Congratulations, Portola Valley!
You are consistently diverting ~77% of your waste from the landfill! Check out our new Stop Junk Mail service and the links below to discover how you can avoid and divert even more waste!

How do we achieve this high diversion rate in Portola Valley? First, your sorting efforts at home make the process more efficient when your refuse is taken to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in San Jose. At the MRF, recyclables and garbage/compostables are processed in separate parts of the facility to extract materials that will go directly to recyclables markets or the landfill. Then GreenWaste Recovery takes all of your yard waste, kitchen scraps and biodegradable garbage to the Z-Best Composting Facility in Gilroy where it is turned into usable compost. To find out more about the composting process at the Z-Best Facility in Gilroy, visit http://www.zankerrecycling.com/content/z-best-composting-services.

Tools & Tips for Increasing Waste Diversion
GreenWaste Recovery Recycling Guide for Portola Valley
GreenWaste Recovery recycles more than you would ever imagine! This is a great reference list and resource for services offered by GreenWaste including curbside battery and CFL recycling or “bulky item” pick ups.

Searchable Database for Recycling Unique Items
There is a great recycling resource on the County’s RecycleWorks website where you can find a place to recycle everything from cardboard boxes to mattresses.

Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Guide & Appointment Scheduling
Household hazardous waste (HHW) is considered to be any leftover or unused portions of chemical products you use in your kitchen, bathroom, garage, automobile, or yard. Household hazardous waste can pass through treatment processes or storm drains and get discharged into creeks, the Bay, or the Pacific Ocean. For safety and environmental reasons it is illegal to dispose of HHW in the garbage, sewers or storm drains. This website will direct you to resources for disposing of your HHW.

Stop Junk Mail Service
We all deal with it: Credit card offers, catalogs, flyers and the like find their way into our mailboxes, only to be chucked under a heavy sigh. Complain, next day, repeat. Why are we wasting our precious time on something that national polls say 80% to 90% of us didn't ask for and don't want? The Town of Portola Valley has teamed up with Catalog Choice to offer a Stop Junk Mail service that helps you stop unwanted mail and phonebooks, saving you time and frustration. It’s good for you, good for the planet, and it’s FREE for Portola Valley residents and businesses! Click here to sign up!