Ecology Action of Texas

Permanently closed as of 9÷13÷2015. :(
Permanently closed as of 9÷13÷2015. :(
Permanently closed as of 9÷13÷2015. :(
Permanently closed as of 9÷13÷2015. :(

I’m SOOOOOOOO thankful this place exists! It’s amazing! I’ve taken so many different items here and they’ve always taken them for recycling — batteries, glass of all colors, cardboard, etc. Today I brought in a few household (not industrial) cleaning supplies (I’m moving and I didn’t want to throw them away), and they gladly accepted them. They recently started accepting items that can be reused too. This place is THE place to go for all of your recycling needs!

Ecology Action does a lot of good things in town. They try to accept whatever you bring, provided it is somehow recyclable (except motor oil, I think). It’s numbing to think of all the stuff we throw away. It’s crazy to think of how much could be repurposed if everyone cared as much as these folks do to collect material and get them to the next step.
They need your support, so give them a few bucks next time you drop your stuff off.

Amazing local business, non-​profit doing great things with waste materials. In addition to all the usual plastic, glass, cardboard, they also take used cooking oil and grease from residents! In partnership with DieselGreen Fuels, all oil collected goes into biodiesel production, which is then used by Ecology Action. This keeps their costs down, as well as displacing the need to import oil from faraway places. Support Ecology Action!

Austin has been moving forward on recycling. The single stream is convenient but the one every two weeks is limiting. Ecology action is a great place to help bridge this gap. The biggest issue in general is that too many people are trying to drop off their recycling (good problem to have).

So happy EA is here! My apartment building only recycles cardboard, so this place is a weekly stop. I do end up coming here most of the time after hours, when the «volunteers» can be aggressive. Sometimes I give them a dollar and sometimes I say «No Thanks. I’m doing OK myself today».
If you have any fears about heading here after hours just watch the movie Wasteland. Just watch it once and you will march your butt right past anyone who might intimidate you, toss your stuff here where it belongs & not in a landfill. So man up and recycle.

After moving to Austin, I had tons and tons of moving boxes and packing paper to get rid of, and Ecology Action was a godsend. They accept all sorts of items for recycling, so I bring all of my large boxes and glass items here.
I do recommend that you visit during working hours, when the Ecology Action staff is at work. They accept drop-​off recycling after-​hours, but when the Ecology Action staff isn’t on duty, a different «staff» shows up. Basically, strung-​out bums hang out in the parking lot, will try to help you unload your car, and then ask for a «tip» or «donation». They won’t be wearing Ecology Action livery, and it will be pretty obvious that they don’t have anything to do with the organization. However, during working hours, the REAL staff is very helpful, and they are easily identifiable by their Ecology Action shirts and won’t go grubbing for money. If you want to recycle without being pressured into supporting someone’s meth habit, do yourself a favor and visit during business hours.

Ecology Action is great. I have been using this place to recycle for the last 3 years, as a lot of apartment complexes don’t offer recycling, or do, but provide one bin for the whole complex (which, overflows about 2 seconds after being cleared). You can recycle most anything here — #1−7 plastic; clear, brown, and green glass; aluminum; paper; and corrugated paper (think boxes).
There are a couple of reasons why Ecology Action does not get 5 stars:
1 — they do not take everything. I have wanted to recycle batteries, cds, and other things of the sort numerous times. Ecology Action does not take these items, and when asked who does, the response is always somewhere up north. Why not have a bin on the side to collect these things so people don’t waste more gas? Couldn’t these be brought «up north» once a month? I know this may just be what Ecology Action is able to do with their budget, but just a suggestion ;)
2 — in the past year or so, Ecology Action has had people «help you» separate your various recyclables. I get asked every time; and the first time I made the mistake of taking the help without knowing a tip was expected at the end. Because I didn’t have any cash on hand, I felt really awkward when I looked in my wallet and wasn’t able to give them anything but some lint. This isn’t a huge bother, but beware if you don’t have cash on hand (the people that generally work at Ecology Action don’t help you separate, but are on site to answer various recycling-​related questions).

Thank you for existing, Ecology Action. I know people say that recycling is not all that great for the environment, and all this other hoo-​ha, but you are at least not creating as much waste, since these materials eventually get re-​used. Plus it makes you feel good. Or self-​righteous, take your pick.
And, they recycle EVERYTHING. If you don’t know what to do with some random junk, EA will.
My apartment complex only has bins for plastic and mixed paper, so I have to come here every few weeks for the bulk of my recycling, which is aluminum and glass. I have only had good interactions. Sometimes volunteers will offer to do the dirty work for you… and I tip them well because it IS dirty work. Sometimes it’s fun to throw your glass into the giant dumpsters if you’re feeling a bit destructive.
They also deliver recycling containers — I found this out when my office moved into another building. They left us various containers and then picked them up when we had moved out — the lady who drove the truck was so freaking strong! I was really impressed. She moved all the bins (some were really heavy) by herself.
So, good show, Ecology Action, good show!

