Disposal Fees Map & Hours Tour Zanker Facilities

Zanker Road Landfill

The Zanker Facilities began operations in 1985 as a Class III landfill and developed into a major full service, resource management, composting/recycling facility and landfill for residents and commercial businesses. The major components of the operations are listed below:

Zanker Materials Recovery Facility

In 1990, Zanker began the extensive permitting process for the Zanker Material Processing Facility, ZMPF, formally known as the Owens Corning Fiberglass Landfill. The ZMPF was fully permitted in December 1998, and officially began operations in June 1999.

The ZMPF is divided into several different processing areas, each capable of processing different types of waste streams. These areas include: Demolition Debris Recycling Area, Mixed Debris Recycling Area and the Wood Waste Recycling Area.

Demolition Debris Processing

Since 1988, ZRL has been a leader in processing mixed loads of construction and demolition (C&D) debris with a unique "float tank" and screening system that separates the soil, mixed concrete, and wood components from the mixed debris.

ZMPF designed and constructed a complete Demolition Debris Recycling Facility that can process unsorted demolition debris materials at the rate of 135 tons per hour with a 95% diversion rate. This facility consists of a patented combination of conveyors, screens, magnets and water separation that separates the materials into manageable and marketable products. These products are than directed to other recycling operations on site or shipped directly to end product users.

Concrete Recycling


ZRL’s concrete plant was one of the first in the nation to convert concrete debris into aggregate products suitable for foundations and road construction.

The concrete recycling process begins with incoming clean concrete and reinforced concrete. Once the materials are unloaded at the site, non-acceptable materials are hand sorted out and recycled or disposed. Cleaned concrete is then loaded into the primary crusher where it is crushed. After the primary crusher, the material passes under a magnetic belt where steel is removed before moving to a secondary crusher that further reduces the particle size. The material is then screened to remove oversized pieces which are re-circulated back through the crushing circuit. During the entire process, employees and machinery remove non-aggregate materials that would compromise the products value.

Products produced from the recycled concrete includes a 3/4" class II base rock, utility sand, 1/2" pea gravel and a 1/2" and 3/4" drain rock. These materials are sold to contractors and the general public and are available for delivery.

Wood Waste Recycling


Zanker's wood waste recycling plants process clean wood loads hauled by customers, separated from mixed debris by staff or removed from the demolition debris processing operation.

Using heavy equipment, wood is loaded into a grinder that shreds the wood. The shredded wood is then screened to separate the material into wood chips and fines, similar to sawdust. The wood chips are accumulated and sent to market as fuel for electric generation facilities or colored at the Zanker Road Landfill and used as landscape mulch. The fines are sold as soil amendments. All landscape products are sold to landscapers, contractors or the general public.

Mixed C&D Debris Recycling Area

ZMPF also processes an extensive amount of mixed debris and debris box’s daily through a 240 foot long C&D sorting conveyor system. The system is utilized to remove a variety of materials; up to 16 products from the typical mixed waste stream.

The sorting conveyor system, which includes elevated work-stations, disc-screens and magnets is located above large concrete storage bunkers that hold recovered materials. When the storage bunkers become full, the materials are routed for additional on-site processing, or loaded and hauled to approved recyclers. Residual materials are routed to a landfill for disposal.

The sorting system is capable of sorting 30 to 40 tons per hour with an average 60 to 70% diversion rate. The diversion rate and tons per hour vary depending upon the type of materials sorted.

Gypsum Wallboard Recycling


Gypsum wallboard is received from contractors or separated from incoming debris loads. The gypsum wallboard is ground then screened though a special screening system. The powdered gypsum is removed and marketed to the agriculture industry.

Yard Trimmings Processing and Composting

Yard Trimmings processed at ZRL is primarily residential yard waste received on a contract basis from a variety of communities in the area or self-hauled by residents or businesses.

Once yard trimmings are brought to ZRL and contaminants manually removed, the yard trimmings are then screened to seperate the grass and leaves from the tree trimmings and brush. The grass and leaves are transported to the Z-Best Composting Facility in Gilroy for composting and the trimmings/brush is directed to the wood waste operation for additional processing.