I was short on time and I needed to drop some recycling off on the weekend. I narrowed down 2 spots based on location and the hours. I did double check the hours on their website on Saturdays and it's noted they close at 1:45 pm. Place was pretty easy to get to and the parking wasn't too bad. Once you turn into the parking lot, there is a sign telling where to park. When I was there, it was a bit busier, but these guys work very fast. I was able to go grab the sorting cans and gather my recycling. The staff there were very friendly and professional from the guys weighing your items to the cashier. I wasn't sure about certain items, but they explained how to sort certain ones and which ones can't be recycled. My trip there was the fastest for any recycling place I've ever been to. This will definitely be my go to place from now on. I found this place pretty clean compared to all the others as well. Service: 5/5 Ambiance: 5/5 Food: N/A read more

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Beautiful family owned operation. Floors so clean you can eat off the floors. Really appreciated the wholesome and earnest hospitality. Smooth and efficient operation, had me in and out quick! Thank you SD Recycling Depot Team!! Keep saving the world one bottle at a time!! read more

SD Recycling Depot - Recycling Center Near Me - San Diego, California

Dropped off a large bag of bottles/cans since I'm unsure if my building recycles. The staff were all super friendly and helped guide me through the process. Very simple- I just had to separate my cans/bottles and they weighed it and gave me cash. Would definitely recommend stopping by if you have the chance and have items to recycle! read more

A clean, well-run recycling depot. I've always had positive experiences recycling there. Nothing negative to say.

This was a quick and easy process, they are family run and kind. You can drop off all your recycle cans, glass, and plastic bottles. They were quick also to pay you out and you didn't have to fill out all these forms. They have good hours. The only problem I had was finding it for the first time because you have to go way in the back so it's not off the street so you have to look a bit. read more

SD Recycling Depot - Recycling Center Near Me - San Diego, California

I was bitter about being charged bottle deposit on a case of bottled water and other miscellaneous beverage containers during my recent trip to SoCal in March. I wasn't able to find any recycling machines in grocery stores or other stores like they have in New York and other states that charge bottle deposit, so I kept them in the trunk of my rental car until my last day and came here to recycle them for a refund. There was a very sweet, personable, and professional young man working the scales and his equally lovely mother manning the register. What a wonderful small family business this is! Why aren't all businesses run like this? Keep up the great work and see you next time I'm in San Diego! read more

I brought all my recycling there and I was very happy with my experience the staff is so friendly and fast they paid me right on the spot. I will definitely be going back to their business and I would highly recommend it to everyone.also they are extremely clean. read more

They are family owned business, extremely friendly fast and very clean environment. They get you in and out quickly really cool people I will definitely be coming back read more

They were very helpful and honest. The gentleman that was helping me corrected a mistake he made and apologized for it, when I didn't even realize it. He was very honest. It's easier if you organize everything before you get there: including the glass brown, white and green colors. I was happy that they also take wine bottles. I will keep going there. read more

The family that runs this business is very friendly and very helpful. The pricing is much better than miramar and the shade is an added bonus. read more

SD Recycling Depot - 1/18/2025 prices - Recycling Center Near Me - San Diego, California

Easy access from the freeway!Very easy process and everyone was very nice! I would go there again to do my recycling!

They are very open to customers and are honest. The representative even showed me how to get more money by counting my water bottles by giving me that insight. Wow, a business tells you how they can pay you more! read more

They hand down have the most convenient hour. And the location is easy to get to from anywhere in SD.

I read the previous reviews and agree with the positive ones. The man that helped me was wonderful. Checkout was easy.

