Keep Our Workers Safe!
Never put batteries, needles or electronics in your blue, green or black carts. You might not believe that a battery can burn an entire recycling truck. But it happens—more often than you think! That’s why it’s critical to take the time to dispose of batteries and other hazards properly.
If not disposed properly…
- Batteries are a major fire risk that can ignite in trucks or facilities. We’re seeing truck, cart, and facility fires like we never have before. Please take the time to tape your battery ends and place them in a separate bag on top of your cart. Ask your younger guests to create fun signs!
- Needles and syringes are biohazards that pose a threat to people working at material recycling facilities—your recyclables are sorted by hand.
Let’s do right by the people working so hard to keep our communities healthy and sustainable.
To learn how to properly dispose of batteries, needles, and other household hazardous waste, scan the QR code or visit RecycleSmart.org/HHW. You don’t have to go anywhere to order a free mail-back package for your sharps at sharpstakebackcalifornia.org!
2026 is the year we say goodbye to plastic bags. In January, legislation went into effect banning plastic bags from grocery stores, food marts, and other retailers. Businesses must offer recycled paper bags (10 cents each) for customers, but you can go one step further—bring your own reusable bags on your next grocery run! Visit CalRecycle.ca.gov to learn more about the new bag requirements.
In other plastic-related news: Don’t put plastic liners in your blue cart. Keep your recycling loose and free!
Calling all young Contra Costa artists! Want to see your art riding around town? We are holding our art competition once again to promote the ‘Five R’s” of recycling: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot! The winner will appear on the side of Republic Service’s garbage, recycling, and organic trucks.
Kids 3rd-12th grade are eligible to submit their artwork until March 27 at 5 pm. Be BOLD and help us raise awareness throughout our neighborhoods. Read about the requirements at RecycleSmart.org/truck-sign-art-contest
Parkmead Students Have it Sorted Out
Walnut Creek’s Parkmead Elementary is making their campus more sustainable! Parkmead has been working with the RecycleSmart schools program to help students and staff learn how to recycle more and waste less. They’ve added color-coded bins, clear signage, and student-led activities with their “Sort Smart” program.
Because students and staff are often unsure where items go, student Green Teams are teaching their community proper sorting. So far they’ve used posters, classroom demonstrations, and “Sort it Right” challenges. This program gives TK to fifth graders the power to make an impact on their campus! It’s also changing how they see themselves and their role in making their community more sustainable.
What’s more? Parkmead won our Contra Costa Recycles grant for their next Sort Smart phase! Here they are accepting a big check last December. Great work, Parkmead!
If you’re inspired to start or support a similar effort at a local school, visit RecycleSmart.org/Schools today. You’ll find resources from videos to signage and lesson plans, as well as grant opportunities for schools and students!
Recharge Your Battery Know-how
Tossing batteries can cause major damage to our local environment. This guide shows you how to dispose of different battery types safely and responsibly.
Sort your batteries for safety
Check labels to tell between alkaline and lithium.
Alkaline
- Put in a bag on top of your cart.
Alkaline batteries can leach into groundwater and poison our soils when sent to landfill.
Lithium
- Tape battery ends and put in a bag on top of your cart.
Taping lithium battery ends prevents fires.
Electronics
- Set out on Reuse Day.
- Drop electronics off at Concord Recycling or Rapid Recycle in Pacheco.
Visit their websites to see what’s acceptable.
Lithium and lithium-ion batteries can ignite—in your home, in our trucks,
or at recycling facilities. Proper disposal prevents dangerous and costly fires.
Recycling keeps us all safer.
Sort your batteries for safety
Check labels to tell between alkaline and lithium
Alkaline
- Drop off at one of our local partners: recyclesmart.org/hhw
Alkaline batteries can leach into groundwater and poison our soils when sent to landfill.
Lithium
- Tape battery ends and drop off at one of our local partners
Taping lithium battery ends prevents fires
Electronics
- Drop electronics off at Concord Recycling or Rapid Recycle in Pacheco. Visit their websites to see what’s acceptable..
Lithium and lithium-ion batteries can ignite—in your home, in our trucks, or at recycling facilities. Proper disposal prevents dangerous and costly fires.
Recycling keeps us all safer.
Keeping Tabs on Batteries
The Knolles have a clever solution, as usual! Here’s Real Recycler Laura’s advice:
We keep our batteries very organized in a drawer. We sort them as brand new, used, and a bag of “dead” (add a roll of tape for those “dead” lithium batteries!). It’s too easy to lose track of which batteries may still have some life.
We keep a voltage meter nearby to check the remaining battery life.
For holiday items that take a battery (such as Halloween decorations), I remove the battery after the holiday (versus storing them all year with the battery, which can then leak), and use the battery for something else.
Paper milk cartons → Landfill
Plastic milk jug → Recycling
Pizza box → Organics
Leftover bones → Organics
Batteries → Tape the ends, place in a clear plastic bag on top of Recycling cart lid (some batteries need to go to the HHW Facility)
My lollipop i don’t like dat my bro gave me but I don’t want him to know about…
???
Katherine L., Orinda
Sewing Success for My Closet
Dear RecycleSmart,
Instead of throwing out old clothes, I now donate, repurpose, or upcycle them!
Textile waste generates greenhouse gases and chemicals from the plastics and dyes can leach, causing harm to the environment. I’ve taken it upon myself to reduce my textile waste and give my clothes new life.
Learning basic sewing skills has made it so I can repair and alter clothing. The Contra Costa Library holds events each month, including sewing classes! I’ve taken advantage of these events to improve my skills. Find them by searching “sewing” at ccclib.org
When my pieces can’t be fixed, I keep the fabric for other craft projects. I also donate gently used clothing to my local thrift shop. There is so much life for clothing beyond your use of them.
Do you have any tips you’d like to share?
Send your ideas to Authority@RecycleSmart.org
A New Shelf for Used Books
We love to hear your stories about recycling! This one comes from Walnut Creek, where a few times a year the Friends of the Walnut Creek Library has a recycled book sale.
Volunteers sort through donated books, delivering some to a nursing home or other local organizations, reselling some online, and putting others up for sale at the Friends’ Bookstore within the library. Fun fact: the Bookstore also resells CDs, DVDs, and jigsaw puzzles.
The most fun way the books get reused is when the group holds its Book Sale Event! At the most recent sale, the Friends sold 200 boxes of books!
The group has a book drop at the library for folks to donate books all year round! If you have books to offer, they accept: children’s, young adult, adult, and large-print books in hard cover, trade and paperback form, and CDs, DVDs and jigsaw puzzles. There is a small cart near the front desk for donations. You can drop them during library hours at:
Walnut Creek Library
1644 N Broadway, Walnut Creek
Find out more about the Friends of the Library at wclibraryfriends.org
Find the Way!
Help the items find their way to the correct cart in this maze—use a blue line for the can and a green line for the orange peel!
