Where does junk actually go in San Jose?

The short answer

In the South Bay, junk leaves a home and goes to a handful of big destinations: Zanker Recycling on Los Esteros Road for construction debris, bulky items, mattresses and e-waste; the SMaRT Station in Sunnyvale for self-haul from several nearby cities; and Newby Island Landfill beside Milpitas for what cannot be recovered. California rules send mattresses, electronics, refrigerant appliances and yard waste down separate recycling paths. With JunkRabbit, disposal is included in every flat price, and we recycle whatever we can.

Zanker Recycling, North San José

Zanker Recycling, operated by GreenWaste, sits at 705 and 675 Los Esteros Road in North San José, out near the bay. It is the workhorse for heavy, mixed and bulky material in the city.

It accepts construction and demolition debris, mixed debris, wood, drywall, dirt, carpet, mattresses, bulky items and electronics. Rates are set by the ton for most material and per item for mattresses, tires and electronics, and they vary by what is in the load. Clean concrete costs the least to drop off. Treated wood costs the most on its rate sheet, which is worth knowing if you are tearing out an old deck or fence.

Its main site is open on weekdays from early morning to late afternoon. Mixed loads are sorted so that wood, metal, concrete and other materials can be recovered rather than buried. That sorting is why a clean, separated load is cheaper to drop off than a mixed one.

The SMaRT Station, Sunnyvale

The SMaRT Station at 301 Carl Road in Sunnyvale is a joint transfer and recycling station run by the City of Sunnyvale. It serves residents of Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas and Santa Clara.

It is open 8 to 5 every day, which makes it the practical self-haul option for anyone on the west side of the valley who works weekdays. Loads are priced per cubic yard or per item.

Mountain View residents have a connection to it through their curbside program. Unused Recology cleanup appointments can be converted into SMaRT Station dump vouchers, which expire on December 31.

Like Zanker, the station sorts incoming material so recyclables are pulled out before the rest moves on to landfill.

Newby Island and the landfills

Whatever cannot be recovered eventually goes to landfill. The best known in this area is Newby Island Landfill, which sits right next to Milpitas along the bay. Its neighbors know it well, and odor complaints are part of the Milpitas story.

There are other landfills in the county, including Kirby Canyon near Morgan Hill and Guadalupe in San José. The goal of all the sorting upstream is to send less to any of them.

What reaches a landfill from a typical household cleanout is mostly worn upholstered furniture, broken particleboard, mixed plastics and items too damaged to reuse or break down. A solid wood dresser, a steel bed frame or an aluminum patio set should not end up there. That is the difference between a hauler that sorts and one that simply dumps the whole load.

The special paths California requires

Several categories of household junk are pulled out of the waste stream by state rules.

• Mattresses. California's industry-funded program, Bye Bye Mattress, runs participating drop-off sites, and mattresses are broken down into steel, foam and fiber.
• Electronics. TVs, monitors and most electronics are universal waste in California and are not allowed in household trash. They go to e-waste processing.
• Refrigerant appliances. Fridges, freezers and AC units must have their refrigerant recovered by a certified technician before scrapping, under the EPA's section 608 rules.
• Yard and wood waste. Under California's SB 1383 organics law, yard and wood waste goes to organics processing rather than landfill.

These rules apply whether you self-haul or hire someone.

Donation and reuse

The best destination for a usable item is another home. In a region with this much movement, from SJSU students in Japantown to engineers arriving in North San José, there is steady demand for decent furniture.

Selling or giving away works best for pieces in good shape: solid wood dressers, intact dining tables, working appliances under ten years old and mid-century pieces that suit Eichler buyers. Many donation centers turn away stained upholstery and particleboard.

When you book a pickup, tell us which items are in good condition. We try to donate usable items when local charities accept them. We never promise a donation, because whether a charity takes a specific item on a specific day is up to the charity. Whatever cannot be donated, we recycle whatever we can.

What disposal costs you

If you self-haul, you pay the gate fee directly, by the ton, the cubic yard or the item, plus your truck, fuel and time. If you hire a flat-price pickup, the disposal is already in the price.

A sofa, a queen mattress and a fridge together are $126 + $103 + $164 = $393, carried out, loaded and disposed of. No separate dump fee and no stairs fee. See the full list in our San Jose price list.

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