This is a great place to come in and turn in your recycling. They have new times so check that/ call before coming in. It's easy to miss where this place is but it's behind the liquor store, you drive behind it and there's a lot directly behind the new building that's being built. Workers here are great, quick, efficient! Not sure how this place is in terms of how much they pay compared to other recycling centers but it's a convenient location and quick to get everything done so I come here! I also HIGHLY appreciate how they have hand sanitizing wipes and bottles for customers for when they're done touching the trash bins. read more

SD Recycling Depot - Updated April 2023 - Recycling Center Near Me - San Diego, California

Family run business. Super friendly staff. I use 4 different recycle spots in San Diego and this one BY FAR gives the most legit COUNT on your cans. They use regular sized trash cans to count your stuff. (I find the spots that use very large metal bins sometimes give you a short count.) If you live at the beach (OB, PB, MB) this is the closest recycle spot to your location). read more

I've had a small collection of plastic bottles and aluminum cans from my lunches that had been growing and growing. It was time to send them off to the land of recycling. Checked with my trusty Yelp and found SD Recycling Depot in Linda Vista. Easily enough according to my map to find, little did I know it wasn't the exact location. However, a quick call to the location and they simply guided me behind the liquor store to find the depot. As I pulled up, Anthony was sitting just outside by the scales and advised me to grab a trash can to begin the process. He helped me put the cans and bottles into the cans and weigh them each out accordingly. He counted off the weight to the woman inside the office and she calculated the amount due to me. When the weighing was done, the woman printed out a tally, I signed and she handed me cash. Not a bad way to grab a few bucks for tacos and help save the planet one can and bottle at a time! Keep on Yelp'n! read more

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Super easy & quick. They removed bags from trunk, I paid small fee and left in less than 5 minutes

Parking really sucks. It's in a real tight spot. It's hard to get in and out of there.

They have the best buyback rates in San Diego with $1.85 per pound for aluminum cans. What a deal there are also super nice and always personal. You always see the same guys and they are awesome. read more

fair prices, super fast and easy the staff was kind and informative just drive past the liquor store and you'll find it read more

Had a good experience with them today. First time going there. They are the nicest/friendliest people. Highly recommend. read more

I recently moved into the Central San Diego area and I finally caved into finding a new recycling spot due to the long drive to East County. SD Recycling Depot is clean, friendly and awesome! I went on a warm weekday afternoon and was surprised and delighted to find out that I was the only customer there! The staff is friendly and I love that their bins are clean. I will definitely be coming back! I'm so happy to shorten my recycling commute from 20 to 10 min! Also, this was my first experience with a mostly female recycling staff! Major kudos to these mama bears! Tip: Go on a weekday afternoon and it's easy to miss but it's in the plaza parking lot! As mentioned, this is a very family friendly place! And, I love that they have very clean and crisp dollar bills! :) read more

SD Recycling Depot - Prices - Recycling Center Near Me - San Diego, California

I have been to this recycling center many times and the people here are what make this center 5 stars and above many others. They help you without you having to ask, they are always working vs standing around. Sometimes when I would walk up with my bags, they would bring a can over to me instead of making me go fetch the cans. What I loved most about the guys and woman who sits in the booth, is they would share with me how to make the most money with the items I had brought to recycle. What I mean by that is you can either weigh your items as a bulk group or you can count the items individually. When you visit, you can use either or both methods and they will help you figure out the best way to make the most money. I really appreciate them. I am also not a huge recycler as a single person bringing my own items but for those who collect and have a lot, this could possibly earn you more. The prices they give you (I believe), but don't know for sure, are some of the highest and it's definitely fair. Even though I only bring a few small bags, I always feel like I made some good money for my recyclables. I will say their place is also always clean. The only 2 negative things I would say is that they are used by so many that sometimes parking in their lot is difficult, but I have always found a spot after a few minutes if it's busy. The second thing is that they close so early. I always have to push off bringing my items because by the time I can go, they've closed for the day. They close at 3 pm where most all other centers close at 5pm or 5:30 pm. I highly recommend this center. I wanted to go today but when I looked to see if they were open, they were closed already ... so I finally wrote a review that they have earned. read more

First time here. My usual recycling place closed up. Decent price. Took in 2 big black trash bags of plastic bottles and a few cans and got back $18. Friendly staff. Not too busy for a Monday mid day. Will be back again. read more

