The mission of the Sustainable Materials Management Division is to maintain and protect the environment through education and outreach programs, the collection and disposal of wastes, conservation of natural resources, and planning for the future environmental needs of the people who live, work, and do business in the City of Newton.

Goals

• Collect and dispose of wastes to meet or exceed regulatory requirements,
• Educate about and encourage waste reduction, reuse, and waste diversion habits
• Promote the transition away from solid waste management to sustainable materials management,
• Provide citizens with high quality and cost effective service in a timely, courteous, and reliable manner,
• Serve as a technical resource on environmental issues,
• Make the most of our diverse human resources through teamwork, training, individual development, and personal communication.

Functions & Responsibilities

The major responsibilities of the Division include: refuse collection and disposal, waste diversion, resource recovery, compliance, remediation and regulatory planning to include program coordination, regulatory analysis, legislation and program planning and evaluation.

Solid Waste Ordinances(PDF)

History of Recycling in Newton (PDF)

Once your recyclables are picked up curbside, they are transported by Waste Management to their materials recovery facility located in Avon, MA. Here, all materials are single streamed, sorted, baled and sent to different markets.

Virtual Tour: In October 2013, we took a tour of one of WM Recycle America's plants.

Want to know more?

• Single Stream in Action [VIDEO] from NECN
• How a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) Works [VIDEO]
• Learn what types of products curbside recyclables turn into

Once your trash is picked up curbside, it is transported by Waste Management to Wheelabrator-Millbury, a waste-to-energy facility located in Millbury, MA.

The Millbury facility, which is owned and operated by Wheelabrator Technologies, Inc., processes up to 1500 tons per day of municipal solid waste from northeastern Massachusetts. At full capacity, the plant can generate more than 38,000 kilowatts of electrical energy for sale to New England Power Company. This is the equivalent of supplying all of the electrical needs of 47,000 homes.