The Swellesley Report

Interesting piece in the Boston Globe today on how demand for recycled materials has dwindled in light of the economy, forcing the Welelsley RDF and other local recycling outfits to store materials until demand picks up. From the story:

Wellesley is storing nine truckloads, or 216 tons, of cardboard. Martin held onto the cardboard for months as he watched prices go steadily down. Then in October, the bottom fell out. He said what would have sold for $19,440 in October was worth only $2,160 last month, a drop of approximately 89 percent.

“We all knew that recycling markets were going to get a hit,” he said. “What was surprising was how drastic it was in a 30-day period.”

Tags: Recycling & Disposal Facility, recycling by bbrown
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Get your last-minute holiday shopping done today at the RDF, as the reusables area closes for the season.

Separately, note that Cell Phones are December’s Recyclable of the Month (just be careful about what data you leave on them…). From the RDF:

Donating your cell phone at the RDF not only reduces clutter around the house, it may save a life, is a revenue stream and environmentally beneficial. According to a 2007 study conducted by iSuppli Corporation: ” there are an estimated 700 million used cell phones in America today and 125 million added to the heap every year, it’s utterly incomprehensible why people refuse to recycle cell phones. In that study, a staggering 36.8% declared that they stored their cell phones somewhere, 10.2 % said they threw their cell phones away or lost these, and only 9.4 percent recycled their used cell phones.”  Wireless phones can be redistributed, refurbished or recycled - almost every part of a wireless phone is recyclable! Mobile devices often contain toxic chemicals and therefore should always be donated or recycled.

For more information, contact Superintendent Gordon Martin at 781-235-7600 x 3340, or visit the RDF website at: www.wellesleyma.gov

Tags: Recycling & Disposal Facility, recycling by bbrown
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Though you might get the impression anyone from anywhere can stop by based on a blurb about it in the current issue of Improper Bostonian magazine (there’s no online version). The magazine points out what a great deal the Wellesley Recycling & Disposal Facility is, includes directions to it, cites the take it and leave it zone….but neglects to stress that you need to be a Wellesley resident to go there (or at least know when stickers aren’t checked).

Speaking of the RDF, it is open for the next 2 Sundays from 11am-3pm for leaf disposal, recycling and trash disposal.

Tags: Recycling & Disposal Facility by bbrown
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From the Wellesley RDF:

Steel is used in a variety of products ranging from cars to cans and is made from recycled steel, which means that anytime you buy any steel product, you are purchasing a product that has been recycled. According to Fact Sheet,”Virtually every car taken off the road today is recycled - thanks to the steel and iron content! Recycling just one car saves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone.” Recycling steel saves enough energy each year to supply 18 million homes with electricity for an entire year (Recycle Room).  Steel is magnetic and therefore a magnet easily distinguishes the difference between steel and aluminum products.

For more information, contact: Superintendent Gordon Martin at 781-235-7600 x 3340, or visit www.wellesleyma.gov

Tags: Recycling & Disposal Facility, recycling by bbrown
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From the Wellesley RDF:

Plastic bags and plastic film should be recycled in the Plastic bag bin along the recycling wall.  Items such as plastic grocery bags, dry cleaning bags, and shrink wrap can be placed in the bag bin as well. According to Wikipedia “Used bags should not be littered: this is unsightly, damages wildlife and exposes fisheries to eminent danger.”  “When one ton of plastic bags is reused, as something else other than plastic bags or recycled, the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil is saved.”

Please remember to bag your bags and help reduce wind blown litter!

For more information, contact Superintendent Gordon Martin at 781-235-7600 x 3340, or visit the RDF website at: www.wellesleyma.gov

Tags: Recycling & Disposal Facility, recycling by bbrown
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Wellesley’s John Halamka (AKA, the world’s busiest man) blogs this week about a mystery solved at the Wellesley Recycling & Disposal Facility. (If you don’t know John, he is CIO for CareGroup Health System, a practicing emergency doctor, a frequent speaker at healthcare and IT industry events and even something of a geocaching expert).  He was wondering where the gobs of thin tissue paper in the RDF’s mixed paper area were coming from, and what he learned is that it was being recycled by Blue Man Group, which also uses the RDF to dispose of Cap’n Crunch cereal boxes and other materials used in its local shows.

Tags: Recycling & Disposal Facility by bbrown
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The Globe tries to start a fight between Wellesley and Needham over which town’s residents recycle the most. According to the latest state stats (for 2006), Needham has the best rate in Massachusetts at 69%, with Wellesley back in the back with 49%. Wellesley officials argue that numbers can be deceptive.

Tags: Recycling & Disposal Facility by bbrown
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From the Wellesley Recycling & Disposal Facility:

Junk mail pesters many residents of the U.S., but it also plagues the landfills. Junk Mail Produces 1 Billion Pounds of Landfill Each Year.

According the U S Postal Service, “More than 100 BILLION pieces of junk mail per year pass through the Post Office”. Junk Mail Kills 2.6 Million Trees Every Year. For these reasons and more, junk mail should be recycled in the Magazines, Mixed Paper, and Junk Mail bins along the recycling wall.

Obtain your free “Junk Mail Reduction Kit” at the Recycling & Disposal Facility Customer Service Office!!!

For more information, contact Superintendent Gordon Martin at 781-235-7600 x 3340, or visit the RDF website at: www.wellesleyma.gov

Tags: Recycling & Disposal Facility, dump, recycling by bbrown
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Tags: Recycling & Disposal Facility, dump by bbrown
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