Southborough Recycling FAQ

How do I recycle in Southborough?
Every household in Southborough is required to purchase a Transfer Station sticker. This helps support the operation of the Transfer Station and helps pay for the disposal of all solid waste (trash and recyclables). Residents can dispose of all their solid waste by bringing it to the Transfer Station and/or use a private hauler, at their own expense, for curbside pickup. Haulers must provide for the collection of recyclables at no additional cost. The Transfer Station accepts all bulky items including white goods, TVs, computers and mattresses, etc. brought in at no extra cost. The sticker fee is payable on a yearly basis by Sept. 15. Presently the fee is $100 per household for the first sticker and $50 for a second. Limit two per household.

The Transfer Station and Recycling Center are located at the DPW location, 147 Cordaville Rd. For information, call (508) 485-2511.

We now accept plastice from #1 thru #7!
Our recycler now accepts recycle plastice from #1 to #7!

What is Southborough's recycling rate?
It has varied from 25% to 27% over the past 3 years. We are below the average of 33% in the 351 communities in Massachusetts!

How much waste does Southborough generate per capita?
In 2004, Southborough residents generated almost 1400 pounds of waste per person. Of this total waste stream 342 pounds was recyclables and 1045 pounds was trash. Unfortunately, the total amount of waste per person has been steadily rising. On the bright side, at least the percentage of the total waste that is recycled as been improving. Below are two graphs which show these trends from 1998 through 2004.

I live in Southborough and pay a private hauler to take away my trash. How do I recycle?
Don't worry, you can still recycle. Every private hauler that is licensed to operate in Southborough is required to also pick up recyclables. The private haulers usually have a schedule for recycling pick-up (paper one week, mixed recyclables another). Call your private hauler and ask for a recycling pickup schedule.

Residents that use private haulers are also required to purchase transfer station stickers. This is because the private haulers dispose of the trash under the disposal contract paid for by the town.

Since residents that use private haulers also purchase transfer station stickers, they are free to use the recycling drop-off center at the town transfer station.

Where does your trash go?
Trash is anything you no longer have a use for and cannot be recycled.

Trash thrown in the compactor at Southborough’s transfer station is trucked to the Wheelabrator incinerator in Millbury. As the trash burns, heat is produced and converted into electricity used all over New England. While this is an excellent way to recapture energy, we’re still left with tons of ash. The ash is taken by truck to Shrewsbury where it’s buried in a landfill.

The State of Massachusetts has banned certain items from incinerators or landfills. These regulations are in place to help extend the life of landfill space while keeping toxic substances out of our air and water. In Southborough the transfer station has special places for all these items. Detailed information sheets are available at the recycle center.

If you ever have a question about how to dispose of something, please ask the transfer station attendant BEFORE throwing anything in the compactor.

Where do your recyclables go?
Southborough’s Recycle Center accepts glass bottles and jars, metal cans and #1 or #2 plastic bottles all in the same container. The E.L. Harvey company hauls our commingled recyclables to a plant in Westborough where workers sort through the materials, removing items placed in the wrong bin or too dirty to use. (Remember you still need to separate newspaper, cardboard and office paper/junk mail into their own bins.) They also haul our newspapers, cardboard, and mixed paper.

Is recycling the law?
It is against the law to dispose of the following items at transfer stations, landfills, and incinerators: paper, cardboard, metal, glass, plastic, leaves and yard waste, lead acid batteries, large appliances, as well as lead- containing items such as fluorescent bulbs and cathode ray tubes (CRTs) found in TVs and computer monitors, and thermometers and thermostats that contain mercury. No problem! Our recycling facility has places for you to dispose of every one of those things, but it’s up to you to do it.

What is the most commonly recycled item?
More paper is recycled in the United States than all other materials combined. But that’s still less than half of the paper Americans use. And in Southborough we recycle even less.

There are many kinds, or grades, of paper. Office paper, newspaper, corrugated boxes, cereal boxes and paper shopping bags can all be produced from recycled fibers.

Any of these paper products that you are finished using can be taken to Southborough recycling center. Paper needs to be clean; avoid mixing in drinking cups or food. Please don’t include paper towels, paper plates, construction paper or tissues. Even junk mail can be recycled with your white or colored paper. Bins are in front of the Goodwill trailer.

What does “close the loop”mean?
BUY RECYCLED ITEMS.
Paper is so easy to recycle that it’s also easy to find recycled paper products. Look for the green arrows recycling symbol the next time you buy paper or envelopes. When you’re in the grocery store, notice how many boxes have green arrows. When you buy these items made from recycled material that you and your neighbor recycled you are “closing the loop”

What is the Bottle Bill?
Massachusetts is one of 11 states to pass a Bottle Bill, a law requiring that soft drinks and beer are sold in containers with a deposit charged. The state figures (correctly!) there will be less littering of cans and bottles if they are worth money when returned. The law has been in place for 20 years and has helped reduce the amount of litter by about 1/3.

In Southborough, you may bring your returnable bottles and cans to the cage at the end of the Recycle Center. Each month a different local nonprofit group cleans out the area and benefits from the proceeds.

Many people have suggested the original bottle bill works so well we should expand it to include deposits on more beverages, such as juice and water

What is Global Warming all about?
Global warming, sometimes referred to as the "Greenhouse effect", results from the dissemination of various gases into the atmosphere. These include, methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and certain chemical compounds, and even water vapor. The atmosphere and greenhouse gases act as an insulating blanket which holds in the heat provided by the sun. This prevents the earth's average temperature from sinking. However, there must be a balance. Excess greenhouse gases in the atmosphere can raise global temperature to a point where many unwanted and detrimental effects can occur. A recently released study on the Arctic, involving 300 scientists, confirms earlier evidence that temperature increases in some northern regions are now exceeding by tenfold the average increases experienced by the Earth in the past one hundred years.

How does recycling diminish the effects of Global Warming?
Recycling and manufacturing from recycled materials results in saving our depleting resources and uses less energy. Using less energy results in the reduction of greenhouse gases generated from fossil fuel burning power plants and from trash burning incinerators. Also, the abundance of inefficient, gas-hungry vehicles contribute alarming amounts of greenhouse gases.
Along with recycling and conservation, the use of renewable power sources such as wind and solar power plus the design of fuel efficient vehicles can protect the planet and provide a more healthy environment.