Santa Barbara recycling drop-off

Hours, sticker price, who can use it, item fees, hazardous waste options, and holiday notes for South Coast Recycling & Transfer Station (SCRTS).

Not a household-trash drop-off. This page covers only the specifically listed recycling, compost, hazardous or specialty materials. Check the accepted materials before loading your vehicle.

Facility: South Coast Recycling & Transfer Station (SCRTS) Address: 4430 Calle Real, Santa Barbara, CA 93110 Phone: (805) 681-4345. For mulch delivery, call (805) 681-4981.

Last verified from official sources: 2026-11-11

Who can use it

The official location page says the station accepts the listed free materials from South Coast and Santa Ynez Valley residents. Other materials are accepted for a fee. The page does not spell out a residency rule for paid loads. Both transfer stations accept major credit cards, debit cards, and checks. Business customers may set up an account with Public Works Accounting at (805) 568-3129.

Hours

Monday through Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Closed Sundays.

Sticker or permit

Required: No (see notes)

Price: Itemized transfer-station tipping rates were not printed in the fetched Public Works HTML. The location page points to the county fee schedule / Public Works website for fees. The county page previously linked as /1266/Transfer-Station-Fees returned 404 as of this check.

Where to buy:

Notes: Payment at the transfer stations: major credit cards, debit cards, and checks.

Per-item fees

Item	Fee
Automotive batteries, large appliances (white goods), holiday lights, and household electronics and small appliances, from South Coast and Santa Ynez Valley residents	Free
Mattresses and box springs from residents, up to five units per day per individual (California Mattress Stewardship Recycling Program)	Free for residents. Businesses are charged the Hard to Handle rate (amount not listed on the location page).
Household mulch self-serve pile	Free for households
Materials accepted for a fee, including scrap aluminum, aluminum cans, asphalt, brick, cardboard, concrete, drywall, fluorescent lights (up to 50 bulbs at a time), glass containers (no window panes), gravel, magazines and junk mail, metal, metal cans, newspapers, white and color paper, paperboard, propane tanks, hard plastics #1 through #7, tires, wood pallets, and wood	See the county fee schedule. Itemized dollar rates were not in the fetched Public Works pages.
Earth Machine composting bins (sold at the station)	$55 each
Vermicomposting bins (sold at the station)	$50

Common disposals

Pulled from the same official sources as the fee table. Confirm with the town if anything conflicts.

Mattress / box spring: Free for residents, up to five units per day per individual. Businesses pay the Hard to Handle rate.
TVs / electronics: Household electronics and small appliances are free for South Coast and Santa Ynez Valley residents.
Tires: Accepted for a fee. See the county fee schedule.
Appliances: Large appliances (white goods) are free for South Coast and Santa Ynez Valley residents.
Yard waste / brush: Households may take free mulch from the on-site pile. Larger paid loads and deliveries are described on the location page.
Household hazardous waste: Not the county hazardous waste center. Fluorescent lights (up to 50) and automotive batteries are handled here as listed. Use the Community Hazardous Waste Collection Center for paint, solvents, pesticides, and similar household chemicals.

Hazardous waste

This is not the county Community Hazardous Waste Collection Center. Fluorescent lights are accepted for a fee, up to 50 bulbs at a time. Automotive batteries are accepted for free from South Coast and Santa Ynez Valley residents. For household hazardous waste such as paint, solvents, and pesticides, use the Community Hazardous Waste Collection Center.

Holiday closures

Closed on Sundays, New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

Holiday schedule last verified 2026-11-11 from official sources . Source: Santa Barbara County Less Is More: County Waste Facilities (SCRTS hours and holidays) .

Other notes

LessIsMore.org is the County of Santa Barbara Resource Recovery and Waste Management program site. Locations marked with an asterisk are run by the county.
Empty propane tanks with the valve removed are also accepted for recycling.
Qualified trucks (no pickup trucks or trailers) may be loaded with large amounts of mulch for a fee; call (805) 681-4345. The county will also deliver mulch for a fee in a dump truck, roll-off, or semi after a Purchase Agreement/Liability Waiver is signed; call (805) 681-4981 to schedule.
The location page warned that facilities are switching to new register software, so some stored vehicle weights need to be re-entered and wait times may be longer than usual. Have your ID ready in case your vehicle needs to be reweighed. The page said these delays are expected to be temporary.
A current itemized tipping-fee table was not available in the fetched county HTML (the older Transfer-Station-Fees URL is 404, and the Collection Services/Rates and SCRTS Public Works pages did not include a dollar table in the fetched text). Check the Public Works site or call the scale house before you go.

Nearby California towns

All California towns

Sources

Every fee and hour above was taken from these official pages or PDFs on 2026-11-11. If something conflicts, trust the town.