April is Earth Month--which began right here in Santa Barbara, California! Compared to when I lived in Seattle, California is not nearly as green as I had anticipated. You would think that with "California Prop 65: chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm" being posted on every wall in the state and EV benefits it would take things more seriously. Thankfully though, all the way down on Dave Love Place on the right side of the street is a recycling center for MarBorg Industries. It is super convenient to swing by and recycle items that don't fit in your home's blue recycle bin or shouldn't be included. This includes styrofoam (which they make mirrors and frames out of), plastic bags from the store, electronic devices, and used mattresses. If you have an excessive amount of aluminum cans or plastic bottles, they will pay you money here based on weight. I just wish they cleaned up all of the lids that cover the parking lot... I am also excited to see that they now accept textiles for recycling including: clothing, backpacks, purses, matching pairs of shoes, fabric, cleaning rags and scrap cloths. Also remember that if you have used batteries, place them in a plastic zipping bag on top of your home's recycling bin. Recycling center is open Monday-Friday 8 am - 4 pm and occasional Saturdays. Let's keep our home and coast clean! read more

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This place is so convenient. Nice people everything is so easy to use. Been going here for years.

Headline: Because of Marborg, I'm never recycling again! Today a friend asked me if I knew anybody with a pick-up truck. He wanted to help to take all the plastic recyclable bottles and bring them the money. I told him I'll be happy to help. We made plans to rent a large U-haul truck to avoid wasting gas, time, and money. He was trying to figure out a time next week and with my lunch hour coming up, I said "Why not now? It should be quick. " He called Marborg to ask if there was a limit to how much material we could bring. He got no response the first time after about 15 rings. The second time he called and they said nope, there's no limit. So off we went to pick up 19 bags of empty water bottles. We filled up the truck and made our way to UHaul in two vehicles - I was in the truck, he was in his own car. The truck (obviously) had all the trash bags. We spent a few minutes unloading the truck together. I left the parking lot to go return the UHaul and pick up my car. A Marborg employee then approached my friend and said that he and I can't deposit over 100 lbs. It looks like it might be 100 lbs., and if it is over 100 lbs of recycling, then you have to take it all back with you. My friend replied: I was told on the phone that there's no limit. Marborg: Well you were told incorrectly. Which number did you call? Friend: The number on the website (and on the dumpster bins). Marborg: Well if it's over 100 lbs you need to take it all back. Friend: My friend is gone and doesn't have his phone. How many pounds is this? They measured one bag and it was about 6 pounds which would estimate to be about 114 lb. My friend: Ok, so we'll take 100lb and the rest we'll take away in our car. Marborg: We can't do that. It's against the law. You have to take it all back. Get the guy with the truck back here. My friend: He returned the truck. We can load 1/2 of them and I can figure out how to take 1/2 of it back in my car and my friend's car. Marborg Guy: This conversation has gone on too long. I'll get my supervisor. The supervisor came and said they can't accept it. After further discussion the supervisor called his supervisor at another office. That supervisor agreed to speak with my friend. The supervisor's supervisor said, after being told that we came in multiple cars, that he would confer with the local supervisor. They spoke on the phone and the local supervisor reportedly told his supervisor we brought it all in one car. Of course we did - why would you carry trash bags of recycling in other cars when you have a truck that you rented for that purpose? So their "final decision" was made - that we had to take away all the bags and come back another time. Two other Marborg employees who heard about the situation came by. One advised "We could've worked this out here if you didn't appeal to a supervisor." My friend answered him saying he didn't ask to speak to any supervisors; that decision was made by Marborg employees. So my friend asked these guys a question: if we came back with half on Monday and half on Tuesday, would that be okay? Marborg: Sure, that would be fine. Friend: What if we leave with the bags and come back today? Would that work? Marborg: Sure. Friend: Is there a certain amount of time we need to be gone? Marborg: Maybe an hour? If you come back in an hour it should be okay. Friend: So what if we carry these bags across the street to my car, put them down, and bring them back? They'll be officially off the lot. We can bring them back with the two cars that we have and deposit them that way. Marborg: Let me ask and see what we can do. After speaking to his supervisors the decision came back that there was nothing to be done. We had to take all the recycling back. We then asked "what if we just leave the recycling in these bins that say 'PLASTIC' on them?" They said "that's fine, we just won't pay you for them." So that's what we did. Nobody said that the whole time. Obviously, we would've preferred to give the money to the non-profit, but they could've let us know about that option and saved multiple arguments. Amidst all the waiting, I actually unloaded my recycling from my car and sold it to Marborg. We really had two cars with recycling in them. But since we had a truck full of bags, that is obviously unallowable. So much for rushing to a good deed. read more

Absolute rip off!! We have no good recycling centers in town. You have to drive to at least Oxnard to get fair value and LA is the best. If you save enough they even come to you and still pay more!!!! read more

