Composting and Hazardous Waste Information is near the end of this page, scroll down.

 

Did you know that you can recycle your old TV's and computers at our Transfer Station!! No need to lug them up to Johnston anymore!!

Residents looking for Recycle Bins-- you can get them at the Transfer Station (temporarily out of stock at the transfer station right now) or call the Department of Public Works at 397-6110 (give them your address).

Recycling Information:
* Here is a list of everything you can think of and how to recycle or properly dispose of it! *

General BLUE and GREEN Bin Stuff: Recycling How To Poster, Recycling Dont's, Recycling Detailed Examples

BLUE BIN: empty aluminum and steel/ tin cans, #1 and #2 plastic bottles, milk cartons, and glass jars. Did you know we can only recycle plastic bottles, but not tub containers like yogurt or butter tubs? Use this rule for #1 and #2 plastics- if the opening is wider than the base put it in the trash. If it has a narrow neck, rinse and recycle! It is ok now to leave the cap on the bottle, but empty the bottle first!! Use common sense-- no broken glass because it is dangerous. Real people handle this stuff after it leaves your house. Aerosol Cans: MUST BE EMPTY!! Why you ask? Because the contents are flamable!! When they get squished in the recycling machines they catch fire.

GREEN BIN: paper (junk mail minus the fake credit cards, computer paper, magazines, and paperboard like cereal boxes. Also, newspaper goes in this bin, but needs to be kept separate like in a brown paper bag-- do not use plastic bags for putting newspaper or shreded paper in- paper and plastic DNA just don't mix!) Did you know that if the paper gets wet the load is ruined and we don't get credit for it-- use the green cover when it goes outside, especially if you know it is going to rain.

Some common items that people get confused on (I know I do) are milk cartons (these go in BLUE Bin container recycling, not paper), foil juice pouches (trash, can't be recycled), and beer boxes (put in trash, anything that has a special coating on it to go in the fridge or freezer can not be recycled.) When in doubt, look it up here: Alphabetical list of everything you can think of and how to recycle or properly dispose of it!

Click here for RIRRC's webpage on Blue and Green bin recycling.

Electronics:
e-waste is electronic stuff, like tv's, computers, and printers (but NOT cell phones, stereos, or printer cartridges). You can bring this stuff to the PODs at our Transfer Station on Bates Trail (check here for hours of operation). Did you know that e-waste recycling is also free everyday at the Central Landfill (aka RIRRC), Monday through Friday, 6a.m. to 3:45p.m. and Saturdays 6:00 a.m. to 12 noon. ( RIRRC also holds special Saturday collections throughout the year at locations around the state for for hazardous waste, and some of these collections also take electronic waste--check their site for upcoming E-waste collections.) Old computer monitors and televisions have a cathode ray tube which contains lead and other hazardous substances that threaten human health. They cannot be put in trash. E-waste may be recycled at no cost at the Eco-Depot at the RIRRC. Appointments are not necessary for E-waste, but please make an appointment for any Hazardous Waste that also can be collected at these events. For Rhode Island Residents Only!!

**Click here for more details about e-waste**

Here is another good site for finding out where to recycle stuff: Earth 911

Household Hazardous Waste Information: You MUST take it to an Eco-Depot! (oil based paints, fluorescent light tubes and bulbs, rechargeable batteries, lithium batteries, unwanted pool chemicals, solvents, a lot of household cleaning products with 'poison' or 'danger' on the label, etc.-( for tips on non-toxic household cleaners scroll down to the bottom))

*Save the Date: Eco-Depot coming to West Greenwich!! Saturday, April 14, 2012 from 8:00 a.m. to Noon*

What is Eco-Depot? It is a drop-off location where you take your household hazardous waste for proper disposal-- you don't even have to get out of your car. The main Eco-Depot is at Rhode Island Resource Recover Corporation up in Johnston, but they host satellite drop-off locations in different towns throughout the year (and any RI Resident can go to any one of these-- you don't have to wait for it to come to your town). There is an Eco-Depot somewhere in RI almost every single Saturday. For your convenience, there will be one here in West Greenwich this year. There will also be one in Coventry on March 31st.

Did you know that there is mercury in fluorescent bulbs and tubes? It is very important that fluorescent bulbs and tubes be disposed of properly, which means DO NOT BREAK THEM and DO NOT THROW THEM IN THE TRASH!!. And DO NOT PUT THEM IN YOUR RECYCLE BIN. They are considered hazardous waste and need to go to RI's Eco-Depot. You can take the dead compact fluorescent bulbs (only the bulbs, not the tubes) to Home-Depot and they take care of them.

Did you know that Eisenhower Lake has mercury in it? Yes, right here in West Greenwich. The way it got there is most likely from atmospheric deposition, meaning it gets into the environment and is blown by the wind and the rain and lands in the lake--unless you've seen little trolls breaking old thermometers and thermostats and throwing them in the lake. Most people don't realize the consequences of breaking those fluorescent tubes and putting them in the trash-- the vapors get away, and the powder gets away. Breaking the tubes inside a bag does not contain the hazardous waste, because once that bag gets on the garbarge truck, it gets compacted and broken, and if the bag isn't broken by then, it gets broken at the landfill when they dump and spread out the trash. It certainly does have a negative effect, and very real consequences. Actually, the biggest source of atmospheric mecury is from coal burning for electricity. But YOU can control what happens to those fluorescent lights.

