How does a Recycling Center Actually Work?

People are consuming more bottles, plastic, cardboard boxes, and cans than ever before. That is the bad news. I have good news, though! Recycling these “trash” items creates new products, conserves natural resources, reduces energy use, and cuts carbon emissions. If you think that this beats letting them spend the next few centuries just sitting in a landfill, we agree!

A big portion of recycling is done through a recycling center in California. There are more than 1,500 recycling centers that offer cash refunds all across the state. Have you ever wondered how a recycling center actually works? 

Any box or trash can make an excellent recycling bin. There’s no need to wash or crush your recyclables when you’re recycling through a recycling center in California. Simply separate your aluminum, glass, and plastic containers into different bags or bins and take them all to the recycling center. At the recycling center, material is sorted, baled, and sold to make new products.

If you’re in the Irvine, California area, we have great news for you. The recycling center comes to you! Recycle From Home makes it incredibly easy to recycle right from your driveway or doorstep! Our drivers pick up your recyclables, process them at our facility, and your redemption is calculated and sent to you electronically or as a mailed check. We will pick up and pay you for your CA CRV aluminum cans, plastic, and glass bottles. If it says CA CRV on your containers, we’ll pay you for them.

That’s right, there’s money in it for you! In addition to saving energy and natural resources and preventing carbon dioxide from being released into the air, bringing bottles and cans to the recycling center in California will put cash in your pocket. These recycling centers will redeem the California Refund Value (CRV) on your bottles and cans and pay you to do something that is the right thing to do anyway!

Recycling centers will pay you for your item by weight as a matter of business efficiency. California law allows you the option of being paid based on count instead of weight for up to 50 empty beverage containers of each material type. This means you can bring your CRV load and request to receive payment on a per-container basis instead of having your containers weighed. In addition to the CRV, recycling centers may also pay a scrap value, which fluctuates according to the current demand for recycled material.

When you recycle through us, we make it easier than ever before to recycle. You can even schedule a pickup through our website! Simply schedule a pick-up online and put your items out for us to pick up. You’re all done, and we’ll handle the rest! Our processing center schedules our drivers to pick you up at a designated time that you select, and your items are recycled within 24 hours of pick up. Your recycled items are weighed, and your redemption is calculated and processed for payment. Your recycled redemption funds are then sent to you electronically or as a check mailed to you.