Part II – Why and How to Recycle Smart – Recycling in Newburyport
October 25, 2018CITY OF NEWBURYPORT
RECYCLING, ENERGY AND
SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE
60 PLEASANT STREET • P.O. BOX 550
NEWBURYPORT, MA 01950
(978) 465-4410 • (978) 465-9958 (FAX)
Why do we need to Recycle smart? Why put forth the effort?
First, recycling is required both by state and local law due to environmental necessity, tight statewide waste incineration and landfill capacity, and fiscal costs of waste incineration and the pollution they create. Massachusetts’ seven incineration plants are all working at full capacity and diverting valuable recyclable materials helps stave off demand to build more facilities or ship waste to other states, both of which will cause major cost increases.
Second, recycling is still cheaper than trash incineration. While we used to make money on recycling, that has changed recently due to global issues, primarily new restrictions from China who previously took over 33% of the US recycling material. But it is still cheaper to remediate a ton of recycling vs. a ton of trash – and thus saves the city money. At a national level, Closed Loop Partners reports that our current recycling saves us over $3 billon in waste processing fees, and creates over $100 billion in economic activity, including 540,000 jobs. However, they estimate over 180 million tons of recyclable material is still going in the waste stream, costing the US over $5 billion in waste treatment fees. So much more can be saved with so little effort.
Third, recycling helps create jobs for products made from recycled material and saves virgin resources, protecting our environment and bringing down costs.
So, how to recycle right? Recycle everything you can and nothing that you shouldn’t. Newburyport’s Recycle Improve Quality (IQ) program is providing several educational materials to make sure residents know how to Recycle Smart. Every household in the city will soon be receiving a postcard that specifies what should go into your recycling cart – and the primary contaminates we see all too frequently that just don’t belong. Available immediately are the Recycle right website (CityOfNewburyport.com/recycleright) to review DOs and DON’Ts and the TowardZeroWasteNewburyport@outlook.com email address for one-off questions. In addition, contact City Hall’s Recycling, Energy, and Sustainability Office at (978) 465-4410 or the email above if you would like to sign up for a home visit where a member of our team will come with a short presentation and be able to address all your questions for all members of your household!
Our team of cart checkers will be going through the city to make sure all carts are complying – and provide tags on carts to make sure residents know what they are doing wrong. Should a cart have multiple infractions, that cart will not be picked up until it is brought into compliance with the help and sign off of one of our team members.
What else can you do to help?
• Make sure your recycling is “clean” – rinse food containers!
• Talk to your neighbors! Recycling smart is good for Newburyport’s environment and budget!
• Use a permanent marker to put your street number and street name on your recycling cart. This helps our cart checkers with their rounds to note households who might need more education.
If you and your neighbors recycle right, you help us keep costs down and keep Newburyport beautiful! We are here to help!
Visit CityOfNewburyport.com/recycleright or email TowardZeroWasteNewburyport@outlook.com for more information or questions you might have!
