Compost, Recycle, Landfill - Recology South Valley

Organics, Recycle, Garbage Curbside Collection

Recology South Valley provides materials collection services to residents and businesses in Morgan Hill – services and rates vary based on volume and/or the size of your landfill cart (contact us for rates).

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ORGANICS
Food scraps, food-soiled paper (ex. greasy pizza boxes, napkins, or uncoated paper plates), and yard trimmings, such as leaves, grass clippings, and branches go in your 96-gallon green compost cart. Oleander, poison oak, and palm trees are not accepted in the green organics cart. We recommend using paper bags or newspaper to capture material indoors and then transfer them to your curbside cart. In Morgan Hill, residential and commercial compost service are weekly.

To learn more what is accepted in the organics cart, please download our educational guides.

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RECYCLE
Paper, metal & aluminum cans, glass bottles and jars, and plastics coded #1- #7, should be placed loose in your 64-gallon brown or blue recycling cart. Please do not bag mixed recyclables in black, white or other plastic bags – keep them loose. The only item that should be in a CLEAR plastic bag is shredded paper. These items come to our recovery facilities and are sorted by material type and recycled. In Morgan Hill, residential recycling collection is bi-weekly, and commercial recycling service is weekly.

To learn more about what is recyclable, please download our educational guides.

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GARBAGE
Non-recyclable plastics, pet waste, cat litter, ceramics, broken glass, Styrofoam^TM, and other non-recyclables can be tossed in your gray garbage cart. Residential customers receive a 48-gallon garbage cart with unlimited garbage service. Extra Trash? Please place extra garbage in 32-gallon bags or cans and set next to your garbage cart. Additional charges may apply.

Set up or change service

Cart Placement

Recycling is collected with a fully automated truck that uses a mechanical arm to retrieve the cart and place it back on your curb. Using the fully automated system makes the placement of the carts more important than ever – the mechanical arm needs to be able to grab a cart without touching the other carts.

Place your carts against the curb with about 2 feet between carts and other obstacles, such as vehicles, no later than 6:00 AM on your scheduled collection day.
Place wheels against the curb and close cart lids.
For easy reference, please review our guides.

Carts must be placed at the curb or roadside by 6 AM on your regular collection day unless you have signed up for side yard service. Loose garbage should be bagged and secured – especially sawdust, ash, cat litter, and Styrofoam peanuts. Place carts within 4 feet of the curb or roadside, and 4 feet from obstacles, such as cars, trees, basketball hoops, and mailboxes.

Americans with Disabilities Act
Disabled residents (pursuant to Americans with Disabilities Act) who are unable to place their containers at the curb have the option of placing their containers beside their home, visible from curbside. Please let us know.

Where Does it Go?

After garbage is dropped off at the San Martin Transfer Station, it is transported to a landfill. Recyclables such as paper, cardboard, cans, bottles, and metal are sent to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF). This facility sorts, bales, and then sells the material so it can be recycled and made into new products. Clean yard waste is transported to South Valley Organics, a compost facility located at the Pacheco Pass Landfill in Gilroy. This facility processes yard waste into compost.