An Update from the City of Newton DPW
Sustainable Materials Management Division
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Due to COVID-19 precautions,
Secure Document Shredding and Drug Take-Back Day, and all
Household Hazardous Waste collection events through at least May 4
th
are
CANCELLED
.
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Managing Trash and Recycling in Newton
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Managing personal protective equipment and disinfection wastes
Are you using more disinfecting wipes than usual or making your way through hand sanitizer at an unprecedented speed? We’ve updated the
Recycle Right Tool
to answer questions on how to properly dispose of these items you may be using to protect yourself and your family during this difficult time.
Here’s a quick recycling guide:
❌ Face mask
- Put this item in your trash bin.
❌ Rubber gloves - Put this item in your trash bin.
❌ Plastic gloves - Put this item in your trash bin.
❌ Sanitary wipes - Put this item in your trash bin. Remember: Never flush wipes. Even if they are labeled "flushable." Wipes clog up sewer and septic systems.
✅ Disinfectant Wipes Plastic Canister - Put this item in your recycling bin. Flexible or box-shaped plastic wipe containers should go in the trash.
✅ Hand sanitizer bottles - Put empty and rinsed bottle in the recycling. If there is a cap, replace the cap before putting in the recycling. If there is a pump, put pump in the trash.
Did you know that not all paper products can be recycled? Tissues, Paper Towels, and Paper Napkins should not go in the recycling. The fibers in these paper items are too short to be captured in the recycling process. Paper towels and paper napkins can go in the compost.
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Managing recycling in Newton
DO
put the following items
loose
in your green cart:
- White & colored paper (staples, paper clips OK)
- Cardboard (flatten & fold boxes)
- Paperboard (paper towel rolls, cereal, tissue boxes)
- Phone books & junk mail
- Magazines & catalogs
- Newspapers & inserts
- Paper bags
- Pizza boxes (empty, oil stains OK)
- Plastic jugs, tubs, bottles, and containers
- Metal cans and bottles
- Aluminum trays and foil
- Glass bottles and jars
Overflow recycling:
- Flatten all cardboard and paperboard boxes. Fold or cut large pieces of cardboard to fit them in your green cart.
- Make sure cartons and aseptic containers go in the trash.
- Flatten plastic milk jugs.This will save space in your cart to prevent overflow.
For more information on managing recycling in Newton, visit our
webpage
.
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Carts must be within 3 feet of the curb with the front of the cart facing the street, without blocking the sidewalk, and at least 3 feet from other objects.
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Managing Trash in Newton
DO
- bag all trash and place it in the blue cart
- break, cut, crush, etc. to get materials to fit in the blue cart
- throw out materials that are not recyclable, reusable, or compostable
DO NOT
- To manage occasional overflow trash, you can purchase 33-gallon orange overflow bags at many Newton retailers. These are the only acceptable bags for extra trash collection in Newton.
- To manage frequent overflow trash, you can purchase an extra blue cart online or at City Hall for an annual fee.
For more information on managing trash in Newton, visit our
webpage
.
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Yard waste collection runs weekly through December 11. Review the collection guidelines
here
.
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Tips to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Compost While Cooped Up at Home
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You may be getting less use out of your reusable coffee tumbler lately, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make a difference while following guidance to stay at home.
- Try your hand at composting. With spring weather on the way and perhaps some extra time on your hands, it’s a great opportunity to try composting in your back yard or set up an indoor worm bin (called “vermicomposting") to compost your food scraps. Learn more about backyard composting and vermicomposting.
- Subscribe for curbside compost pickup. You can also sign up with Black Earth Compost for curbside food waste collection. Black Earth Compost, the City-vetted service provider in Newton, costs $59.99 for six months, plus a one-time start-up fee of $34 to get a 13-gallon lockable bin.
- Opt out of excess disposables. If you are ordering take-out or delivery, ask the restaurant to skip the disposable cutlery. You likely have reusable forks, spoons, and knives on hand. Thanks to the Habits of Waste #CutOutCutlery campaign, delivery services like Uber Eats are getting on board and providing plastic cutlery for take-out orders by request only.
- Spring clean your mailbox. Recycling bin overflowing with catalogs and junk mail? Check out these resources for how to cut down on unwanted junk mail from the comfort of your couch.
- Choose tap water. According to the EPA, it’s safe to skip out on the bottled water frenzie and drink tap water. Save a trip to the store, save money, and save the environment. Win-win-win. Did you know that tap water actually undergoes more testing than bottled water and the results have to be disclosed to the public? To improve the taste of tap water use a filter. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has a great Tap Water Database and Step-by-Step Guide to picking out a water filter based on your local drinking water quality report.
- Running out of cleaning supplies? There are many DIY recipes for how to make your own basic, sustainable, non-toxic cleaning staples such as glass cleaners and stain removers using ingredients you likely already have at home. Skip the trip to the store and avoid the packaging and cost of store bought cleaning supplies all together. Note: these cleaners are not meant for disinfecting but they’re great for tackling basic dirt and grime.
- Dress up your table. Take this opportunity to try out those cloth napkins you’ve had stashed in a closet for years. It’s a great way to bring the dine-in restaurant experience home, save money, and reduce your waste. Just throw them in the wash at the end of the week and voila!