Terrific folks… great for recycling the hard to recycle (like batteries from UPS devices). I always leave a donation each time I go!

First off my complex doesn’t recycle period. One of the many things that has bothered me and wondering why I’m paying HOA dues but whatever. And I definitely did not want to throw anything that can be recycled into the trash.
Definitely relieved that a place like Ecology Action of Texas exist and it’s close to my work. I didn’t know their was a difference between the kinds of plastic and many bins to put them in. The people that work there are very helpful if you don’t know your way around the recycling place. Once you get the idea then it’s easy.
They also take donations since they are a non-​profit. My last visit I donated a couple of dollars to them.

I made my first visit to Ecology Action yesterday, to drop off our recycling. My roommate is typically the one who hauls our stuff over there, but she didn’t have time this week so I Google-​mapped it and off I went.
Our apartment complex only recycles plastic bottles and aluminum (weird). But Ecology Action? They take (just about) everything! I’m definitely committed enough to recycling to drive across town, but now that I’ve visited Ecology Action I’m even happier to do so.
The bins and dumpsters are all clearly labeled, so it’s easy to figure out where to dump what. I wasn’t sure what to do with some of my plastic egg cartons, though. They didn’t have a number on them to indicate what type of plastic they were made of. Finally, one of the employees took pity on me and shouted «number 1 plastic!» He and another worker proceeded to unload my entire trunkful of recyclables and deposit them in their proper places.
Talk about service! I’m glad this place exists.

If you don’t like recycling or didn’t grow up in the 90’s cartoon era, you probably won’t like this song. You could like it if you watch «captain planet theme song» on YouTube or perhaps start recycling.
Captain planet… he’s our hero.
Gonna take pollution down to zero.
Eco Action… it’s really cool.
So take your glass and plastic, you’re no wasteful fool.
They’re non-​profit, they take everything.
Bring your junk here, and you’ll help our earth be green.

Love these guys for taking our large empty Costco-​size plastic Scoop Away cat litter containers. I started going there after the City of Austin recycling guys left those containers behind on a weekly basis. Now we usually make a run to Ecology Action when enough of them stack up in our garage. I’d hate those things to end up in the landfill and you can only find so many uses for them around the house.

These guys are awesome. We lost our previous recyclers here at work due to the economy but I love this company. Their prices are reasonable and the people there are very friendly and helpful. It was a relief to find a quality company to keep our company green. If your company is looking for someone to provide recycling services I highly recommend them.

When you have items that the city won’t recycle (phone books) or live in an apartment complex that doesn’t recycle Ecology Action will take your stuff. If more bars and restaurants in Austin chose to recycle, this would be a good place to leave those bottles and cans.
It’s the moving time of year here in Austin… please take those moving boxes to Ecology Action, they will happily keep them out of the landfill.

our neighborhood doesn’t take care of any recycling, which really pushed on my guilt button (i’m a recycling fanatic), especially when the kids started talking about how they learned about recycling in school and how important it is and why don’t we recycle?
so we went to IKEA, bought recycling bins and started collecting.
ecology action allowed us to be responsible examples for the kids, and to me that deserves ten stars.

I love coming here. My friends know me as a recycling freak show so this is my home away from home. I seem out of place when I drive my Xterra right next to all the Priuses but then my recycling bumper sticker saves the day.
Everything is so organized and the workers are friendly. I noticed that they take more different kinds of plastic. I’m not sure on the plastic numbers but I’m pretty their website will tell ya.
Parking is alright but very crowded around the weekend. Duh, of course, Minnie. I like how this place leaves the containers outside so you can still recycle in the wee hours of the night. On a side note, I came here at 9 pm to recycle. Crazy. There were a few homeless people but they were so friendly. They helped me recycle and even washed my bins which were sticky from the aluminum cans. Yes, I did tip them for that.
Great place for recycling but my problem is I can’t make a right turn on that street. Therefore, I pretend I’m stopping at the Shell station and drive straight to EA. I’m such a rebel since the police station is right there.

We have curbside recycling in our south Austin neighborhood. But they only take #1 and #2 plastic, newspaper, corrugated cardboard, glass, aluminum/​steel cans, and magazine/​newspaper/​office paper/​junkmail.
But a bulk of our non-​organic waste ends up being paperboard (like cereal boxes) and plastic shopping bags. Curbside recycling will not take these. Ecology Action takes these… and more! They’ll take just about any kind of paper, except waxed paper (such as juice/​milk cartons). You can also dispose cellular phones and ink cartridges there.
After six months of collecting paperboard in our garage (the roaches like this), I decided it was time to take it all down to EA. It felt good knowing I was not adding to our landfills. It felt so good, I even signed up for a one-​year membership. One of the perks is priority volunteering at Stubb’s, which means, getting into shows for free!