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How do I recycle
in Southborough?
What items can I recycle?
The transfer station now accepts
plastics #1 thru #7!
What is Southborough's recycling
rate?
How much waste does Southborough
generate per capita?
I live in Southborough and
pay a private hauler to take away my trash. How do I
recycle?
Where does your trash
go?
Where do your recyclables
go?
Is recycling the law?
What is the most commonly
recycled item?
What does “close the loop”mean?
What is the Bottle Bill?
What is global warming
all about?
How does my recycling
diminish the effects of Global Warming?
How can I reduce the amount of junk
mail I receive?
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.
What items can I recycle?
A Guide to Recycling
and Trash Disposal and Transfer
Station Rules and Regulations are available at the
Recycling Center and Townhouse or can be viewed here
by following the links.
We now accept plastice from #1
thru #7!
Our recycler now accepts recycle plastice from #1 to
#7!
Refer to the web site below for an informative
and overall description of the world of plastic. You
will notice that most of the plastics recycled are by
far PETE (#1) and HDPE (#2) bottles.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/saving/recycling/solidwaste/plastics.html
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.
Southborough
per Capita Waste Stream Graph
Southborough
per Capita Recycling Performance Graph
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.
How can I reduce the amount of junk mail
I receive?
First, you can have your name removed from most national
mailing lists by contacting the Direct Marketing Association
at the address below:
See the DMA
Mail Preference Service web page for more information.
You can also contact companies that send you junk
mail and ask to be removed from their mailing lists.
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