Caltech Recycling Center

It’s a pretty straight forward procedure here. It’s all self-​hauled, so there’s no worker here to help you. Might be hard to find on the first go, but there’s a map of the place in the pictures. It’s through the caltech parking lot. Gate was open too when it was raining pretty heavily. I’ve tossed away shredded paper, cardboard, plastic, etc. here.
Only thing is that I’m not too sure how often the dumpsters get collected. Everytime I go, it seems to be almost full for paper and cardboard.
Like someone else mentioned too, they don’t take e-​waste. Probably because there’s no person on site to handle them properly. Nearest one I know of would be the «safe» collection center in Glendale, opened only on the weekends. Just google it and you’ll find it.

Great spot to recycle. No lines or hassle!

Welcome relief for someone trying to get rid of cardboard moving boxes, but hard to find. I was glad I wasn’t in a hurry! The key is that the entrance is in an unmarked Caltech parking lot E of Wilson, just S of Del Mar. Would be great if there were even a small sign on the city street.

Recycles everything BUT e-​waste including batteries, old computers, and electronics. If you want to recycle those things, go elsewhere and please don’t dump them here.
Corrugated cardboard, most kinds of plastics, etc. are covered here. Unless you are carrying a lot of material, don’t back into the tiny parking spaces inside this enclosed area, because getting out with people trying to get in can be trial. Park just outside and bring a cart/​hand truck to recycle.
Save the Planet and get that crap out of your home!

If you care about recycling, but not so much the $, this is THE place to go. My goodness, they have a bin for EVERYTHING. I’ll be recycling more because they take plastics and glass that are not CRV.
See the pix that someone posted with the map pin, just south of Del Mar between Wilson and Michigan in the parking lot (lot 12, I think it is).
For an official web site check out:

For some reason we are magazine hoarders. We have magazines that are as recent as this month’s to over 2+ years old… Finally enough was enough. It was time for these eye sores to find a new home. Originally I wanted to donate these magazines however local libraries as well as donation places don’t accept magazines.
Yes we have a huge trash bin, but I felt bad throwing so much recyclables away! Figured the right thing to do was recycle! We found this place via Unilocal.Just follow the description on how to get there. Plenty of parking. Lots of big bins for your recycling goodies.
Do your part! Every little bit helps :)

hey guys? Just letting you know that this place is NOT a place you take your recyclables for $$. It’s just a nice clean place to sort your recyclables. That’s it.

Fantastic. I’m exceedingly impressed with their separation of different plastics (most places don’t differentiate past 1 and 2 plastics). Leave it to CalTech to take something like this into thoughtful consideration. I will happily forego a few bucks in my pocket if it means my recycling gets handled properly. There’s also more than enough room for me to drive my car in and unload bags from my trunk. I will surely frequent this little corner of Pasadena.

Address is wrong! See other notes! It’s actually south of Del Mar in a Cal Tech parking lot. I couldn’t find it the first time around.

While I prefer recycling centers that pay you for glass, cans and plastic, this center is close to home. One other comment about e-​waste. This center does not take e-​waste, but the A.C.T.S thrift store does recycle old computers/​tv’s etc. Plus you get a receipt for your donation which can be used as a tax write off.
The A.C.T.S. Thrift store is located at:
1382 Locust St
Pasadena, CA 91 106

Finally, a recycling place that takes everything! Well almost everything, but way more than most places! It is hard to find & not marked from the outside. Just turn into the parking lot from Del Mar on either Wilson or Michigan & it’s somewhere in between.
I went on a Sunday afternoon and the bins were almost all full. It wasn’t attended when I went so I don’t know if it usually is. You sort the items on your own & that’s it! They have the following bins:
Aluminum
Mixed paper
Cardboard
Color paper
White paper
Magazines, catalogues, glossy
Telephone Books
Tin
Plastic bags
Plastic milk containers
1 – 7 plastic
All CRV glass
Non CRV glass
Lab glass
Newspaper

What a great place! You can recycle every kind of plastic and they have tons of bins for paper, cardboard, glass, and tin. Love it!

The center is a very good resource. A few points to note:
1) The entrance is on the EAST side of Wilson through a parking lot just SOUTH of Del Mar. There is no signage on the street for the recycle center whatsoever, nor is it visible from Del Mar. You will find it deep within the parking lot after entering on Wilson.
2) They accept everything indicated on their website, HOWEVER, there was no newspaper bin the last time I visited. Big drawback, unless this is rectified.
3) The center is clean, well organized, and easy to use (except the newspaper issue as of July 12, 2013).

Please note, this place DOES NOT take e-​waste.
The only thing they recycle here is newspapers/​magazines and plastic bottles, nothing else. DO NOT take any e-​waste here. Finding a place that will take e-​waste in the city of Pasadena is extremely difficult. Most times you got to throw out that junk with the rest of the trash.

the best recycling resource i’ve found, if not the only as comprehensive in pasadena. sometimes on the weekends there’s a bit of a crowd, and it’s best to park in the larger lot and not pull into the main area. you can recycle just about anything — save styrofoam and batteries and whatnot. (and don’t be a jerk and just leave said whatnot all piled up by the gate.) all those dumb phone books they won’t stop delivering no matter how many times you call? there’s a bin just for those! i’ve had the hours not pan out as exactly as stated (arriving at 10 on a saturday and still locked up, etc) but that seems to be largely an exception, not a rule. considering it’s a recycling center — ya know, ‘trash’ — it’s amazingly tidy.
SO glad it exists since my building doesn’t provide recycling.

The recycling center most definitely does exist, and is at or very close to the address listed– I was there today! If you enter 1155 Del Mar into google maps, you will see the exact location. Note that you need to turn into the driveway onto the Caltech campus on the south side of Del Mar, and then take the first right into a parking lot. In other words, it is NOT visible from the main road. I love recycling there– it’s convenient and all the bins are clearly marked.

The Caltech Recycling center is open the community and myself being an employ of Caltech and a member of the community I use it frequently. The center is open 7 days a week. Monday-​Friday 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Saturdays & Sunday10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. They accept plastic (1) thru (7), glass, tin cans, aluminum cans, phone books, magazines, paper, newspaper, chipboard, cardboard and plastic grocery bags.
I come to the center about 3 to 4 times a week. I like to think that I’m doing my part in being a good steward of the earth. Please use this facility properly. The one thing I’ve seen is that some people will not separate their recyclables and just throw everything in the wrong bin. Some people have also thrown trash! Nothing makes me want to cuss to the sky’s more then lazy, ignorance people.
O.K. so how do you get there. The address for the campus is 1200 E. California Blvd but the center is located off Wilson Street. It’s located in the parking lot between S. Michigan Ave. and Wilson. I have included an aerial photo of the map taken from map quest. In the photo it’s the little box located in the center of the photo.