SD Recycling Depot - Location - Recycling Center Near Me - San Diego, California

In an age where its becoming more and more difficult to reclaim CRV from purchased bottles and cans---ehem, indirect state tax---I was thrilled to discover this small operation tucked away in Linda Vista. It's SO hidden, there was no yelp entry for it (so I created this page), and the only thing that shows up in google searches is a mapquest page (lol). Literally, you type in "Recycling center Linda Vista" and it doesnt show up. So, I am once again here to help a small business get their name out, and hopefully help others who want their CRVs back and live in the area. The location was actually discovered via the CalRecycle website: https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/ and that was about it! I'm confused on what the real name is so I will throw some keywords in there: SD Recycling Depot S D Recycling Depot S. D. Recycling Depot S. D Recycling Depot (how it is on their biz card) For years I was going to the RePlanet recycling locations, and after they shut down all operation I was at a loss and my recycling started to pile up. I wasn't sure if this place was real/still active, so I did a drive-by before loading all my recycling in the car. Talk about hidden. Navigation will get you here, but basically when heading down Linda Vista Road and turning onto Ulric where the Chevon is, it is down the little alleyway roads behind Hoa Phat and other small strip mall shops. When you see the storefront, you may wonder if things are legit. It is just a small structure under a white tent. Well, who knew this place would prove that I've been doing it wrong all these years going to the RePlanet locations. This place is super chill, more efficient, gives you cash right at the window (vs. the receipt printouts you had to go into grocery stores in order to get your actual money), and doesnt have some of the cumbersome rules I used to experience (notably, there was no rule about only half filling cans for glass due to weight restriction of the scale). I had probably a years worth of recycling and was able to fill a single can for each recycling type: glass, aluminum, plastic and after a mere minute of weight calculations was handed over $28. In the past, I would have to wait 30-60 minutes for my turn at the RePlanet locations with the unfriendly staff, then even more waiting in the regular checkout lines in the grocery store to collect my cash. I left the counter with being told "thank you for coming" which was really a very nice ending to the experience. Just super nice people and a seamless transaction. So happy I have a new recycling place! Stop the man from forcing a beverage tax on you. Come here and reclaim your CVRs. read more

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I called first to make sure they were open. The lady on the phone was very friendly. The recycling center was clean and the people there are nice and helpful. They have wipes and hand sanitizer for you. Like I said this place is pretty clean for being a recycling center. This is place is a mile from where I live and would definitely come back. Thank you SD Recycling Depot for making my experience great. read more

They came and picked the stuff up out of the truck. No wait, no fuss. Easy. My only reservation is to be careful pulling in because there is debris near where they are working that could potentially cause tire damage if you pull in too far. read more

This is exactly what you hope for in a recycling center. My classroom runs a small recycling program, and I come here with what we collected about 4 times a year. Always a 5 star experience. Everyone who works here is friendly and helpful as well as quick, efficient and open when they say they are. read more

Returning back to normal in 2021 #1 I really appreciate the friendliness speed and efficiency here. There were a lot of people recycling when I got there, but one of the workers, Chris?, was kind to notice that I looked lost and brought me some trash cans to my car to fill. Separate your plastic, cans and c then glass by color. They have 2 weighing scales, so things went swiftly. Im not sure how their payout compares to other recyclers because I haven't been recycling price comparing in awhile, but the service and speed were great! read more

SD Recycling Depot - Clean and efficient. A gentleman named Christian helped me. Super good service. - Recycling Center Near Me - San Diego, California

Great service they offered to help with the containers. The staff is very friendly and helpful and the actual process is quick and painless. They provide a vital service to our community and I really appreciate them. Please keep up this valuable service and I will definitely return. Thank you very much. read more

