Our 2023 yearly report
The numbers are in! Our annual analysis provides valuable insight into our operations, along with a sense of how we’re doing as a community. Good job, everyone! Let’s keep it up!
Keep it spooky and sustainable
Halloween is full of frightful fun, however, all of the single-use holiday decor and costumes often create a ton of excess waste—now that’s scary! Here are some ideas for you to try out this year to reduce unnecessary waste or consumption:
- Upcycle old costumes, or better yet, start the festivities early with a fun Halloween costume swap with friends or neighbors! You can also check out websites like Facebook Marketplace or OfferUp for costumes.
- Use household items as costume props (we’re looking at you, broom!).
- Go to your local thrift store to get pieces you can wear beyond the season (you can also donate your costume afterwards).
- Get creative with face paint and makeup instead of buying a plastic mask.
- Make your own decorations, like bats out of egg cartons and construction paper, spider web out of cotton or hemp string or ghost lanterns out of milk jugs.
Now that’s something humans and zombies can love! Happy haunting!
Extra! Extra! Extra!
Curbside Services
Do you have a particularly large amount of recyclables, yard trimmings or trash? RecycleSmart customers get four on-call curbside pickups for recyclables and/or organics, and one landfill collection each year at no additional cost. Just call Republic Services at 925-685-4711 to schedule. Remember to put yard trimmings in paper or BPI-certified compostable bags, not plastic.Visit our website for set-out guidelines at RecycleSmart.org/extraservices.
Holiday Tree Collection
The holidays will be here and gone before you know it. When it comes to tree collection time, remember that trees must be free of tinsel, ornaments, lights, stands and other decorations before placing it on the curb, and trees over 6 feet tall must be cut in half.
Flocked trees—or trees with fake snow—should be cut and placed inside your black landfill cart, or call 925-685-4711 to schedule a curbside pick-up in advance.
Keep an eye out for your holiday tree collection and pickup schedule in the mail, or you can visit our website at RecycleSmart.org/2025treecollection.
Home Composting Workshops
On November 2, we will be hosting our final composting workshop of 2024. Don’t hesitate! Classes fill up fast. Go to RecycleSmart.org/workshops today to register for free to learn how to turn food scraps, yard trimmings and other organics into a nutrient-rich soil amendment.
Start gathering your home composting supplies! Purchase a home compost bin—residents in RecycleSmart’s service area can get a bin for 50% off! Get your coupon at RecycleSmart.org/compostbins.
Stop Junk Mail!
Reduce unwanted junk mail sent to your home this holiday and election season:
- USPS recommends opting out of junk mail by going to DMAchoice.org to sign up to unsubscribe.
- You can also go to BayAreaRecycling.org/stop-junk-mail for a list of resources for stopping junk mail, catalogs, spam email and more!
Remember, paper envelopes with windows, magazines, paper documents, and shiny junk mail are all accepted in your blue recycling cart.
Cart sorting: Holiday edition
One of the best ways we can prevent waste this holiday season is to use items like washable and reusable plates, dishes, cups, cutlery, cloth napkins and dish towels. For everything else, check out our holiday sorting guide below. If you’re not sure about an item that’s not shown, go to RecycleSmart.org for more detailed lists.
Remember, there are some holiday items like batteries that do not belong in any of your carts. You can find out how to dispose of them on our website at RecycleSmart.org/hhw.
Recycling
Organics
Landfill
Delicious Zero-Waste Decor
This newsletter’s My Tip comes from RecycleSmart’s very own Janna M., who made some showstopping decor out of fruits and vegetables!
For my grandson’s birthday party, we dressed up fruit and veggie platters to be characters of his favorite action heroes: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
It was easy:
- For the face, I chose one green fruit or vegetable for each character: green grapes, celery, honeydew and cucumber.
- To make the masks, I used other colored fruits and vegetables that went with each turtle: red cherry tomatoes, blueberries, purple grapes and carrots.
- Then, I used different dips and olives to make the eyes, and used blueberries and black olives for the smiles.
Ta-da! A fun centerpiece that tastes as good as it looks, with no waste at the end!
Do you have any tips you’d like to share?
Send your ideas to Authority@RecycleSmart.org
Park Theater Seat-quel
Lafayette’s iconic Park Theater is prioritizing reuse during their renovation.
Originally designed in 1941, the theater has been closed since 2005. In 2018, the City established the Park Theater Trust (TPTT), an all-volunteer community task force, to work on a plan to come up with solutions to get the site up and running. TPTT successfully purchased the Park building in December 2021.
TPTT is finding ways to recycle key elements of the existing Park at every turn, restoring the iconic neon marquee and tower; the charming sidewalk box office; stunning Art Deco sconces; and the vintage Wagner cast metal marquee letters. The letters were refurbished in 2024 as an Eagle Scout project by Clark Laskey of Lafayette Troop 200. It’s a real community effort!
Reuse efforts don’t stop there. TPTT recently sold 100 of the rose velvet seats to a Hollywood staging business for an event. Afterwards, the chairs will go to a prop shop for industry rentals.
When the theater reopens, it will include two theaters, a community room and a rooftop terrace lounge. Organizers plan to offer a robust daily calendar of movies and live music, as well as rental opportunities. Their goal is to reopen the theater in 2025, just in time for the Park Theater’s 84th birthday.
Learn how you can pitch in, or just follow the progress at: www.parktheatertrust.org
Gourd Thinking!
Making a jack-o-lantern this Halloween? Get the most out of your pumpkin before it goes in your green organics cart:
Bake it: After you’ve carved your pumpkin, separate out, bake and dress pumpkin seeds for a sweet or savory treat. Tip: If you separate out your seeds on newspaper or a paper bag, you can compost the leftover pumpkin “guts” and paper.
Craft it: Hollow out your pumpkin and fill it with bird seed for a festive snack-o-lantern. Or add edible googly eyes with frosting for frightfully delightful decor!
Compost it: Pumpkins make a great alternative to fertilizer. Help your parents cut up your pumpkin and add them to your backyard compost or bin—remember to remove candles before composting!
Puree it: Use your leftover pumpkin for a savory soup or yummy pie filling
Keep it: Didn’t carve your pumpkin? Use it as a centerpiece for your Thanksgiving holiday!
Donate it: Contact local animal sanctuaries to see if they are accepting donated pumpkins. When you’re done with your pumpkin creations, you can put them in your green organics cart.