Recology Vallejo will close a portion of its “materials recovery” facility in September, eliminating the jobs of 25 employees.
The company notified state and county officials of the plan last week, saying the closure will be permanent and will take effect Sept. 30.
Though the company’s entire facility itself will remain open, the closure will involve only a “portion of the facility,” said Recology Vallejo General Manager Derek Nelson, in a written notice to the board.
The Bay Area-based company, which recently celebrated more than 1.5 million tons of recyclable and compostable materials processed in 2024, first opened its Vallejo facility in 2007. Today, it serves a large portion of Solano County cities for both residential and commercial waste collection services.
On Friday, Aug. 1, the Solano County Board of Supervisors received the official statement announcing the facility’s partial closure. Known as the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN), the statement detailed the expected facility layoffs to come September, affecting 25 of 28 employees who work in the materials recovery portion of the facility.
Representing affected employees is the Martinez-based labor union, Teamsters Local 315. According to Nelson’s statement to the board, in the case that affected employees are also union members, they “may have bumping rights under the collective bargaining agreement between the union and the company.”
In this case, there is the potential for impacted employment statuses based on seniority, qualifications, and job classification.
Neither Recology nor Teamsters officials could be reached for comment Tuesday.
Generally, in the case of layoffs like such, “bumping rights” refer to an employee’s ability to take on alternate positions within the company, resulting in priority based on seniority. In an effort to protect long-term employees, these rights are often outlined in companies’ labor union agreements. According to Nelson, that’s the case under Teamsters Local 315.
It is unclear how operations with the company, which offers garbage and recycling services in Vallejo, will change due to the partial closure.
As for the 25 affected employees facing termination in response, a list of job titles, positions, and expected departure dates will be available on-site at the Vallejo facility, the company told supervisors.