I live a mile away and never this gem existed. I had a huge appliance box with giant pieces of styrofoam. Reddit was unanimous that this was the place to go for disposal. I pulled up at 8am and Paul came right over to help. He was friendly and funny and unloaded the huge box from the back of my car. If you've got big cardboard and styrofoam.... This is the place to get rid of it. read more

I had stryafoam from a big screen TV box and didn't want to throw it away and have it end up in a landfill. After an exhaustive search and many recyclers saying they don't recycle styrafoam, I found National Recycling! So yes I'm confirming as of July 2026 - There is a styrafoam recycler in the SF Bay area! Plan accordingly Yelpers! read more

It's surprising how often I need to come to National Recycling now that I discovered it a couple of years ago. Styrofoam in particular is such a pain, and who doesn't love just dropping it off for free. The people who work here are friendly and helpful. read more

I take our styrofoam here for recycling. I must say that I am always surprised at how friendly the staff is! They are super helpful.

I take my styrofoam to this place, so happy I found a location. Guard is very helpful as you enter. Be careful of operating hours as they close around lunch time. Just of Mandela and 14th. read more

Had a hard time finding the entrance, but once I did, the worker was super friendly and took all my styrofoam. I was really glad not to have to put it in the trash. read more

Large & well managed facility managing multiple recycles (paper/ glass/ plastic/ styrofoam) in West Oakland. Be prepared to wait; many commercial vehicles unload to sort into huge barrels. The NR staff on site very helpful + thorough...get your reward read more

Excellent place! The best recycling center in the San Francisco Bay area. Great location, great customer service, and they offer best prices for recycling buy back program. read more

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They accepted my block Styrofoam. The place seemed organized, but outside is a mess. Recycling bin scavengers come here, sort their wares prior to sale, a just dump the crap on the street. No wonder we have an ocean plastics problem. read more

National Recycling - Debris outside recycling center. This plastic will all end up the storm drains and ocean. - Recycling Center Near Me - Oakland, California

dropped off some Styrofoam, super easy and was helped by a worker. wish the gov put more funding towards things like this

I was glad to find a place that recycles styrofoam, it is the only place I could find in the East Bay or maybe the entire Bay Area. I went over and brought a large bag full of styrofoam, and a worker kindly accepted it from me. read more

My experience was pretty simple. Grab some crates, sorted my recyclables, and pour out all liquids. After doing that... Got in line, the workers sorted the different plastic bottles I had (without complaints), weighed it, gave me my payment receipt, and walked it over to the cashier and got my money. Everyone I encountered was friendly including the security guard. Place smell and is a mess, but that wasn't surprising to me. Went it, did what I needed, and got what I needed done...done! read more

I recently moved to area and this recycling location was great, very helpful. Friendly. Took all moving boxes and packing paper!

Pretty funky, but great to drop bottles Not that much cash but ok They say they open at 6:30 am, they had not opened yet at 6:40 Then, once inside the gate, you find out that their hours are deceiving. I guess you can drop off cardboard when the gates are open but not bottles. I had to wait until 8 am to drop the bottles. Do they should change the Advertising hours. read more

National Recycling - Closed at 6:35 am Tuesday - Recycling Center Near Me - Oakland, California

This spot surpass my expectations, on a Saturday barely anyone was here! And the other patrons are so nice asking me if I'm ready. I can recycle my glass and cans in one area I don't have to go to the another location like lakeside recycle. I'm not sure if this place pays as much as the other spots, but not having to wait in a long line warrants my five star! read more

I've gone to this recycling center several times, always on Saturday mornings, and the same man has always been the one weighing or counting the recyclables. The first time I went there, my friend warned me that the guy was a real asshole, but I can usually win people over, so I wasn't too worried. This guy, though...he cannot be won over. Even though I had fewer than fifty items and requested to be reimbursed the CRV, the employee started weighing my small bag of items. I politely indicated again that I wanted my items counted, and the guy acted like I was being a huge pain in his ass. And when he counted the glass bottles, he threw them hard enough that shards flew towards the people waiting in line. I honestly wished I had safety glasses with me. I thought maybe the guy was having a bad day -- and working at a recycling center has got to be a sticky, smelly, unpleasant job, so I was willing to cut the guy some slack. But every time I've gone there, its been the same crappy experience. Anyway, the jerk working there wouldn't be enough to make me leave a 1-star review, but that plus the fact that they refuse to pay the mandated CRV for bottles and cans IS enough to make me leave a 1-star review. Don't bother taking anything over 24 ounces there, because they'll count it as a standard-sized bottle or can. I brought up the error to the man working at the counter who was paying people for their recyclables, and he said the guy weighing and counting the recyclables had to correct the error. Not surprisingly, the guy doing the counting refused to correct the mistake. I don't expect recycling facilities to be clean or fun to visit, but even though this is the most convenient recycling center for me to visit, the attitude of the guy working here and their dishonesty is bad enough to keep me from returning. read more

The website for NRC lists plastics #1-7 as materials they will take for recycling. A few years back, I found NRC on a website listing drop-off locations for recyclables, and when I have called in the past, whoever answered said that drop-offs were okay and that they take plastic film. This morning I went out of my way to drop off various types of plastic bags. I'm not looking to make money; I just want the plastic film recycled. Turns out that what they take depends on whether anyone is buying the material on the other end. (Silly me, how could I have thought they were doing this work for any other than monetary reasons?) My experience interacting with the workers there was mixed to unpleasant. I had questions. Some workers didn't speak English, but actually that was okay because they were friendly. The ones who did speak English wouldn't answer my questions - I had to "talk to the woman in the station." The woman in the service station gave completely uninformative information. "No we don't take that." I'm thinking, you don't take #4 LDPE, one of the most recycled plastic films, and you're a NATIONAL Recycling Corporation? Me: "Your website says you take #2 and #4. This stuff is #4." (I had a lot of bread bags.) "We're not taking that at this time. No one is buying it. You can take it to another recycler." What? How many people are bringing you plastic film, thinking it's going to get recycled? Does it go in the trash? At first a worker took all of my bags without comment, but I had an experience here in the past that made me question whether they were really recycling the bags. Me: "So why did I find you online as a center that takes plastic film?" "Okay, you can drop off." Me: (wtf??) "You just said you're not recycling this stuff?" What's the deal? Granted they're not a customer service center, but information from this place is very piecemeal and sketchy. Do they or do they not recycle plastic film? And if not, then why are they taking it, and what do they do with it? I didn't drive all the way out there to *throw away* the plastic; I can do that at home. More to the point, I'm distressed that it's really not clear whether this large recycling company that advertises itself as taking numbers 1 through 7 plastics actually recycles the plastic film people are bringing them. I'm wondering whether those supermarkets with #2 and #4 plastic bag drop-off stations are shipping their plastics to this yard, since it's the largest one in this part of the Bay. In fact, I'm going to ask my local Whole Foods right now. They'll take cans, bottles, and paper/cardboard products readily. But don't expect them to give you coherent information about their business. read more