Newton is working to raise its Recycling IQ.

Newton's recycling is not as clean as it should be. Plastic bags continue to be the number one problem. Plastic bags bind up machinery at the sorting facility, which decreases efficiency, increases costs, and creates a safety risk to workers.

Below are the most common recycling contaminants - keep these out or your green cart!

What goes in the green cart? Empty bottles, jars, and containers made of metal, plastic and glass from the kitchen, laundry and bath. Paper and flattened cardboard. That’s it.

Single stream recycling increases convenience, thus increasing participation and volume of material collected, which decreases the amount of waste going to disposal.

Having one collection for curbside recycling means less trips to the recycling processing facility, thereby reducing transportation costs and collection vehicle emissions.

A material recovery facility, or MRF, is where recyclables go to get sorted after they're picked up. How a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) Works [VIDEO]

Want to see recyclables getting sorted? Request a tour of the Waste Management Avon MRF, where Newton's recycling goes, by emailing Newton Sustainable Materials Management.

Newton has been recycling since 1971. In 1990, recycling became mandatory according to the technology of that time—dual stream recycling, meaning all acceptable recyclable materials had to be separated into two streams: paper products and bottles and cans. Newton switched to single stream recycling in April 2009.

Learn more about Newton's recycling program from Waneta Trabert, Newton's Sustainable Materials Management Director, who was featured on an episode of NewTV's Books and Beyond.

We understand that it can be challenging to keep track of what should go in the recycling bin. So below is some information to help you in your home, workplace, or school. And our Recycle Right Newton tool and free app lets you easily look up whether something is recyclable or not and where- either curbside or at a drop-off location. 

DO put the following items loose in your green cart:

Paper & Cardboard

• White & colored paper (staples, paper clips, spirals OK)
• Cardboard (flatten & fold boxes)
• Paperboard (paper towel rolls, cereal, tissue boxes)
• Phone books & junk mail
• Magazines & catalogs
• Newspapers & inserts
• Paper bags
• Pizza boxes (empty, minor oil stains OK)
• Books (rip off hard covers)

Containers

• Aluminum cans, trays & foil
• Stiff plastic containers such as bottles, jugs, and tubs
• Glass bottles & jars

DON'T put any of these materials in your green cart:

How to Set Your Green Cart Out for Collection:

1. Park It On your collection day, wheel your carts to the curb by 7:00am on your collection day, or as early as 4:00pm the day before collection.
2. Point It The carts must be within 3 feet of the curb with the wheels and handle facing your house (make sure lid opens towards the street). All trash (blue cart) and recycling (green cart) must be placed in the cart with lid closed. No material outside the cart will be collected.
3. Space It The cart must be at least 3 feet from objects (including parked cars, fire hydrants, telephone poles, trees, bulky waste, other carts, mail boxes, etc.). If possible, please do not park on the street on your collection day.

Is your green cart overflowing?

1. Flatten all cardboard and paperboard boxes. Fold or cut large pieces of cardboard to fit them in your green cart.
2. Flatten plastic milk jugs. This will save space in your cart to prevent overflow.
3. No styrofoam. Stryrofoam is recyclable only by drop of at the Newton Resource Recovery Center.
4. Drop off occasional excess recyclables at the Newton Resource Recovery Center.

If you have done all of the steps above and your green cart is overflowing most weeks, you can call DPW Customer Service at 617-796-1000 to request an additional green cart at no cost.

Additional recycling cart requests may be suspended during inclement weather periods. The recycling carts are for residential use only. Alternatively, all Newton residents can bring extra recyclables to the Resource Recovery Center.

MassDEP has banned the disposal of mattresses and box springs effective November 1, 2022. Therefore, mattresses and box springs of all sizes must be recycled if they cannot be sold or reused. 

Newton residents are encouraged to sell or give away mattresses in good condition or, if they are buying a new mattress, to inquire with the seller about recycling options for their old mattress.

TO RECYCLE A MATTRESS OR BOX SPRING:

Arrange for curbside collection for a $60 fee per item. Following payment, residents will receive communication from Newton's 311 system. 

OR

Arrange for drop-off recycling for a $35 fee per item. Residents are responsible for transportation and unloading of mattresses or box springs at the Newton Resource Recovery Center located at 115 Rumford Avenue in Auburndale. Proof of payment is required to drop-off mattresses or box springs at this facility.

Excluded items: Futons mattresses and sleeper sofas. (manage as bulky waste)

Items that are recyclable, but too large to fit into the green recycling cart are called "whitegoods items" and can include appliances, electronics, metal items, and rigid plastic items. 

Click HERE for all the details on requesting a whitegoods curbside pickup.  

Drop-off is available at NO COST for appliances, electronics*, and metal items to the Resource Recovery Center .

*There is a drop-off fee of $25 each for TVs and monitors. Proof of payment for TVs and monitors must be presented to the attendant at the time of drop-off.   

For refrigerators and freezers: The sponsors of Mass Save are offering no-cost pickup and removal plus a $75 rebate to residential electric customers who recycle their refrigerators or freezers. For more information, visit the Mass Save website. 

Note: Please remove all refrigerator and freezer doors prior to setting out for collection.

See Yard Waste.