Recycling Information

Aside from conserving natural resources, recycling saves you money. It is free to recycle household waste at County convenience centers, so the more you recycle, the more you save.

Recycling saves the County money too, which helps keep costs down for you. In 2016, Santa Fe County saved $136,000 by recycling 24% of the material from convenience centers. By increasing our recycling rate to the national average of 35%, we can save an additional $63,000 per year. The cost of punch cards and bag tags will increase the next two years to help cover the cost of service. Recycling will help the County continue providing the same level of service without raising rates.

For these reasons and others, Santa Fe County has made recycling mandatory at convenience centers. Any person placing recyclables in the waste bins will be issued a warning and/or issued a citation. If found guilty, the criminal penalty shall be a minimum of $25 for the first offense, $50 for the second offense, and $75 for the third offense.

Preparation Instructions:

1. Flatten boxes.
2. Keep clean and dry. Rinse lightly.
3. Place loose in containers. No bags. Do not tie with string.
4. Puts caps back on plastic and metal bottles and containers (if possible). Remove caps from glass bottles and containers.

Recycle right! If you’re not sure if a material is recyclable, put it in the garbage. Contamination causes a lot of problems, so when in doubt, throw it out! For more information on how to recycle right, contact us at (505) 992-3010.

MINIMUM SIZE OF RECYCYABLES: Anything smaller than a post card cannot be handled by the processing facility and should be landfilled or composted.

What happens to the material?

Mixed recyclables, cardboard, glass, and tires are hauled to the Buckman Road Recycling and Transfer Station in Santa Fe. Scrap metal and appliances are sold to a metal recycling company in Santa Fe that sorts it and sells it to a smelter where it is turns it into raw material for manufacturing. Glass is crushed at the Buckman Road Recycling and Transfer Station and is sold for local landscaping, agriculture, and construction operations. Mixed recyclables are hauled to Albuquerque where they are sorted, sold in domestic and international markets, and manufactured into new products. Tires are sent to a recycling facility in Denver City, TX where they are turned into a raw material used in asphalt and new rubber applications. Automotive fluids are sold to a company that refines or cleans it in order to turn it into new automotive fluids.

Acceptable Items for Recycling at County Convenience Centers:

Mixed Recycling
Glass
Used automotive fluids
Tires (punch on card)
Green waste/yard waste
Scrap metal

Click here for a listing of locations to recycle materials not accepted at convenience centers.

Mixed Recycling
^Free

Glass
^Free

Used Automotive Fluids
^{Free. No more than five gallons per trip.}

Tires
^{Permit punch required. No more than eight tires per month.}

Green Waste/Yard Waste
^{Permit punch required}

Scrap Metal & Appliances
^Free

Other Recycling Locations in Santa Fe County:

^{If your business should be added to this listing, contact us at (505) 992-3010.}

Quick Links:
Car batteries
Cell phones, cell phone batteries, tablets, and chargers
Fluorescent light bulbs
Electronic waste
Ink/toner cartridges
Plastic bags
Rechargeable batteries
Refrigerant containing appliances
Used motor oil

Car Batteries
^{Some facilities offer cash or gift cards. Call facility for details.}

Cell Phones, Cell Phone Batteries, Tablets, and Chargers
^{Restrictions may apply. Call facility for details.}

Fluorescent Light Bulbs
^{Restrictions/fees may apply. Call facility for details.}

Electronic Waste
^{Restrictions/fees may apply. Call facility for details.}

Ink/Toner Cartridges

Plastic Bags
^{Grocery/shopping bags, dry cleaning bags, newspaper sleeves, etc. No food wrap or bags with zippers, slide locks, or drawstrings.}

Rechargeable Batteries
^{Non-leaking rechargeable batteries used in power tools, cell phones, laptops, etc. No single-use alkaline batteries.
Nickel Cadmium (Ni-CD), Lithium Ion (Li-ion), Small sealed lead acid (SSLA/Pb), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH, Nickel Zinc (Ni-Zn)}

Refrigerant Containing Appliances
^{Fees may apply. Please call facility for details.}

Used Motor Oil
^{Maximum allowable amounts may apply. Please call facility for details.}