Wellesley RDF reusables — Wellesley Reusables Area

Good news: the Wellesley Recycling and Disposal Facility‘s Reusables Area will reopen Wed., Oct, 21, 8am – noon, for drop-off only.

Better news: starting Wed., Oct. 28, 8am – noon, the Reusables Area will reopen for “shopping.”

These are COVID times, so there are a lot of rules. Here’s the lowdown:

Step 1: Reusables Area’s hours:

The Reusables Area will be open three three days per week:
Wednesday: 8am – noon
Thursday: 8am – 3:45pm
Friday: 8am – 3:45pm

Step 2: Drop-off only at first

To start, the Reusables Area will be open only for dropping off items:
Wed., 10/21, 8am – noon
Thur., 10/22, 8am – 3:45pm
Fri., 10/23, 8am – 3:45pm
There will be no shopping (also referred to as “pick-up”) on these days.

Step 3: “Shopping” begins

Next, the Reusables Area will be open only for shopping:
Wed., 10/28, 8am – noon
Thur., 10/29, 8am – 3:45pm
Fri., 10/30, 8am – 3:45pm
There will be no drop-off on these days.

Step 4: Rotation system

Dropping off and picking up of items will be rotated each week. You can see the weekly schedule under the READ MORE tag of this post.

Step 5: Know the rules

The Reusables Area will be closed to residents on Mondays, Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
A limit of 20 residents will be allowed at any time. This rule will be strictly enforced by the RDF.
Residents and volunteers must wear masks at all times.
One entrance and exit into the site will be allowed: RDF will monitor all activity.
Limited parking will be available.
A new shortened 10-minute per day shopping rule will be strictly enforced by the RDF. The area is not meant for socializing,
Acceptance of large items will be limited and the decision to accept/reject large items will be made by the volunteer captain on duty.
The drive thru ‘drop-off’ zone will be available for dropping off items only—no browsing allowed while parked in the drop-off zone
The area will likely stay open until the end of Nov./early Dec., depending on the weather.

Volunteers needed

Please contact the RDF office if you are interested in volunteering with the Wellesley Friends of Recycling: 781-235-7600 x3345.

We hear the group’s annual Yankee Swap and potluck is a great time.

Despite the rules and regs, we’re feeling joyful

Those dark corners of our garage and basement have been filling up with stuff we don’t need anymore but that is too good to throw away. Back in pre-pandemic times, that is to say 2019, we would simply bring that old side table or cast-off area rug to the Wellesley Recycling and Disposal Facility’s Reusables Area. It was easy, there was no planning required, and we didn’t have to fuss around on Facebook and arrange a meeting with a stranger to unload our old stuff.

The Reusables Area closed for the winter last December, so our stuff has been piling up for close to a year. Now we can finally get rid of it all. And maybe pick up one or two things that catch our eye during shopping week. We admit it, there’s not a room in our house that hasn’t been “touched by the dump”. Here are a couple gems we picked up awhile back:

Wellesley RDF hours

Keep in mind that the Reusables Area’s schedule has no bearing on the rest of the RDF’s doings. You can drop off your recycling, trash, yard waste, and more at these times:

Mon. – Wed.: 7am – noon
Thur., Fri., Sat.: 7am – 3:45pm
Sun., (July 12 – November 29, 2020): 10am – 3pm