Self-service redemption across from the Community Church
Since June, the Sebastopol Redemption Center located in the parking lot of the Community Church since 2022 — a large container painted blue and covered in placards — has become a fully automated facility. It is no longer a weigh-and-pay station where a person weighed your bottles, cans and glasses and then printed out a small check.
One positive is that the Redemption Center, which was open only three days a week from 10 am-2 pm, is now open whenever you want to drop off recycling. The negative is that there’s no one there to help you and the work falls on you to figure it out, making you wonder if redeeming bottles and cans is even worth it.
This redemption center and the North Bay Recycle Zone website are part of the United Cerebral Palsy of the North Bay. They have a video that will walk you through the process, although the software changed since they made the video. Nonetheless, I wish I had seen it before I arrived on site. The website says that the “drop and go” changes makes recycling “more convenient” but I wished there was someone there to help me with the new system. Instead, I waited around for others who showed up to drop off and recycling to ask them for help.
Note to use this new system, you’ll have to make a trip there to get a roll of plastic bags. You can’t use your own bags. You’ll also need a smartphone and a new app.
BEFORE YOU GO
First, you need to get the RecycleTek app or sign up through their web site. You need an account with an email address and phone number. The app and website will generate a QR code that you’ll need to use at the Redemption Center.
Second, if you have a roll of blue bags from the Redemption Center, you have to scan the QR code on that roll.
WHEN YOU GO
At the Redemption Center, scan in your own QR code from the RecycleTek app. Then scan in the QR code for each one of your bags — this is the step that’s changed from the video. The scanner is rather small so it’s awkward, and a bag of glass bottles can be unwieldy. The door should open, but it may not. If it does, then can drop your bag through the door. Do this for each bag, scanning it and dropping it in. That’s how it supposed to work.
My experience was that the door didn’t always open. I watched several others have the same problem. You scan the bag repeatedly, and nothing happens except lights change color. There are two doors, so try the second door if the first one doesn’t work. One person who came up on a bicycle with a half-bag of cans tried both doors and then gave up. Another person had better luck with the second door than the first.
AFTER YOU GO
Your bags will be picked up and weighed later on. Then an amount will appear in your RecycleTek account’s EcoWallet. You have to connect your account to PayPal or Venmo to receive the payment.
If you don’t find this system works for you, the only manned Redemption Center is at the Petaluma Recycling Center. The Conservation Corp of the North Bay, located on Airway Drive, will take your bottles and cans, but they will keep the CRV as a donation.
A 2024 report from KPBS said that California’s unclaimed bottle deposits hit $820M as recycling centers close. The report also said that the redemption rate for consumers was 58.8%.
October 1st Virtual Forum for City Council Candidates
The League of Women Voters of Sonoma County is hosting a virtual Sebastopol City Council Candidate Forum on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, from 6 pm to 8 pm.
October 16th In-Person Forum for City Council Candidates
If you’d like to meet the candidates for City Council and hear them in person, then plan to attend a forum at the Sebastopol Grange on October 16th at 6pm. This event is being organized by Sebastopol Times in association with the Grange. We still need to confirm the availability of the candidates but save the date and time.
If you plan to vote by mail, you might want to wait until you hear from the candidates themselves at this forum.
Happy Trails: Official opening of the Americorps Trail tomorrow
On Monday, Sept. 28 at 4 pm, the City will hold a brief ceremony to launch the recently completed (after 30 years!) Americorps Trail Extension.
The ceremony will take place at the south end of the trail near the new trail bridge and Sebastopol Spire art piece at the eastern entrance to town. Read more about the process behind the opening of the half-mile trail in Rollie Atkinson’s article in August:
Grand Opening for Analy’s new Career Technical Education Center on Tuesday
On Tuesday September 29 from 6:00-8:00pm, the West Sonoma County Union High School District will celebrate the opening of the new Career Technical Education (CTE) Center on the Analy Campus.
The new center provides purpose-built learning spaces for Agricultural Sciences, Agricultural Welding & Fabrication, Culinary Arts, and Hospitality, giving students opportunities to learn through hands-on experiences, explore potential careers, develop real-world skills, and prepare for their futures beyond high school.
The new Career Technical Education Center was made possible through the community’s support and commitment to local students through the passage of Measure A in 2018.
“Our grand opening is an opportunity not only to celebrate the completion of this important project, but also to recognize the taxpayers, families, staff, students, community partners, designers, builders, and countless individuals who helped bring it to life,” said a District press release.
