Downloadable and Printable List of What Goes Where:
If you’re like many Rossmoor residents, you want to put trash in correct containers but, at times, you are unclear about what goes where. There is much more Information…Recycle, Organic, and Landfill posters, etc., in the latest 2018-2019 Rossmoor phonebook, pages 18-22. Also check out the SR website post on Rossmoor’s Dumpster Diva. You can download (as a PDF file) her complete 38-slide PowerPoint presentation by clicking on this link: Adventures of a Recycle Dumpster Diva.
Below are answers to questions Rossmoor residents have asked:
AEROSOL CANS. Never put in LANDFILL! They are flammable, even when empty. See HAZARDOUS WASTE for instructions.
APPLIANCES. See HAZARDOUS WASTE. Rapid Recycle, (925) 671-8088, will remove for a fee.
BATTERIES. Small batteries go in box just inside Gateway entrance. Or use HAZARDOUS WASTE.
BOOKS. Give books, books-on-tape, and DVDs in good condition to a local library’s resale store (e.g. Friends of the WC or Lafayette Library) or thrift store. Put rejected paperback and hardback books, phone books, and spiral notebooks in RECYCLE (blue container or bin). If large quantities, take to MOD Recycle Yard.
BOTTLES, CARTONS & CANS. Separate lids before putting in RECYCLE. Make sure bottles, cartons and cans are dry. If necessary, invert and air-dry.
CAPS, LIDS & PULL TABS. Put dry metal caps and lids in RECYCLE. Metal pull tabs, rings, plastic lids and caps go in LANDFILL.
CARDBOARD BOXES. Take large boxes up to MOD Recycle Yard. Smaller boxes can go in a RECYCLE container if broken down & flat. Do not leave boxes outside the containers in trash enclosure! Leave room for your neighbors!
CELL PHONES, EYE GLASSES, HEARING AIDS & PRINTER INK CARTRIDGES. Put in Lions Club’s BLUE COLLECTION BOX just inside Gateway entrance.
CELLOPHANE. Cellophane bags and wrap go in LANLDFILL. (Cellophane crinkles and doesn’t stretch.) One exception: Envelopes with cellophane windows go in RECYCLE.
CLOTH. Goes in LANDFILL or bring to Goodwill or H&M in Walnut Creek.
COMPOST. Food scraps (raw and cooked); bones; spoiled fruit and vegetables, flowers, plants, leaves; paper plates, towels, napkins, food-soiled paper; and pizza boxes. Tossing loose (un-baged) compostable waste into Green Compost Containers is preferred, but OK to put it into a paper bag, newspaper, or compostable bag. (Do NOT use biodegradable bags!) Note: Please put a few newspaper sheets or dry leaves at bottom of Green Compost Containers before dumping in food waste. (If no green cart is available, put in LANDFILL.)
CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS. Do not dump in trash enclosure! Residents can bring recyclable debris to MOD. All other construction debris must be hauled outside Rossmoor. If you see it in a trash enclosure, immediately call MOD, (925) 988-7650. After hours call Securitas, (925) 988-7899.
DIAPERS & SANITARY PRODUCTS. Put in LANDFILL.
DONATE: Bring apparel, housewares, small furniture, and collectibles in good condition to Hospice (1345 Newell Ave #A), Leftovers Thrift Shop (2281 Olympic Blvd); or Goodwill (2536 North Main St). Oakland Museum’s White Elephant Sale, (510) 839-5919, will pick-up some items.
DVD & CD DISCS. Recent DVDs and CD discs go in LANDFILL. Discs older than 1998 often contain toxic chemicals and should NOT go in landfill. BEST BUY will accept them. Cut any discs with personal data in half. Do NOT try to break in half – they will splinter.
FOOD WASTE. see COMPOST above.
FURNITURE. For options see GIVE IT AWAY, WHAT GOES TO MOD? and TRASH HAULERS.
HANGERS. Give to a thrift shop or put in LANDFILL.
GIVE IT AWAY. Check out www.freecycle.org.
HAZARDOUS WASTE. Rossmoor’s AT YOUR DOOR is a service has been temporarily suspended. A replacement will be available soon. It may be easiest to save your items until then. However, if you are in a hurry, e-Waste is accepted for free at Rapid Recycle, 5292 Pacheco Blvd, Pacheco. (925) 671-8008. M-Sat 8-5. Everything else has a charge of $10 or more per item for small appliances, lamps, vacuum cleaner, etc.
HAZARDOUS WASTE, CONTINUED. Automotive products, gardening chemicals, household cleaners, solvents, ammunition, fireworks, unused matches, tires, propane cylinders (less than 5 gallons) and smoke detectors must be taken to our county’s HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION FACILITY (4797 Imhoff Place, Martinez), Monday to Saturday, 9AM-4PM. Proof of Contra Costa County residency (Photo ID) required.
LIGHT BULBS. Fluorescent light bulbs are HAZARDOUS WASTE. Standard, LED and halogen light bulbs go into LANDFILL.
MATTRESSES & BOX SPRINGS: Bay Area Recycle, (925) 465-5576, will remove for a fee.
MEDICAL EQUIPMENT. John Muir Clinic, Goodwill and others accept everything from hospital beds to walking canes. RACORSE NETWORK in Oakland, (510) 251-2273, both accepts and gives them to the uninsured or disadvantaged.
