Processing Facilities Tour

Due to COVID-19, processing facilities tours are not being offered until further notice. CVSan will inform the public once tours resume.

What do 4,000 tons of organics, recycling, and garbage look like and how does it get processed in one day? If you are a Castro Valley Sanitary District (CVSan) resident or business owner, find out for yourself and see what happens to your recycling, organics, and garbage once it leaves the curb. The Processing Facilities Tour takes attendees to the Alameda County Industries (ACI) Materials Recovery Facility, where CVSan’s recyclables are processed, and to the Davis Street Transfer Station, where CVSan’s garbage goes before heading to the landfill.

Davis Street processes 4,000 tons of materials a day with four, state of the art processing facilities, including:

A Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certified organics building.
A single stream materials recovery facility (MRF) that houses a high-tech optical sorter that uses infrared light and manual sorters that separate materials with precision and speed.
A construction and demolition debris MRF (materials from construction and large remodeling jobs).
A $10 million Expanded Construction & Demolition/Commercial Materials Recycling Facility.

Fun Facts About Davis Street
Did you know that, in one year, Davis Street Transfer Station processes:

296 million pounds of yard debris and food scraps (that's like 900 million pizza boxes or 600 million oranges)
26 million pounds of wood
21 million pounds of inerts (toilets, sinks, concrete, asphalt, bricks, and cinder blocks)

In conjunction with StopWaste, Davis Street also houses an education center for the county's 4th and 5th graders. Approximately 20,000 of Alameda County's students visit the iRecycle@School education center every year!

CVSan’s “Dirty Dozen”

CVSan’s Dirty Dozen are 12 of the most common household items that contaminate the recycling cart/bin and harm the recycling process. Be sure to place these items in the right container to keep the recycling process free of contamination.

The Dirty Dozen – Where Does It Go?


FOOD SCRAPS Organics Tip: Plan ahead when cooking your meals to use ingredients you already have before they go bad.	FOOD-SOILED PAPER Organics Tip: Instead of paper napkins, plates, and cups, choose to use reuseables.	SHREDDED/SMALL PAPER Organics Tip: Small paper includes anything smaller than a sticky note. Put shredded paper in a larger paper bag and then place in the organics cart/bin.

ANIMAL WASTE Organics - Place vegetarian animal waste in here from animals like rabbits and hamsters. Garbage - Place non-vegetarian animal waste in here from animals like dogs and cats.	MIXED MATERIAL MAILER BAGS Garbage Tip: Consider saving and reusing mailer bags for future shipments instead of placing them in the garbage.	SNACK BAGS & WRAPPERS Garbage Tip: Choose snacks that use compostable packaging or create your own snacks.

PLASTIC UTENSILS Garbage Tip: Invest in lightweight reusable utensils to use during get-togethers.	PERSONAL HYGIENE ITEMS AND DIAPERS Garbage Tip: Look into companies that sell zero waste hygiene products. Also, consider using reusable diapers!	PLASTIC BAGS/FILM Recycling – Place in here ONLY IF bundled in a larger plastic bag. Garbage – Place in here if bags/film are loose.

CDs, DVDs, VHS TAPES Garbage Tip: Consider donating usable CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes to a local charity or thrift store.	ELECTRONICS & BATTERIES Special Handling Place in your annual Bulky & Reuse Pick-Up, Drop off at a CVSan Recycles Day event or at a Household Hazardous Waste facility.	HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE Special Handling Drop off at a CVSan Recycles Day event or at a Household Hazardous Waste facility.

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