Making Good Happen for OUR Planet

Goodwill Industries of San Diego County has been a leader in sustainability and environmental stewardship since it began serving the community in 1930. Since opening the doors to our first retail location an immeasurable amount of clothing items, home goods, books, furniture, and much more have been given a second life and funded the creation of jobs and training for community members who need them most. However, placing sustainability at the core of your operation requires the support and understanding of our entire organization. All of us at Goodwill San Diego are constantly seeking creative solutions that can decrease our environmental footprint while increasing our positive impact on our local community. From going bagless and cutting out thousands of pounds of plastic waste, to turning the lights off when we leave the room, Goodwill San Diego is taking steps, big and small, to ensure we’re Making Good Happen for the planet every day.

Impact on the Planet (2025)

Visualizing the impact of diverting materials away from the landfill can be hard when they’re not sitting in a big pile in front of you. To get a better idea of what is being saved, look at the figure below to see what those millions of pounds of materials add up to in precious natural resources! The numbers below reflect the actual pounds of materials diverted and the natural resources saved in 2024 from ever being used thanks to the recycling and reuse of old materials.

14,536,774

Pounds of donated items recycled

1,813,619

Gallons of water preserved

43,828,758

Hours of electricity conserved

1,053,766

Pounds of electronics recycled

67,267,800

Pounds of material diverted from the landfill

6,015

Trees saved from being cut

To see how your own diversion stacks up, use the Environmental Footprint Calculator provided by the Department of Environmental Protection.

The Road to Zero Waste

90% Diversion

Goodwill has committed to a zero-waste plan with the goal of 90% diversion from the landfill in the year 2030. In 2023 we diverted 73% of materials away from the landfill and through creativity and collaboration we will continue making progress towards our goal of zero-waste.

LED Lighting

All our buildings both owned and rented have undergone near 100% conversion to LED lighting, dramatically reducing our energy usage.

Electric Trucks

In 2023, we welcomed the addition of an electric powered truck to our transportation fleet that now decreases our fuel usage every day. This truck will be powered by renewable energy from the solar panels installed on our Transportation building!

Monitoring for Improvement

We are constantly monitoring our operations to see where we can reduce waste, especially when it comes to our natural resources. To reduce our energy usage, we have installed solar panels on 7 of our owned buildings with plans to expand our solar panel installation in the coming years. We also track all energy usage through EnergyStar to identify areas of energy conservation. Through efforts like these we aim to identify the areas in our operation that have the largest impact so we can direct our efforts where they’re needed most.

About Dell Reconnect

Goodwill’s vast network of Donation Centers and Dell’s industry leading experience in consumer recycling programs have been combined to make free electronic recycling available in over 20 locations in San Diego County through the Dell Reconnect Program. Find the site nearest you and bring in your old electronics today!
Dell Reconnect minimizes the amount of electronic waste ending up in the landfill by recovering unwanted electronic items and recycling them into new technology. The Dell Reconnect program has run for the past 16 years since 2008, recycling millions of pounds of electronics during that time.
Dell Reconnect is managed by the highest standards for workplace and environmental safety. Through regular audits of their strict collection and recycling practices, you can trust that your used electronics are being handled properly.
To learn more about Dell Reconnect and the work we’re doing to advance the circular economy visit their website.

Electronic Recycling

When electronics end up in the landfill the materials they are made of are not only wasted but become a danger to the environment. When sitting in a landfill, the components that make up electronics leak toxic chemicals into the surrounding environment polluting the soil, water, and air.
Electronic waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the world, with only 22% of e-waste being recycled properly. Recycling your old electronics with Goodwill is the responsible way to ensure they will not contribute to this excess waste and pollution.
Goodwill is a certified “collector” and “handler” of electronic items under State Regulation. We accept all electronics; cell phones, computers, tablets, printers, video game consoles, and much more, whether they are working or not! Additionally, we recycle cardboard, metals, plastics, textiles, and more.

Partner with Goodwill

Goodwill accepts electronics from local businesses as a collector through the California Integrated Waste Management Board. Supports jobs and training for community members with disabilities and other barriers to employment by scheduling an electronic donation drive for your business or community! Contact us today and let’s collaborate!

Otay Mesa Computer Store

If you are looking to purchase electronic items and want to reduce your footprint with your purchase, browse used electronics at our Computer Store located inside our Otay Mesa Outlet Center.
Electronics that are in working order are scrubbed of all personal information and sold at a greatly reduced price. Come in Monday through Friday 8 AM to 2:30 PM or Saturday 8 AM to 1:30 PM to browse used electronics, televisions, computers, monitors, printers, cables, parts, and more!

Important Reminder Before You Donate Your Electronics

Please make sure to remove all confidential information before you donate electronics. Also, please note, when you donate electronics, State of California regulations requires that Goodwill collect your name, address, telephone number and signature, indicating that the donated device was used within California. Your collected information is kept confidential and is never used for advertising or marketing purposes.

Important Information for E-Waste Donations of 5 units or more

If you are donating 5 or more Covered Electronic Waste (CEW) units (such as TVs, monitors, or laptops), California state law requires you to be a business.

To comply with CalRecycle regulations, donors of 5+ items must provide:

Organization/Business Name
Business Address
Contact Person Name & Phone Number

This documentation is required by the California Code of Regulations (Title 14, § 18660.20) to ensure the traceability of electronic waste within the state’s recycling system.

Tax Information

A receipt is provided to you by a Goodwill representative when you make a donation.

IRS regulations require that the donor be the one to determine the “fair market” value of the donation using purchase receipts or some method of calculating the value at resale. This fair market value is what you would be able to obtain for the item(s) if you sold them yourself, or they were sold in a thrift store or consignment shop. Under existing law, Goodwill cannot provide legal or tax advice, or assess the value of the items you are donating. We suggest that you contact your tax preparer for clarification and guidance.

Reducing and Reusing Single Use Plastic

We’ve gone bagless! We eliminated the use of plastic bags at all our retail locations to cut down on plastic usage. Going Bagless means we avoid over 500,000 plastic bags every year, emphasizing our commitment to a zero-waste future. Shoppers are encouraged to bring their own reusable bags – or they can purchase a Goodwill reusable bag.

But we didn’t stop there. Recognizing that soft plastics like trash bags, plastic film, and packaging often end up in landfills because they aren’t curbside recyclable, we launched our Soft Plastics Initiative in 2024. This program ensures that materials received through donations and deliveries are collected at all Goodwill locations and are recycled into durable products by our partners. In just over a year, we’ve diverted more than 115,000 pounds of soft plastic through this initiative, turning unusable materials into opportunity.

woman shopping at Goodwill with reusable shopping bag.

Now, we’re inviting the community to join us. As of November 15, 2025, you can drop off clean and dry soft plastics such as thin grocery bags, bubble wrap, dry-cleaning bags, plastic packaging, and case wrappings at participating Goodwill Donation Centers.

Visit Where to Donate – Goodwill Industries of San Diego County to find a location accepting soft plastics and be part of the solution.

Green Team

The Green Team is a group of leaders at Goodwill San Diego that understands the importance of continuously striving for a greener tomorrow. This interdepartmental team collaborates and implements creative solutions that drive Goodwill toward a more sustainable future. Whether that’s through our “Flip the Switch” campaign encouraging ambassadors to conserve energy or providing access to reusable alternatives to single use items, this team works hard to make sure Goodwill never stops collaborating to Make Good Happen.