- Make it a game. Running out of ways to entertain the kiddos? Get the whole family involved while you use the Recycle Right Tool to brush up on your recycling knowledge. Bonus points for whoever gets the most right answers in the recycling sorting game.
- Tinker with small home projects. Broken toaster? Missing button? Flat bike wheel? It’s a great time to learn some new repair skills. YouTube and "instructables” are great resources for learning how to fix something. Need more “hands-on” help? Fix-it-Clinics have gone virtual! Connect with a volunteer repair guru.
- Embrace your inner “Food Waste Warrior.” Avoid the grocery store with masterful meal planning, proper storage techniques that keep your produce crisper longer, and recipes for those bananas that have seen better days. Learn from the masters at SaveTheFood.com. Their helpful tips, tricks, and tools will help stretch out what you have on hand.
- Host a virtual bake-off. Many of our snack foods come with a lot of baggage. The granola bars, chips, pop corn, trail mix, cookies, and crackers from the store sure are convenient, but they also create a lot of waste. Challenge yourself and a few friends to try to make one of your go-to snack items at home this week and then host a virtual “tasting” party to compare notes and exchange recipes.
- Borrow digital books, movies, music and magazines. Borrowing instead of buying is a tried and true way to reduce your waste. Use these robust digital services and virtual tours from the Newton Free Library from home
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Update: Waste Diversion in Newton Public Schools
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In February, Mason-Rice Elementary School launched a food waste diversion program in its cafeteria. Mason-Rice is the third school to incorporate food waste diversion, joining Angier and Zervas where similar programs started last year. Special thanks to Mason-Rice Principal Jake Bultema and several parents, including Heather Friedman and Wendy Sheu for bringing this composting program to life. The food waste will be picked up at Mason-Rice twice weekly by Black Earth Compost. Check out the
video
that the Mason-Rice Green Team made that explains how this new waste stream functions in the school cafeteria. School recycling and food waste diversion programs are being coordinated by Newton DPW on a voluntary basis. Interested in knowing more? Contact Erica with Newton DPW at
recycling@newtonma.gov
.
Food waste makes up 26% of the weight of trash collected in Massachusetts. That not only fills landfills, but also costs us a lot of money in waste disposal fees. Instead of throwing food waste in the trash, composting turns leftover food back into a soil amendment to grow more food.
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Newton North High School Reinvigorates Recycling Efforts
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In early March, Newton DPW worked with NNHS students and faculty to improve recycling efforts throughout the school. The cafeteria now has recycling bins paired with trash bins. Uniform signage was posted above all trash and recycling bins throughout the school. Check out a student-made
video,
which is part of an ongoing series about improving recycling at North.
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Which number plastics are recyclable curbside?
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Actually, the number on the plastic is not a good tool for determining if the plastic can go in the recycling bin. To determine if you can recycle the plastic item, it has to meet two criteria:
1.
It’s rigid - meaning it holds its shape.
2.
It’s a container
, i.e. bottles, yogurt cups, spinach boxes, laundry detergent bottles, etc. Leave lids on for all containers.
If both of these criteria are met, put it in curbside recycling. The "rigid and container" rule is the best rule of thumb, not the numbers on plastics. Some larger plastics like laundry baskets or your old trash can are also recyclable at the
Resource Recovery Center
located at Rumford Ave.
This is why plastic utensils and plastic hangers are not recyclable - they aren’t a container. Plastic bags aren't rigid, so they are not recyclable curbside. Plastic film gets tangled in sorting machines at the processing facility, creating costly damage and safety concerns for workers. Plastic film may be recycled at plastic bag drop off locations.
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Material of the Month
Plastic bags, wrap, and film
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Recyclable plastic film is soft, flexible polyethylene (PE) packaging such as grocery, bread, zip-top and dry cleaning bags. It’s also the plastic wrap around many household products including bathroom tissue, paper towels, beverage cases, diapers, and more.
To recycle your plastic film, first make sure that it is clean (e.g., no food residue), dry, and all stickers and labels are removed. Then, take it to your nearest
drop-off location
to be collected for recycling.
Plastic film is recycled into composite lumber used for decks, benches, and playground sets. Plastic film can also be reprocessed into small pellets, which can be made into pallets, containers, crates, and plastic pipe.
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Reduce Your Waste:
Waste Reduction in the News:
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Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
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Never Miss Trash Day Again
USE
RECYCLE RIGHT NEWTON
Want to make managing trash and recycling at home easier? Newton has an app for that.
With the
Recycle Right Newton
App you can:
- Set reminders and view calendar for trash, recycling, and subscription compost pick-ups
- Stay in the loop on collection day delays due to holidays or weather events
- Find the right way to get rid of stuff
- Test your recycling skills with an interactive waste sorting game—fun for kids and adults!
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No smartphone? No problem.
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Thank You for Recycling Right!
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Get involved:
- Volunteer to work at the Swap Shop, the Book Shed, or another project that suits your interests
- Attend a Solid Waste Commission meeting to engage in sustainable materials management policy
- Request a tour for your community group to see where things go after they're picked up from the curb
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Learn about the latest news at City Hall and around Newton. We'll look forward to sharing updates with you!
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City of Newton
Department of Public Works
Sustainable Materials Management Division
1000 Commonwealth Ave
Newton, MA 02459
617-796-1000
recycling@newtonma.gov
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