the rules, contamination drops dramatically.

Track Your Impact

San Jose provides an annual waste report to residents, showing how much material was diverted from landfills. You can also use the “My San Jose” app to track your recycling habits and receive personalized tips. Monitoring your progress reinforces good behavior and motivates long-term change.

Tools and Resources

Success in recycling relies on access to accurate, up-to-date information. San Jose offers multiple digital and physical tools to help residents recycle correctly.

My San Jose Mobile App

The official “My San Jose” app is the most comprehensive resource available. It provides:

• Personalized collection schedules by address
• Real-time alerts for holiday delays or service changes
• Interactive waste sorting guide with photos of acceptable items
• Drop-off location finder for electronics, hazardous waste, and textiles
• Feedback submission for missed pickups or contamination tags

Download the app from the App Store or Google Play. It’s free and works offline, so you can check your schedule even without internet access.

City of San Jose Recycling Website

The official website, sanjoseca.gov/recycling, offers downloadable PDF guides, video tutorials, and printable checklists. The “What Goes Where?” tool lets you search for any item and instantly see whether it belongs in recycling, compost, or trash. The site also includes information on bulk item pickup, construction debris, and special collection events.

Recycling Locator Map

San Jose maintains an interactive map showing all recycling drop-off locations across the city. This includes locations for:

• Electronics (e-waste)
• Hazardous household waste (paint, chemicals, batteries)
• Textiles and clothing
• Styrofoam and plastic film
• Scrap metal

Each location includes hours, contact info, and accepted materials. Use the map to find the nearest drop-off point for items not collected curbside.

Recycling Education Kits for Schools and Community Groups

San Jose Public Works offers free educational kits for schools, libraries, and neighborhood associations. Each kit includes posters, sorting games, lesson plans, and bilingual (English/Spanish) materials. Request a kit online or by calling the Public Works Education Office. These resources are excellent for families, teachers, and community leaders wanting to promote recycling literacy.

Recycling Champions Program

Volunteers in the Recycling Champions Program help educate neighbors, distribute materials, and host community workshops. If you’re passionate about sustainability, consider joining. Training is provided, and participants receive recognition and incentives. This program has helped reduce contamination rates by 22% in participating neighborhoods over the past three years.

Local Libraries and Community Centers

Many San Jose libraries host monthly recycling workshops and provide free access to city recycling materials. Staff are trained to answer questions and can help you navigate confusing items like pizza boxes or plastic lids. Visit your local branch to ask about upcoming events or to pick up a printed recycling guide.

Real Examples

Understanding recycling rules becomes easier when you see real-life scenarios. Below are five common situations and how they were handled correctly—or incorrectly—in San Jose.

Example 1: Pizza Box

Incorrect: A resident places a greasy pizza box with cheese residue and sauce stains into the recycling bin. The box contaminates a batch of paper, causing it to be rejected and sent to landfill.

Correct: The resident tears off the clean top half of the box and recycles it. The greasy bottom is composted in the brown organics bin or placed in the trash. Result: 100% of the recyclable paper is saved.

Example 2: Plastic Water Bottle with Cap

Incorrect: The resident removes the plastic cap and throws it in the trash, thinking it’s not recyclable. The cap ends up in a landfill, where it can take 450 years to decompose.

Correct: The resident rinses the bottle, leaves the cap on, and places it in the recycling bin. Modern sorting facilities can separate caps from bottles. Result: Both items are recycled into new products.

Example 3: Aluminum Foil

Incorrect: A crumpled ball of foil with food residue is tossed into the recycling bin. Sorting machines reject it because of contamination.

Correct: The resident rinses the foil, scrunches it into a ball the size of a tennis ball (to prevent it from blowing away), and places it in the bin. Result: The foil is melted down and reused in new aluminum products.

Example 4: Old T-Shirt

Incorrect: A resident puts a worn-out T-shirt in the recycling bin, thinking all fabric is recyclable curbside. The shirt jams the sorting equipment, causing a shutdown and delaying collection for the entire route.

