Tour of Cold Canyon Materials Recovery Facility

Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) that processes the vast majority of recyclable materials from San Luis Obispo County and northern Santa Barbara County. Participants will drive past the active Cold Canyon Landfill on Carpenter Canyon Rd in SLO to reach the MRF. While often confused with a “recycling center,” the MRF plays a different but critical role: materials are sorted and packaged by type, then sent on to recycling facilities—mostly located on the West Coast—where they are ultimately remade into new products. Inside the MRF, you’ll see a fascinating blend of human expertise, heavy machinery, and cutting-edge robotics working together to sort roughly 200 tons of material every weekday. We’ll begin in the education room with a short presentation that provides helpful context and walks through the steps of the sorting process. Since the facility itself is quite loud, this overview allows everyone to fully understand what they’ll see before heading onto the floor. After the presentation, participants will be outfitted with high-visibility vests, hard hats, and safety glasses. We’ll then tour the facility, walking along catwalks and stopping at key points of interest along the sorting line to see the process in action. There will be time for questions and discussion at the end. Approximately one hour. $5. Closed toe shoes required. Registration required.

For more information, visit this link: https://www.sierraclub.org/santa-lucia