MEDICATIONS & NEEDLES. Large metal disposal boxes are in the lobby at Gateway. Place sharp items in a hard container (not a plastic baggie), then put in the RED BOX. Keep medications in their original container (but mark out personal information); put in a sealable plastic bag; then put in the BEIGE BOX. This applies to patches also. Put liquid medication, creams and gels in LANDFILL.
MOD. The MOD Recycle Yard (on Rockview Dr.) accepts cardboard boxes, books, grass cuttings, tree and shrub trimmings, metal, solid wood products, some furniture (no upholstery, no plate glass). Rossmoor ID is required.
OVERFLOWING CONTAINERS. If you see overflowing containers in your Trash Sheds, please Call MOD, (925) 988-7650.
PACKING MATERIAL. See PLASTIC BAGS for instructions on bubble wrap and air pillows. Put Styrofoam and other packing material in LANDFILL (be sure to bag the small styrofoam “peanuts”). Note: The UPS stores continue to accept donations of CLEAN bubblewrap.
PAPER. Some paper must go in LANDFILL (trash). LANDFILL: hot beverage cups, cash register receipts, metallic or fuzzy paper, carbon paper, bubble-wrap-lined shipping envelopes, and diapers. COMPOST: napkins, paper towels, plates and waxed cups, parchment, tissue paper, paper “to go” containers, pizza boxes, and any food-stained paper into GREEN cart; If no green cart, put in LANDFILL.) RECYCLE: Put clean newspaper, computer paper, writing paper, Post-its, catalogues, books, notebooks (spirals OK), plain wrapping paper in loose (not bagged). (Attached tape, staples, paperclips, and cellophane windows are OK.) Shredded paper CANNOT go in loose – staple it closed in a paper bag and label “Shredded Paper” or tie closed in a clear plastic bag.
PLASTIC. RECYCLE all larger hard plastic items (with or without numbers), but small caps and lids go to LANDFILL. Items must be EMPTY and DRY, not perfectly clean, just dry. Plastic cannot be bonded to metal or paper (e.g., no bubble-padded mailers, no potato chip bags, no sippy-juice bags). RECYCLE plastic items should be loose (not inside a paper or plastic bag).
PLASTIC BAGS. Bag the bags! Put clean, dry, plastic bags inside a CLEAR plastic bag; knot it closed to make a “pillow.” Attached paper labels are OK, as well as plastic wrap, popped bubble wrap, and popped air pillows. Note: The UPS stores continue to accept donations of CLEAN bubblewrap.
PROPANE CYLINDERS. Never put in LANDFILL. Can explode, even if “empty.” See HAZARDOUS WASTE. Some hardware stores may accept empty 5-gallon size only.
SELL IT. Use CraigsList or HOME CONSIGNMENT CENTER (1901 Camino Ramon # F, Danville).
STYROFOAM. ALL Styrofoam goes in LANDFILL. Be sure to put small pieces/peanuts into a tied, clear plastic bag before disposing in landfill containers.
TRASH HAULERS. Couches, other upholstered furniture, carpeting, golf bags, suitcases, strollers, and the like, don’t belong in our bins or carts or in the MOD Recycle Yard. Check to find trash haulers who have good reviews on Yelp.com (e.g., Rays Hauling, Vets Move Junk, East Bay Hauling, Lamorinda Hauling, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? and All American Hauling).
Do NOT leave boxes or other items OUTSIDE trash and recycle containers! Your mutual will be charged extra!
Overflowing Containers? Please call MOD, (925) 988-7650, if your bins were missed being picked up on the regular day – or if your container is overflowing and needs an extra pickup. Your mutual is billed extra for extra trash pickups. If RECYCLE containers often overflow, your mutual director can order twice a week pickup for free.
What Goes to MOD? From residents only, MOD Recycle Yard accepts cardboard boxes, books, grass cuttings, tree and shrub trimmings, solid wood products, metal, some furniture (metal or solid wood, no upholstery, no plate glass). Be ready to show your Rossmoor ID to staff at the site.
More Information…Recycle and landfill posters are in the Rossmoor phonebook, pages 18 through 22. RecycleSmart has a more detailed list: https://www.recyclesmart.org.
DON’T LEAVE ITEMS OUTSIDE containers! Your mutual can be charged extra.
DOWNLOADABLE AND PRINTABLE LIST OF WHAT GOES WHERE
Organics recycling Pilot Program Underway
The Trash Talk Committee is pleased to report that a small, six-month pilot program in Second Mutual is underway. Republic Services will supply the Mutual, starting in Canyonwood Court and Singingwood Court , with free roll-around green organics carts for recycling yard waste and food compostables. These green carts will be kept in the same enclosure with the grey landfill and blue recycling containers.
The green carts will primarily be for food scraps and food-soiled paper but also for garden and plant compost. Unlike a private home’s backyard compost, which isn’t for animal waste, Rossmoor residents can collect not only eggshells, coffee grounds, vegetable and fruit scraps, but also bones, meat and dairy products. This is because the contents of the green bins are taken to Republic Services’ industrial facility in Richmond, which is able to process animal waste products.
After the six-month pilot period, if the program is going well, the program will roll out to more entries in Second Mutual. Residents will be given a two-gallon container pail to keep in the kitchen, for collecting food scraps.
The pilot program in Second Mutual will include between 300 and 350 residences.
Trash Talk committee meetings are on the 3rd Wed — Gateway MPR#3. Anyone who is interested in improving trash handling in Rossmoor, recycling, composting, or landfill diversion is very welcome to attend. For more information, please contact Carol Weed at (510) 409-4055 or email her at carol4ofa@gmail