Correct: The resident donates the shirt to a textile recycling bin at a local drop-off center. The fabric is repurposed into insulation, cleaning rags, or new yarn. Result: The garment is reused instead of landfilled.

Example 5: Battery

Incorrect: A resident throws a dead AA battery into the recycling bin. Batteries can leak toxic chemicals, ignite in transport, and damage sorting machinery.

Correct: The resident takes the battery to a free drop-off location at a participating hardware store or the City’s Household Hazardous Waste Facility. Result: The battery is safely processed and its metals are recovered for reuse.

These examples show that recycling isn’t just about intention—it’s about precision. Small mistakes have big consequences. By learning from these real cases, you avoid common pitfalls and become a more effective recycler.

FAQs

Can I recycle plastic containers without a recycling symbol?

Not necessarily. San Jose accepts plastics labeled

1, #2, #4, and #5. If there’s no number or it’s #3, #6, or #7, it’s not accepted in curbside recycling. When in doubt, leave it out. Plastic bags, even if labeled #4, must be returned to store drop-offs—not placed in your green bin.

Why can’t I recycle pizza boxes even if they’re clean?

You can—if they’re clean. The issue is grease and food residue, which soak into the cardboard fibers and make them unrecyclable. If only part of the box is greasy, tear off the clean portion and recycle it. The soiled part should go in the compost bin or trash.

Do I need to remove labels from jars and bottles?

No. Labels and adhesives are removed during the recycling process. Focus on rinsing the container instead. Removing labels manually wastes time and isn’t required.

What happens if I accidentally put the wrong item in my bin?

If contamination is minor, your bin may still be collected. However, if it’s excessive, you’ll receive a red “Oops!” tag explaining the issue. Repeated contamination may lead to a warning or temporary suspension. Use the tag as a learning opportunity and review the guidelines.

Can I recycle Styrofoam in San Jose?

No. Styrofoam (polystyrene) cannot be processed in San Jose’s recycling facilities. It’s lightweight, contaminates other materials, and has no local market for recycling. Bring it to a specialized drop-off location if available, or dispose of it in the trash.

Is glass from windows or mirrors recyclable?

No. These types of glass contain additives and are chemically different from beverage jars and bottles. They can shatter and damage sorting equipment. Take them to a hazardous waste facility for safe disposal.

Can I recycle coffee cups?

Most coffee cups have a plastic lining that makes them non-recyclable. Even if they look like paper, they cannot be processed in San Jose’s system. Use a reusable cup instead. Some compostable cups are accepted in the organics bin—if they’re certified compostable and labeled as such.

What if my recycling bin is full?

Do not overfill. Excess material left outside the bin will not be collected. Flatten cardboard, rinse containers, and consider holding extra items until the next collection. You can request an additional bin from the city at no cost if you consistently generate more recyclables than one bin can hold.

Can I recycle shredded paper?

Yes—but only if it’s placed in a paper bag and labeled “Shredded Paper.” Loose shredded paper blows away and contaminates other materials. Put it in a paper bag, staple it shut, and place it in your bin.

How do I report a missed pickup?

Use the “My San Jose” app or call the Public Works non-emergency line. Provide your address and collection day. Missed pickups are typically resolved within 48 hours. Do not leave your bin out after collection day unless instructed.

Conclusion

Recycling correctly in San Jose isn’t just about following rules—it’s about participating in a larger system designed to protect the environment, conserve resources, and reduce pollution. Every clean, properly sorted item you place in your green bin contributes to a more sustainable future. Contamination doesn’t just waste your effort—it costs the city money, burdens workers, and sends valuable materials to landfills. By mastering the steps outlined in this guide—knowing what to recycle, preparing materials correctly, using available tools, and learning from real examples—you become a vital part of San Jose’s waste reduction success.

Recycling is a daily act of stewardship. It’s not about perfection—it’s about progress. Start today by checking your bin for contamination, downloading the “My San Jose” app, and sharing these guidelines with your neighbors. Together, we can ensure that what goes into the green bin stays out of the landfill—and continues to serve the community for generations to come.