Accuracy: Two or three times my total was incorrect in the form of units, decimal (e.g 2 instead of 2.3), and once an entire drum (I had multiple) wasn't recorded. I don't come here often enough. It seems ~50-60% accuracy. Always listen and check. Honestly I'm sure they get so many customers mistakes happen but I feel no hesitation to be transparent about their accuracy bc they aren't nice people (such that best intentions can't be assumed) and many customer come bc they need the funds and I mean 80-90% seems more reasonable. Service(1/2): One day an employee lectured me for 5-10 mins about how I wasn't getting the best value for my bottles (counting vs weighing). He went on on about what I should say done and how much money I was losing. He conveniently waited until my order was complete to explain all this. Feeling like I really missed out on my 3 car loads, I went home and did the math and this was objectively quite false. Ridiculousness. Service(2/2): Today I'm walking to my car the staff looks at me and knowing that that's my car, they backed their truck up next to my driver side door so close I had to wedge my body past my door to get back inside. I could only crack it open even though I was centered in my parking space and they are touching the edge of the white line and no one is on the other side of them. Once inside, I moved my car over a foot just over the white line so I could remove my very last bottles out of the car, (10 seconds or less worth). Oh no, they won't let me. They then asked me in a loud exasperated tone to move my car to back side of the lot (furthest from the recycling!) so two cars could park when: 1. the lot was half empty and they weren't open much longer 2. They(the staff) made it so two cars can't fit 3. Of course a car pulled in right after me more over the line, which he needed to open his door! But they told him nothing. It don't make any logical sense to ask me to move. Since the lot was half remained half empty and I just had 10 seconds or less left of stuff to remove from the vehicle , I moved else where in the lot but not to the very back, as instructed (with pointing so no confusion the very back). The was absolutely no reason to park back there! Thank you, Rosa Parks. They also tried to hurry me. They normally do move at a hurried pace and normally I move fast. I couldn't believe but they had the audacity to hurry me today bc I literally was slow bc I hurt my shoulder smashing past my door after they barricaded in my car, watched me struggle to squeeze in, not only didn't help but asked me to drag my stuff the entire length of the lot. Absolutely not. Advice: If you're on yelp bc you're looking for an ideal place to recycle in SD this definitely is not it. The service and accuracy needs significant improvement to be ideal... or plain good. If you live close by you can effectively get recycling done here... Given gas prices, I'd it's not so bad where you shouldn't come here but always follow two Tips(I'll update with more as they come lol): 1. check their math (ensure you don't lose eyesight of the scale screen(sad,right?), and ensure the cashier hears/writes down each drum and that number matches what she was told. 2. park at least 3-4 spots right of the hut or across from it - to avoid getting staff reckless parking and/or them taking out their problems they created on you, the unsuspecting customer that they value very little, per everything noted above. read more

Got cheated by $3.50 as the worker counted 1 glass bottle instead of 36. Not a big amount but only one star for dishonesty. Attendant: Sarah

Super friendly, attentive, helpful and clean (yes recycling is sticky) but they keep area swept, tidy and have hand sanitizer available. Thank you for the availability to receive my California bottle tax recycling refund. read more

It was pretty self serve for the most part ofc up until you get to the line for weighing your recycles. Facility is surprisingly very clean, tidy and organized compared to other recycling center I have been at. I didn't have to wait long in line and separating my recycles between aluminum and plastics in the weighing bin was fairly easy and hassle free. Prices on the exchange are fairly decent, not the highest but also not the most cheapest. I was in and out of the center in less than 10 minutes (ofc it was also a Monday but where were actually other customers who had buckets and buckets of recycling so I'd say staff is on top of their game and had a fast quality service. read more

They are helpful and friendly. The space is clean and spacious. When we were newbies, they were gray teachers.

Super friendly and helpful staff! Convenient location and hand wipes and sanitizer on site for customers to use. I'll be back!

Awesome abs clean place to recycle. They're very helpful. Will definitely be back again. Thanks everyone who works there read more

I needed a quick drop off of my recycling & didn't feel like making the trek all the way up to Mira mar, my usual spot. Service was very quick, got me in & out with the help of the gentleman who assisted me & tallied up my pounds. Only downside & the reasoning behind the one star knockdown is because it's a small hut that's got very few parking spaces & the lot is crazy cramped if one too many pickups are trying to maneuver around. Otherwise, I'd probs return! read more

SD Recycling Depot - Recycling exchange receipt - Recycling Center Near Me - San Diego, California

I have no complaints about this place. When I got there, I was pretty clueless about what I needed to do so I asked one of the employees how it works. The employee was nice and the process was simple. Bring the black trash cans to your vehicle, fill them up with you separated recyclables, then bring it back to the stand to get weighed. After that, they give you the CRV of the recyclables in cash and a receipt. Super quick and easy. Parking does seem limited, I got there at a good time. It wasn't crazy busy. I'll definitely head back there to bring more to recycle in the future. read more