Recycling

Recycling benefits our community and our environment.

Did you know that recycling:

  • Reduces the amount of waste in landfills
  • Decreases water pollution and other environmental impacts of landfills
  • Helps conserve natural resources, such as water and trees
  • Lowers greenhouse gas emissions

Some of the most common household sources of hazardous waste are refrigerators and freezers, lawn mowers, thermostats and compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). Recycling such items helps reduce our community’s carbon footprint and create a cleaner, safer environment for us all.

Our refrigerator recycling program has ended.

You can visit the following websites to schedule free pick-up services:

Have an old mercury thermostat? Remove, replace and recycle!

We've partnered with the ThermostatCare to give SMUD customers a $30 rebate for each mercury thermostat you recycle through their program.

  1. Fill out the form.
  2. Put the completed form and your old mercury thermostat into a sealed plastic bag.
  3. Drop it off at a local collection site.

Simple as that! Thank you for helping to keep our community clean and safe.

You’ve replaced your old, inefficient incandescent and compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) with energy-efficient LEDs, which use up to 80% less energy. High five! But what should you do with the old bulbs?

Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulb recycling

Did you know? In California, it's against the law to toss any light bulbs containing mercury into the regular trash. Because they contain small amounts of mercury, CFLs must be recycled.

Here are links to more information on municipal waste disposal in the SMUD service area:

Cleaning up a broken CFL

The Environmental Protection Agency recommends the following clean-up and disposal guidelines:

  • Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
  • Carefully scoop up the fragments and powder with stiff paper or cardboard and put into a sealed plastic bag.
  • Use disposable rubber gloves if available. Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes.
  • Put all cleanup materials into a second sealed plastic bag.
  • Store the plastic articles in an outdoor area until they can be recycled properly at one of the locations listed above.
  • If a CFL breaks on a rug or carpet, remove as much of the material as possible without using a vacuum cleaner. Sticky tape can be used to pick up small pieces and powder.
  • If vacuuming is needed, clean the area where the bulb was broken, remove the vacuum bag and put the bag or vacuum debris in sealed plastic bags.
  • Store the sealed articles in an outdoor area until they can be properly recycled.

If you're looking to recycle your old solar panels, contact your installer to check if they have a recycling program.

You can also search the Department of Toxic Substances Control's List of Universal Waste Handlers that Accept PV Modules (Solar Panels) to find a universal waste recycling facility near you.