Our trash collector puts our recyclables and trash in the same truck. Are the recyclables really separated and getting recycling? |
Yes! They are being recycled. Even though they are put into the same truck, this truck has a movable separator, operated by a switch that the collector can adjust to separate trash from recyclables.
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What can be recycled? What can't? |
 Paper: newspapers and their inserts, magazines, catalogs, phone books, office paper (all colors), junk mail (remove windows from envelopes), paper board (cereal, cracker boxes, etc.), corrugated cardboard (flatten, wax free, 3' x 3' or smaller), brown paper bags. NO pizza boxes or paper with food on it.
Containers: glass bottles/jars (all colors & sizes; remove lids, corks and neck rings), aluminum/tin/steel cans, clean aluminum foil/pie plates, plastic containers with a recycling triangle imprinted on it; milk cartons, juice cartons and drink boxes. NO plastic bags, bubble wrap or Styrofoam. NO broken glass, light bulbs, window or auto glass, dishes, glasses, or Pyrex glass. NO paint or aerosol cans. NO motor oil or chemical containers.
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When are recyclables collected? |
Paper is collected one week and containers the next week. To find out which is being collected, click here for the Recycling Calendar. You can also check the West Boylston Recycling Information Sheet that was mailed with your Light District bill or check Channel 11.
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Where can I get a bin for recyclables? |
If you do not already have one, you can use a trash barrel, laundry basket, cardboard box, etc. and put your recyclables in that. Any container where the driver can see what's in it is acceptable.
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How can I reduce the amount of junk mail and catalogs that come into my house? |
Most catalogs and magazines have a 1-800 number to call so you can ask to be removed from their mailing lists. You can also register with DirectMail.com on their National Do No Mail List. Also, the DPW (35 Worcester Street) has Junk Mail Reduction Kits available that will accomplish this.
To stop the hugh number of telephone books that are delivered to your home today (two books for every person in the country), go to http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org and click on "Opt Out."
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Will tossing paper into my recycling bin lead to identity theft? |
Sensitive information - anything with your social security number or account numbers - should be shredded before going into the recycling bin.
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How can I get rid of: yard waste? household hazardous waste, like oil paint? motor oil & car batteries? computers, monitors & TV sets? large appliances? bulk items? |
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Does the town receive revenue when our recyclables are sold for recycling? |
 According to the town's contract with our collector, Allied Waste, the town should receive revenue from the sale of recycled paper. Each month, the town should be receiving a credit for each ton of recycled paper. This credit per ton is equal to the 80% of the average yellow sheet price minus $45 for processing. For example, in May, when the average price of paper was
$70/ton, the town should have received a credit of ((0.8 x $70) - $45) which equals $11/per ton.
The town does not receive any revenue from the sale of our containers to recyclers. In fact, the hauler must often pay to get rid of them. However, diverting containers to the recycling bin does reduce the town's disposal fees at the Wheelabrator incinerator, which charges $80.35/ton for trash. This disposal charge will soon be going up to $84/ton.
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Where do our recyclables go? |
All of our recyclables are taken by our collector, Allied Waste, to FCR, Casella's materials recycling facility in Auburn, where they are sorted and baled. They are then sold to manufacturers who offer the best price. This means that sometimes our paper is used by a paper recycling plant in Fitchburg that makes the covers for Harry Potter books. Plastic bottles are made into pellets that are sometimes used to make Polar fleece, rugs, plastic lumber for decks, etc. Corrugated cardboard is used to make new corrugated cardboard and cereal boxes are used to make lesser grade cardboard. Aluminum cans are usually used to make new aluminum cans. The recycling industry provides 20,000 jobs in Massachusetts!
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Does recycling really help the environment? |
Yes! Making products out of recycled materials saves natural resources, energy and water.
 For instance, making an aluminum can out of recycled aluminum cans saves 95% of the energy used when making a can out of virgin materials (bauxite.) In fact, recycling one aluminum beverage can saves enough energy to run a TV for 2 hours!
Producing new plastic from recycled plastic uses only 2/3rds of the energy required to manufacture plastic from virgin materials (petroleum.) Recycling five 2-liter plastic bottles produces enough fiberfill to make a ski jacket, saving petroleum.
Producing glass from virgin materials requires 30% more energy than producing it from crushed, used glass.
Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 2 barrels of oil and enough electricity to power the average American home for five months. Trees play an important role in reducing global warning because trees absorb carbon dioxide, a global warming gas.
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What can I do if my recyclables don't fit in my recycling bin? |
You can label any boxes, bins, laundry baskets - even trash barrels - "RECYCLING" and put your recyclables in them. It helps to keep two recycling bins for alternating weeks: paper one week, then metal/glass/plastics the next.
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What is the town's recycling rate? |
The state's median recycling rate is 30%, while West Boylston now has a recycling rate of only 21%. By contrast, Holden has achieved a recycling rate of 34% and has seen its trash tonnage decline 35% since it adopted its modified PAYT system. Shrewsbury's recycling rate jumped from 25% to 40% after it adopted PAYT in the summer of 2008. |