RI Recycling and Revenue Sharing:

Rhode Island recently enacted a law requiring all cities and towns to achieve a goal of recycling at least 35% of our wastes by the year 2012. For 2010, West Greenwich recycled an average over the year of 24%, which is down from 25% two years before.. I know we can do better! (UPDATE: We are slipping!! Our latest report for August 2011 has us down to a 20 % recycling rate.)

The State shares the revenue from selling the recyclable materials with the communities. This year, we received $2,983. Two years ago West Greenwich received $11,004.00 back. It really pays to recycle because not only do we get money back, but there is no cost to us to bring recyclables to the Central Landfill, whereas we pay a fee per ton for regular trash. So the more we recycle, the less going into our trash bags, the less we have to pay.

If people don't recycle (you have to, it's the law by the way), and it goes in the trash, it makes the trash weigh more. We have a contract with the State for the Town to pay by the ton, which is set at a certain amount ($32/ton), but they also give us a limit on how much trash we can send. If we go over our limit, we have to pay WAY MORE, not just because there is more trash, but the rate is much higher ($75/ton!!). It is your tax money.

Here is a chart showing how we did over the year 2010:

Recycling in West Greenwich:

The Town's Transfer Station has designated receptacles for paper, cardboard, and mixed containers (plastics, metals, glass). There are also designated containers for your old TV's and computers!

Clothing (in good condition) can also be recycled/reused, however, this needs to go to either a drop-off center, drop off box/ kiosk, or donate to local charities. There are pink clothing bins conveniently located at the Town Hall at the entrance to the soccer fields, and at the transfer station. Clothing can not be mixed with your blue bin or green bin recyclables, because the fabric wraps around the processors and jams the machines. So please recycle clothing in the appropriate locations. Rags and damaged clothing are trash.

Scrap metal should NOT go in your bins-- take it to a scrap yard and get your money for it.

The Rhode Island Resource Recovery's website has some more information on recycling and composting.

Composting Information:

Did you know that many of the food items and yard wastes that you throw away can be composted? Composting not only provides you with a great free soil amendment containing organics and nutrients and other great properties, but it also prevents these wastes from taking up space in the Central Landfill, and saves you money by sending less tonnage to the landfill because we pay by the ton.

Ever notice how your leaf pile in the back yard doesn't seem to shrink, and your grass clippings pile just gets slimy? If you mix the two it actually creates the perfect environment for breaking it down into compost. Your Town Planner also happens to be a Master Composter and Recycler-- ask me anything you want about composting. (Here's a secret: you don't need a bin, just make a pile. It is way easier than you think. You don't have to 'turn' it, just poke holes in it to get the air in there. My favorite tool is a 'compost aerator' but you can use any stick-like thing, like the handle of your rake.. be creative with what you already have.)

Basically, you mix 'brown' stuff with 'green' stuff, give it air and keep it slightly moist. What does this mean? I don't really like the terms browns and greens, because some greens are actually brown (like coffee grinds). Don't worry about this. Just mix fresh stuff (fresh cut grass, veggie scraps, coffee grinds) with old stuff (dry leaves, shredded paper, dryer lint.. ) Throw some soil from your yard in there-- it already has micro-organisims in it to get your pile going.

Your leaf and yard waste can go in paper bags and be sent to the landfill for composting if you really need to- like if you have a really small yard and no room to compost it yourself. But this is West Greenwich and most of us have plenty of room to compost this stuff right at home-- think of the transportation costs and emissions. Put the peer pressure on your neighbors!!

URI GreenShare Fact Sheet on Composting

Composting Made Easy brochure from RI Resource Recovery Corporation

Here are more links of interest:

RIRRC (and West Greenwich) wants you to compost at home! (find out Why? and How?)

URI Master Composter and Recycler Program

US EPA page on Composting (btw, EPA's website has tons of great information on lots of stuff!)

 

Non-Toxic Household Cleaners:

see also RIRRC webpage for additional Green Cleaning Recipies !!

add a 50-50 mix of water and white vinegar to a spray bottle for cleaning glass, stove tops, microwave, kitchen counters, and the toilet seat/rim. If you find the smell reminds you of french fries, you can add a few drops of essential oil (lavender, thyme, tea tree) not only for scent, but actually for additional antibacterial properties. The vinegar smell does not last very long, but once I got used to it, I can't go back to other cleaners because they choke me out- it's nice being able to breathe while you're cleaning! I find it cuts grease on my glass-top stove really well. Vinegar fights bacteria (that's why it preserves pickles) and also deodorizes.

use about a teaspoon of baking soda to scrub your sinks with- it gets all the grime off and deodorizes. Then rinse clean with water.

How to use baking soda and vinegar as a team to clean with: use one first, rinse, then use the other-don't mix them together first because that chemical reaction when they foam up is the creation of water, a salt, and carbon dioxide--not a very effective cleaner, but there is some use in the mechanical action all that foaming creates. To clean/refresh your drains, you sprinkle baking soda down there, then pour the vinegar, let it foam up, then pour boiling water down the drain. But if your drain is really clogged (and we all have septic systems out here) you should use a coat hanger and pull out the gunk and check your trap. (then I would do the vinegar baking soda thing because it is going to smell nasty) .

page maintained by J.P.