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

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).

Hazardous Waste Information: (oil based paints, 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)

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.

Recycling Information:

e-waste is electronic stuff, like tv's, computers, and printers (but NOT cell phones, stereos, or printer cartridges). Did you know that e-waste recycling is 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**

The Town of North Kingstown can also take e-waste only from any RI resident (not businesses). Click here for more info. scroll down to E-WASTE RECYCLING PROGRAM. Any resident of RI is allowed to bring their E-waste (only) to the North Kingstown Transfer Station at no cost.  Normal hours are Tuesday, Friday and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. -3:00 p.m.  Any individual bringing e-waste to the North Kingstown Transfer Station are asked to stop at the scale house and receive proper drop-off instructions.

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

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. Currently, West Greenwich recycles 25% (up from last year's 21%!), but we can do better!

The State shares the revenue from selling the recyclable materials with the communities. West Greenwich received $11,004.00 back this year. 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.

The Town's Transfer Station has designated receptacles for paper, cardboard, and mixed containers (plastics, metals, glass).

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. 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.

The Rhode Island Resource Recovery's website has some more information on recycling and composting. Some common items that people get confused on (I know I do) are milk cartons (these go in 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.)

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 free fertilizer and mulch, 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. (stay tuned for more info!)

URI GreenShare Fact Sheet on Composting

Composting Made Easy brochure from RI Resource Recovery Corporation

Here are more links of interest:

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. (I actually wipe out the remaining clumps of baking soda and put them in the trash rather then letting them go into the septic-- I'm just considering remineralization when it gets into the leach field)

You might hear people saying to mix baking soda and vinegar together to clean with, but seriously that defeats the purpose- it foams up and converts to carbon dioxide, water, and a salt (sodium acetate)-- the only time you would use these two together is if you use one first, rinse, then use the other. Or, to clean 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 put out the gunk and check your trap. (then I would do the vinegar baking soda thing because it is going to smell nasty) . If there are any chemists out there who can tell me that mixing the two makes a better cleaning agent than keeping them separate, please let me know.

I'll add more tips to this section later (but really, those first two above are the ones I use most, and on way more things then I mentioned- and they are really inexpensive.)