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Materials Recovery Facility
South Tahoe Refuse Transfer Station
& Materials Recovery Facility
Waste Wizard
Type the name of a waste item and we will tell you where and how to recycle or dispose of it.
Transfer Station (TS) and Resource Recovery Facility (RRF) New Account Request Form
A CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE WILL CONTACT YOU WHEN YOUR RRF CARDS ARE READY FOR PICK-UP
Transfer Station & Material Recovery Facility
Location
2140 Ruth Avenue
South Lake Tahoe CA 96150
(530) 542-8311
Hours of Operation
Monday through Saturday
Closed Sundays & Holidays
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Materials Accepted
All solid waste (garbage, rubbish and trash) typically generated at home as well as commercial and construction solid waste. This includes yard waste, stumps, containers and packaging, metal and appliances, tires, furniture, carpet, electronic-waste, asphalt, concrete, roofing and mixed construction and demolition debris and miscellaneous inorganic wastes. Many of these materials will be recycled through our Material Recovery process.
We also accept snowmobiles, motorcycles, lawn mowers, and snow blowers. For items that require registration, we would need a pink slip or an abatement letter from the city in order to accept them. Items must be fully drained of all fluids, if they are not drained there will be an additional fee.
Liquid wastes are not accepted at this facility. See the HHW page for a list of hazardous and universal waste materials accepted under that program.
Unacceptable Materials
We cannot accept cars, boats, RVs, trailers, or any RV sewage.
Learn About Our Transfer Station and Materials Recovery Facility (MRF)
During the early 1990s, the South Lake Tahoe Solid Waste Joint Powers Agency (JPA), comprised of elected representatives from Douglas and El Dorado Counties and the City of South Lake Tahoe, reviewed alternatives to address the mandates of AB 939. The JPA reviewed the characteristics of our local waste stream and balanced costs, benefits, practicality, and future planning in making their decision.
What is the JPA?
The JPA (Joint Powers Agency) is responsible for directing which recycling programs we implement. After a year of study, the JPA approved a system with the technology and flexibility to meet today’s needs and address our future goals.
Materials Recovery Facility
The cornerstone of our local recycling plan is our Materials Recovery Facility, which opened in May 1995. Referred to as the MRF, collected materials are sorted for the larger recyclables, such as wood, steel and tires. The waste is then loaded onto a conveyor belt where glass, aluminum, tin, plastics, and 5 grades of paper are separated, baled, and stored until transported to market.
Centralized processing of mixed municipal solid waste achieves both a significant reduction in landfill usage and a maximum rate of recycling. The MRF has allowed STR to implement a diverse range of programs addressing both residential and commercial sectors to steadily increase our material recovery rate without increasing traffic in our neighborhoods.
Resource Recovery Facility
The opening of the Resource Recovery Facility (RRF) in 2009 doubled our capacity to recycle wood and yard waste. Selected residential green waste routes and self-haul from contractor and landscapers have steadily increased the volumes recycled. To support fuels reduction projects, green waste from local agencies doing forest and lot clearing are accepted at the RRF at no charge, processed and sent to regional composting facilities or to local soil erosion and revegetation projects.
Recyclable Material Market
The MRF and RRF provide the capability to sort and store materials for markets ranging from glass, aluminum, plastic and paper, to local concrete and asphalt recycling, to composting of wood waste in the Carson Valley. Markets shift, quality specifications tighten and material prices fluctuate. The worldwide economic slowdown has affected both export and domestic demand for scrap material.
But STR is in the recycling business for the long run. Markets are stabilizing and new technologies will create new markets. Our MRF and RRF provide us with the flexibility to implement the programs that best suit our individual community now and in the future.
California Redemption Value