Marborg is awful. This company unfortunately does trash and recycling service for my rental property in Isla Vista. A few months ago I was forced into backyard service because of Santa Barbara's strict trash can placement laws. The new local law states that all trash and recycling cans need to be moved from the curb within 12 hours of pick up. They have to be moved a certain distance away from the curb so as to preserve the aesthetics of the neighborhood. This is strictly enforced and property owners are subject to heavy fines if their trash cans continue to be close to the curb after several warnings. Unfortunately, since I am dealing with a rental property, it is very difficult for me to ensure that my tenants are always moving the cans in a timely manner. The city official enforcing this issue drives around inspecting properties the morning after trash pick up, trying to catch people as soon as possible so they are subject to fines. In order to halt this ongoing headache I decided to pay extra for Marborg's backyard trash and recycling service. However, for the backyard service you are required to downgrade your trash cans to small, lightweight cans with removable lids (as opposed to large bins with attached lids). This was another huge headache for me, as I heard from many sources that these lightweight cans provide easy access for raccoons and other animals to get into your trash and make a huge mess. I spoke with a Marborg representative to confirmed that many customers complain about these bins and yet they are doing nothing about this problem. There is no way to pay extra to keep the more heavy duty bin that I had used for curbside service. Great - I had to decide between being subject to fines from the city or being subject to animals spreading trash all over my backyard. Sometimes it feels like Marborg and the city are in cahoots to make residents as miserable as possible. I decided that I'd rather deal with animals than city fines, so in the end I paid several hundred dollars to have a trash enclosure built for these new, crappy backyard service cans. I then assumed my problems were done. However, Marborg has been flaky with backyard service (both trash and recycling). They have been blatantly missing some pick ups. On top of that, customer service is rude and defensive, denying that they could have possibly missed a pick up and providing no apology. They are not willing to schedule an emergency pick up even if it is to make up for their own missed service. Rather, I have to wait until the next scheduled trash/recycling day. Also, when I called twice in one day about this issue (the second call was to clarify that it was both trash and recycling, not just trash, that they hadn't collected) the representative showed irritation that I had already called. This company is the worst. read more

They collect the trash and recycling from the property on which I reside. We have three neighbors as there are three houses on the property. This review is SOLELY for their customer service. I have been in retail, customer service and service management and have spoken to Olga on three occasions (how can one forget a name like that?) and found her to be irritable (as did the previous reviewer, it seems) and rude. I don't work at Marborg, so naturally, I am going to be inquisitive when trying to understand a situation, policy or procedure. Her attitude is unnecessary and unwarranted. read more

Marborg is a great company and the guys who pick up my trash, recycle, and yard waste......well, I cannot say enough good things about them. They have one of the most difficult and dangerous jobs in the city and do it efficiently and well. They have watched out for me when I am driving into the street from my driveway because the city put an island almost in front of my house which has forced the neighbors to park in front of my house making it difficult for me to see oncoming traffic. I don't know who that woman was who complained about talking to Olga and then commenting about her name, but she needs her attitude adjusted. I've always had good customer service when I call. Try smiling and saying hello to these guys sometime, lady. It goes a long way. And as far as the rental property complaint from the woman in San Francisco. You can't have it both ways. Try hauling 50 lb. or more of garbage down a driveway and back 200 times a morning. These guys are not machines, they are people. Some cities do not offer the driveway service so stop your complaining. Stop and think about what this job entails. Dealing with people like you does not make it any easier for them. read more

Marborg Industries will not deliver a small rollable dumpster to clean out my Relative's home because the house is at the very flat bottom of the slope of Ontare Rd. -- it might roll away. There is a parking cut out where it would be 'secure' but there are high wires they can't 'avoid'. Then there is a extra flat service road to the side of the house where it could go. BUT their truck is 'too big and tall' for this road. They can NOT (of course not!) off load and roll the dumpster a few feet. It took 3 phone calls to learn this information and in the end they blamed it on the City! I have dealt with Waste Management in 3 others cities. I have seen them put dumpsters in some incredible places, service them and help you with a smile. So now we just pile the trash along side the street until there is enough to hire someone else to haul it away. What is wrong with this picture? Monopolies don't always work on behalf of the customers! read more

These guys pick up my trash from my trash cans every week. They are the trash man.... Not that crazy. But they show up and have never run over my family, pets or stuff. That said, I just found out you can drop off recycling here 24 hours a day. Talk about a game changer! I have a young family and we are ALWAYS buying stuff so I am always trying to figure out how/where to get rid of boxes, packing materials, etc that won't go in our recycle can. This is a nice touch Marborg. Well played. read more

My son & I recently moved. We didn't realize we could recycle much more than just boxes/trash at Marborg. Great organization! Kind, professional & helpful. read more

Hands-down best trash and recycling company in the state of California. I do not work for the company but know several people that do that speak high praise of the management and the way they treat their people. They are on their third generation of Family ownership and management. Congratulations on doing a great job MarBorg! read more

As a residential customer for over 30 years, I have nothing to say but good things about my trash service. The guys who come every week are very considerate...always putting the lids back on the cans. Every time I have called with a question about where to haul big loads, the customer reps are nice as can be. I don't know why anyone would have a complaint. We are a very lucky town to have the Borgatellos expanding their company and hiring good people. read more

Horrible customer service. Pickup is missed at least once every two or three months.