Yesterday, the Riders Recycle team toured the Marin Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) facility in San Rafael. It’s an expansive place, with areas for household and business hazardous waste disposal, automotive waste disposal (including oil and filter recycling, naturally), a materials processing and handling site, and even a pilot mini-farm program where food waste is separated out and fed to the resident pigs. The sound of roaring garbage trucks mingles with the cries of the peacocks wandering around the grounds–it’s quite a place.
Unlike many other county household hazardous waste places, Marin’s has solid, regular hours; residential dropoff is accepted from 8:00 am to 3:30 PM, Tuesday through Saturday. If you’re a Marin county resident, drive on in, pull up to the residential dropoff lane, and the Marin HHW team, in their sharp Tyvek suits, will even unload your car or truck for you.
Kathy Wall, Marin’s own household hazardous waste coordinator, has partnered with Marin ZeroWaste and Riders Recycle to provide county residents with oil change kits for motorcyclists and motorists. Each one consists of a motorcycle and standard automobile-sized 6-quart drain pan, a double oil filter drainer to keep your filters drained and not leaking on your garage or car floor, a shop rag, a pair of nitrile gloves to protect your hands, and a quality no-glug funnel. Everything you need to change and recycle your oil and filters, right there. A 15-quart drain pan is also available for vehicles, such as diesels, which have a large capacity oil sump; just ask.
Oil recycling kits with 15-quart pans
When you pull up to the unloading spot, take a look for the free oil change kit sign on the side of the building. There, on the wire-mesh shelves placed against the building, you will find stacks of free oil change kits.
You can find the Marin HHW facility’s website here: http://marinhhw.com/
Their physical address is: 565 Jacoby Street
San Rafael, CA 94901
Phone: 415-485-6806
HHW coordinator Kathy Wall shows off an oil change kit.
Marin residents: Drop by, smell the smells, listen to the peacocks, and pick up a free oil change and recycling kit while you’re there.
Peacock wandering the grounds at the Jacoby Street HHW facility