Palo Alto's Solid Waste Flow

Have you ever wondered what happens to your waste materials after the collection truck takes them away? The City of Palo Alto has established agreements for the hauling and processing of materials with  GreenWaste of Palo Alto and GreenWaste Recovery to ensure we divert as much material from the landfill as possible. Recycle, compost, landfill, and construction and demolition waste are collected by GreenWaste of Palo Alto and taken to appropriate facilities for sorting and processing. 

• Recyclables are sorted at GreenWaste Materials Recovery Facility in San Jose, baled by commodity type, and marketed for further domestic and international processing.
• Compostable materials are processed at Zero Waste Energy Development Company in San Jose through a dry anaerobic digester. Renewable energy is captured, used to operate the facility and also directed to the electric grid. Residual organic material is sent to Z-Best Composting Facility in Gilroy to produce landscape-ready compost.
• Construction materials are sorted and processed at Zanker Resource Recovery Facility in San Jose where recovered materials are repurposed into landscaping materials, recycled, and disposed of appropriately.
• Landfill materials are processed at the GreenWaste Materials Recovery Facility in San Jose to recover recyclable and compostable materials before making its way to the Monterey Peninsula Landfill.

Agreements between the City of Palo Alto, GreenWaste of Palo Alto, and GreenWaste Recovery

• 2019 Second Amended and Restated Agreement for Solid Waste, Recyclable Materials, and Compostable Materials Collection and Processing Services(PDF, 3MB)
• 2022 Amendment No.1 Second Amended and Restated Agreement for Solid Waste, Recyclable Materials, and Compostable Materials Collection and Processing Services(PDF, 885KB)
• 2021 Agreement for Solid Waste Processing and Disposal Service Between The City of Palo Alto and Greenwaste Recovery, Inc(PDF, 2MB)