Important Salt Lake City sustainability resources to know

Utah environmental info

• Utah Dept. of Environmental Quality Recycling information
• Utah EPA information

Salt Lake City dump

• Salt Lake Valley Landfill – 6030 W. California Ave. (1300 S.)

Hazardous waste disposal

• Salt Lake County Hazardous Waste Disposal – responsibly dispose of hazardous wastes at the Salt Lake Valley landfill

• Murray City Public Services – 4646 South 500 West – this location accepts antifreeze, batteries, oil, and paint 

• Salt Lake County auto oil collection sites – do not dump used oil or any other auto fluid in the drain or gutter

Bulk waste collection

• Call2Haul program – This free program is available to all residents of SLC. You can schedule two curbside pickups per year, one for green waste and one for bulk waste. This includes things like e-waste, tires, appliances, mattresses, and furniture. This is a great program: besides being free, they recycle anything they can. In 2022, 1,729 tons of garbage were collected, with 206 tons recycled.

Learn & network

• SLC Green Drinks – the newly revived chapter of an international environmental interest group. We meet in different locations every other month to socialize and network over drinks with like-minded people. Each meeting features a guest speaker presenting a brief educational presentation on various sustainability-related topics.

Find a green job

Resume Builder’s The Green Job Search and Career Guide offers practical advice on developing a compelling resume tailored for eco-conscious organizations, strategies for effective networking to discover green career prospects, and valuable insights into job opportunities with prominent employers in the green sector.

The Utah Society for Environmental Education (USEE) maintains a job board where you can find local opportunities, or check with individual environmental organizations and businesses such as those listed here.

Become a green school

Whether you’re a student, teacher, or parent, help qualify your school for The Utah Society for Environmental Education’s (USEE) Utah Green Schools program. This program encompasses three main areas: reduced environmental impacts and costs, improved health and wellness of schools, students, and staff, and effective environmental and sustainability education.

Greenify your business

Salt Lake City funds and manages the e2 Business program, which provides you with free sustainability consulting and strategizing from city experts, networking events, newsletters, and access to energy efficiency revolving loan fund and project support from SLC Green staff.

Recycling in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City Recycling Companies

Momentum Recycling operates the only glass recycling facility in Utah. They work closely with SLC, offering a residential curbside glass recycling pickup for $8 per month, which is billed along with the city utility charges. The company also works with Wasatch Resource Recovery for both business and residential food waste collection. This awesome service was recently expanded to my neighborhood and I’ve found it well worth the $13 per month to keep my food scraps and waste out of the landfill.

Ace Disposal and Rocky Mountain Recycling are two additional recycling companies in the Salt Lake valley.

For hard-to-recycle items, there are two great options for curbside or drop-off.

The first is Recyclops, a recycling company that picks up hard to recycle items directly from your home. For $15/month, they collect light bulbs, batteries, plastic films, and clothing/textiles. Clamshells are an additional $1.50/month, and Styrofoam is an extra $5/month.

The Utah Recycling Alliance is a fantastic organization that holds periodic CHaRMS events where they collect hard to recycle items. They also offer Fix-It clinics to assist you in repairing your broken items.

What if recycling is not offered at your apartment complex?

Salt Lake City actually has a city ordinance requiring businesses and multi-family properties that produce over 4 cubic yards of waste per week to have a recycling program. This is equal to eight 96-gallon containers, roughly what multi-family properties with 15 or more units and businesses with 10-15 or more employees would produce.

You can always request that your landlord provide recycling service, but if you are not comfortable with that, or they aren’t complying with your request, you can fill out this form to submit to the city.

In the meantime, drop off mixed recycling (paper, cardboard, metals and plastic) at Rocky Mountain Recycling or the public recycling drop off bins at the Salt Lake Valley Landfill. Find additional local resources for recycling below.

Support local SLC businesses

It is important to support local businesses, especially those that make sustainability a priority. Here’s a few places you can find them.

• Find SLC e2 businesses on this interactive map. Members of this free program funded and managed by the city receive guidance to run in a more environmentally and economically sustainable manner.
• Utah Sustainable Business Coalition
• Utah Business’ 2023 Green Business Awards
• Momentum Recycling’s Blue Business
• Wasatch Resource Recovery food biodigester participants

Why is buying local important?

• Small businesses are vital to both the local and national economy. 99.9% of American businesses are small businesses that employ less than 500 people. Small businesses employ almost half (46%) of people working in the private sector, and created just under two-thirds (63%) of the new jobs from 1995 to 2021.
• Buying local helps the local economy by keeping money in the community and providing jobs for residents. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports that for every dollar spent at a small business, an average of $0.67 stays in that business’s local neighborhood.
• Connections and collaboration grow between small businesses as well as the community. Many small business owners encourage their employees to patronize other local small businesses. A Michigan State study found that locally owned businesses contribute more to local charities and fundraisers than do their national counterparts.
• There is a reduced environmental impact by decreasing shipping and transport costs and associated emissions, as well decreased need for packaging.
• Easier to follow supply chains and production practices.
• Rapport between business owners and their customers, leading to trust and better customer service.

Salt Lake City Sustainability Resources Directory

Within each of the following categories, discover Salt Lake City sustainability resources including local places to shop for eco-friendly products, how and where to recycle items locally, and other information to help you go green in SLC. Make sure to refer to each specific topic in either the Main Menu bar (under ‘Reduce Waste‘) or the reference link at the top of each SLC resource page for more in-depth information, while using these pages as a supplement for local sustainability.

Visit Salt Lake City’s Sustainability Department to explore programs and information.