Recycling Centers in Salt Lake City, UT
Find drop-off recycling locations in Salt Lake City, Utah. View hours, addresses, and phone numbers for each facility.
⭐ Top 5 Recycling Centers in Salt Lake City
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Salt Lake City has 41 recycling centers listed in this directory. Each listing includes the address, phone number, and opening hours where available. Call ahead to confirm accepted materials before making the trip.
Recycling in Salt Lake City: A Local Guide
Recycling in Salt Lake City runs on a city-managed curbside cart system. Most homes with city sanitation service get three wheeled carts: a green cart for garbage, a blue cart for mixed recycling, and a brown cart for compost. All of a household's carts are collected on the same weekday each week, based on a color-coded zone map, so you only need to remember one pickup day. The blue cart takes flattened cardboard, paper, cartons from the refrigerated section, aluminum and steel food cans, and rinsed plastic containers; it does not take glass, plastic bags, or styrofoam.
The single most important local rule is glass. Salt Lake City does not accept glass in the blue cart because broken glass contaminates and devalues the other recyclables. Instead, the city contracts with Momentum Recycling for a separate, voluntary glass program: residents can opt into a monthly curbside glass can for a small fee added to their water bill, or drop glass off for free at community collection sites. Bottles and jars of any color are accepted with no sorting, but ceramics, Pyrex, windows, and light bulbs are not glass and are excluded.
For everything the blue cart can't take, the Salt Lake Valley Landfill at 6030 W California Ave is the main public drop-off, offering free recycling of cardboard, cans, plastic, and glass plus a household hazardous waste site for paint, motor oil, antifreeze, fluorescent bulbs, and electronics from Salt Lake County residents. You can compare these options alongside private scrap, e-waste, and metal buyers on our list of Salt Lake City recycling centers, or widen your search across Utah.
All Recycling Centers in Salt Lake City
Recycling Centers in Nearby Cities
Frequently Asked Questions — Recycling in Salt Lake City
Where can I drop off recycling in Salt Lake City?
The main public drop-off is the Salt Lake Valley Landfill at 6030 W California Ave, open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., where Salt Lake County residents can recycle cardboard, metal and aluminum cans, plastic containers, and glass for free. The same facility runs a household hazardous waste site for paint, motor oil, antifreeze, bulbs, and electronics. Private metal and e-waste yards are also listed on our Salt Lake City recycling centers page.
Can I put glass in my Salt Lake City blue recycling cart?
No. Salt Lake City does not accept glass in the blue curbside cart, because broken glass contaminates and lowers the value of the other recyclables. The city instead offers a separate glass program through Momentum Recycling: you can opt into a monthly curbside glass can for a small fee on your water bill, or take bottles and jars to a free glass drop-off location. All colors of glass bottles and jars are accepted, but ceramics, Pyrex, windows, and light bulbs are not.
What can you recycle in the Salt Lake City blue cart?
The blue cart accepts flattened cardboard boxes, newspaper, magazines and office paper, refrigerated-section cartons such as milk and juice, aluminum and steel food cans, drained aerosol cans, and rinsed plastic containers like bottles and jugs. Do not bag your recyclables, and keep out plastic bags and film, styrofoam, food waste, and yard waste. For materials the blue cart rejects, see the drop-off centers on our Salt Lake City recycling centers list.
Can you recycle cans in Utah for money?
Utah does not have a bottle-and-can deposit (bottle bill), so you are not paid a refund for returning beverage containers the way you would be in deposit states. However, scrap metal buyers in Salt Lake City will pay by weight for aluminum and other metals, which is why aluminum is worth separating in larger quantities. You can find local metal and scrap buyers on our Salt Lake City recycling centers page; call ahead to confirm current prices and accepted materials.