RePlanet Ventura – Ralph’s

I drove around the Ralphs yesterday looking for it and it’s not there. They are doing some construction, so it must have been moved, but I don’t know where.

Finally found the new location — above everything — behind Sumo Sushi. No one knows where it was moved to. No signs. Appears to be no more self serve… but no as crowded as before.
Out of sight — out of mind.
Until now, I guess.

I awoke last Sunday with the goal to rid my laundry room of the recycling I’d been collecting. Piling two hefty bags into my little Corolla and strapping my Pup Lucy into her car seat (yes, I’m one of those pet owners) we set off on our Journey.
Imagine my surprise when I got there only to see the recycling center had been replaced with a construction trailer… well, nuts what to do now?
Using my trusty IPhone I brought up the Replanet website and yep, it confirmed it was still existent at that location & still advertising it was a self service location.
Eventually I located it.
You’ll find it on the opposite side of LA Fitness in the parking lot that leads out the back entrance of the Ralph’s shopping center… but be prepared. there was no self service station, now that was Sunday, hopefully something has changed since then, but you can imagine my annoyance.
If you want a live person to weigh your recycling you should arrive earlier than their operating hours of 10:00 am, because everyone else will be there too.
It’s normally a rather slow process, as they will sometimes stop weighing to condense the plastic they’ve already collected, expect them to give you two different trash bins, one is a blue tub and the other is wire, of course this confuses me every-​time and I end up putting my glass bottles in the wrong container, but don’t look for communication from the people working here, they normally say very little other than to sign the paperwork to get your reimbursement that you have 30-​days to cash in Ralph’s.
They break for lunch and are closed for an hour.
The self serve station is open 24-​hours and is the more convenient of the two choices, though the machine is touchy and will sometimes upchuck your bottles right at you, or possibly jam and then all your dreams of collecting $ 1.50 are gone with the wind.
All in all, I hope the self service station is brought back to this Recycling center, it saves time and patience to the customers.

So I try to do my duty and recycle. This place has self serve and is close for me. Go in to use my ticket for $ 2.50 at store. It’s one day expired. Ralph’s denies any liability. Take it to GUY at re-​planet he will make it right. What GUY? It’s automated. No go to GUY! Went to GUY. Guy works limited hours. Guy staples address to ticki. Says mail it to LA for 45cents. Spend 45 cents to get $ 2.50.
What a freaking joke!!! Watch the 30 day expiration. More recycling scams in CA (the golden state of scams).

rePlanet Recycling is conveniently located directly behind Ralph’s. Be sure to separate all the cans from the plastics. It’s best to rinse out plastic containers like dish or laundry detergent bottles, milk or OJ gallon jugs, etc.
The person on duty gives you a bin or two to dump your recyclables in, they weigh it and then they print out a voucher for the amount owed to you. You cash it in at Ralph’s at any cash register.
They also have a little machine where you can feed your cans or bottles in. It will then print out a voucher for you. Apparently, you make a little more money if you feed it into the machine yourself, but it’s very time consuming because you feed it in one can or bottle at a time. So, for me… I prefer the quicker path which is getting assistance from the person working at the recycle center.
It’s a very clean Recycling location with small lines. Recycling puts extra money in our pockets while doing something great for Mother Earth.
Reviewed by
Yvette Leilani Brownstone
of Ventura, CA