Got a note from a Wellesley newcomer this week who was inquiring about the town’s “fend for yourself” garbage and recycling system, in that residents need to haul their stuff to the Wellesley Recycling & Disposal Facility.
It turns out this family has one small car that will make it tough to bring much at a time to the dump. I know some people in town use commercial services, at least for garbage takeaway, but any other advice for our new neighbors? (Other than, join the club and get an SUV.)
Related:
Post-Christmas 2009 at the RDF
Shop at the Wellesley-specific Amazon store
I’m a Canadian (from Toronto) and have relatives living in Wellesley. I think the dump is fantastic and I’d be all for having a facility like this in our city. I’d be happy to take my garbage to the dump (in my small Mazda) and see the $”s go back in to our city. I also think the Take It of Leave it, The Book Nook, free compost, etc are all added benefits of the dump. It’s unique and you are all lucky to have this.
Face it-some (mostly men) like to go to the dump. Some (mostly women)-not so much. If it feeds your soul-go. If it doesn’t, there’s nothing wrong with paying for garbage pickup as long as it’s recycled by the pick up company. Not everyone has to behave the same way, think the same way, belief in the same process. You dump-meisters are way too judgemental. You are not always right, and some people have extenuating, and yes, even physical, circumstances which prevent constant dump runs. If you like going so much, why don’t you help the people who can’t go, or don’t enjoy doing it by just taking their garbage too? Help thy neighbor-don’t berate them.
You gotta love these people who come out of nowhere and want to change the world, one lazy at a time. Just drive to the RDF, recycle and stop whining! if you don’t like it, then why did you come to town?
About the space, no Escalade necessary, get a tow and a hitch, even a Smart mini can pull that.
…um…have you ever in your life decided to move to a town based on garbage and recycling pickup? We had no idea at all that in 2010, a town in a major metropolitan area in the US would adhere to an antiquated and inefficient mode of removing refuse and recycling. And who’s whining or lazy? We just wanted to get our garbage and recycling taken care of in a responsible way that didn’t require us to join a social dump club once or twice per week. We seriously have better things to do with our time.
Seems like 2 big issues raised are the desire “to maximize recycling” and higher taxes required for curbside pick-up. Newcomer pointed out that, with a good curbside service, the desired level of recycling could be maintained.
As for higher taxes, has the town ever analyzed the costs associated with this kind of curbside pickup vs the cost of maintaining and staffing the RDF and all the associated equipment? Seems like a town-wide competitive bid process could yield lower per household costs lower than what some residents say they are paying for private services. To further offset costs, could the land used for the RDF be repurposed (e.g. municipal buildings, athletic facilities, etc.) rather than needing to purchase land elsewhere (e.g. the discussed St James purchase for athletic complex)? Alternatively, could the land be sold and developed, adding not only immediate funds, but an increased tax base. Also, I’d think that removing the RDF would increase the values and/or saleability of the homes in the immediate surrounding area further adding to tax revenue.
Thank you all for your responses. I especially appreciated the helpful suggestions about Roy’s and RDS of Framingham.
I am a little dismayed that many of you assume that individual responsibility and participation is only practiced properly the way you do it or have been doing it here in Wellesley. We came from a community that practiced very thorough bi-weekly curbside recycling, augmented by a household hazardous waste facilities that were easily accessible, and prompt, easy and clean weekly garbage pickup service by a private collector (Waste Management). It was never an eyesore or a problem. This services cost $56 every two months and WM provided nice, clean bins for each type of waste that were easy to roll to the curb. It wasn’t an eyesore at all.
I am sure if you added up the time it takes (I assume your time is worth something) and the wear and tear on your vehicle each round trip as well as the carbon burned by an average of 12000 vehicles in Wellesley twice per week on average (my unscientific estimate based on 24000 inhabitants), you would likely find that your garbage and recycling activities are more expensive on average than you think they are.
However, I am sure we will end up enjoying the process of eliminating our household solid waste and recycling as much as the rest of you regardless of the costs.
Cheers!
I don’t see what the big deal is. Get an Escalade like everyone else. If you don’t want to shlep your stuff to the dump, get Roy’s to pick it up. Our high Tax rate would be even higher if we had street pickup. Besides, do we really want to look like Newton on trash day? I think not.
I use Refuse Disposal Service in Framingham. They charge $20 per pickup and I have them come by twice a month.
Thanks Anon.
If Wellesley had municipal garbage/recycling pick up at houses, we’d have no easy way to dispose of things like batteries, fluorescent bulbs, electronics, paint and oil, and people would inevitably sneak them into their trash or down the drain.
If Wellesley had municipal garbage/recycling pick up at houses, we could avoid all the polluting traffic traveling to and from the dump and avoid garbage trucks from many different companies barrelling through our neighborhoods for those who pay for private scavenger service. What I fear is the underlying issue is that too many Wellesleyites cannot tolerate seeing garbage cans near the curbs (or lack of curbs) weekly.
Thanks Mary. You may be on to something.
You can contact Roy’s Recycling — they will come pick up your garbage and recyclables on a weekly basis. I used them for several years as it cost about the same as hiring a babysitter to take the kids while I loaded the car and hauled the trash to the dump. Very nice, local people. Check the Wellesley phone book.
Thanks Susan. I’ll have to get one of those phone books.
Suck it up. I have a Prius and go 1x/week for our family of 4. Cutting down on your consumption and the trash that is its byproduct does a world of good.
“It’s about individual responsibility and participation in a community effort to maximize recycling.”
In other words, fend for yourself.
heh!
We also have one small car. The RDF opens early – 7 a.m. – so we go twice a week in the morning before work. Don’t think of it as “fend for yourself.” It’s about individual responsibility and participation in a community effort to maximize recycling. WellesleyWeston magazine had a nice article on this topic a few months ago. You can read it here: http://www.wellesleywestonmagazine.com/fall10/reduce_reuse.htm