What Do I Do With...?

(listings are for your information, and do not constitute an endorsement of any of the businesses)

These companies handle many of the following items and more, and recycle/reuse to the max:

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Pembroke 781-308-4447

1-800-GOT-JUNK?

 

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs)

All mercury-added products, including fluorescent tubes and CFLs, are now prohibited by law from being disposed in the trash.   (MGL Ch 21H, sec 6)

All Home Depot , Lowe's, IKEA and Whole Foods stores accept CFLs for recycling.  Some of their staff may not be aware of this yet.

Several SSRC member towns accept CFLs, fluorescent tubes and mercury bearing waste in a dedicated shed at their transfer station or recycling center.  See your town's page to find out if it provides this service.

RecycleBulb maintains a searchable list of locations across the US that accept consumers' CFLs for recycling.

The Green Action Project is a new program that allows non-profit, school and community organizations to offer free, convenient, environmentally safe CFL recycling at no charge to their community, event attendees or students.

Handle CFLs by their base to avoid breakage.  Occasional broken bulbs may go in the trash.  CFLs each contain about 4 milligrams (mgs) of mercury, far less than the amount emitted from a coal burning power plant to light an equivalent incandescent bulb.  (A fever thermometer contains about 1000 mgs.)  If one CFL breaks, don't panic.
    

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Holiday Lights

 

The proceeds from recycling used holiday lights sent to Christmas Light Source are used to donate books to Toys for Tots.

Holiday lights can be sent to HolidayLEDs.com  in exchange for a coupon for new energy efficient LED holiday lights during their seasonal holiday light recycling program.

 

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Latex Paint & Driveway Sealer

Latex paint & driveway sealer are messy, but not hazardous.

Good quality, usable latex paint may be accepted by The Paint Exchange in North Scituate. The good ladies there strain, re-mix and re-sell it at half the cost of retail.  Call 781-545-1272 for hours and details.

If you can't use it up or give it away, remove lid, absorb with cat litter or paint hardener, and dispose with trash.

Money- and Waste-Saving Tip:

Measure all surfaces to be painted. Once you have calculated the total square feet, divide by 400 . At 400 square feet/ gallon, that will tell you how many gallons you need.
    

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Smoke Detectors

Smoke detectors containing the isotope Americium are not hazardous.     Dispose with trash.

 

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Furniture

 

Serviceable Furniture (no upholstery or mattresses) and Household goods  - charitable organizations will pick up or accept on site useful and usable household items for resale to support their missions, including

Big Brother Big Sister Foundation (no furniture)- (800) 483-5503

Habitat for Humanity ReStores - West Roxbury, Plymouth

Vietnam Veterans of America - (800) 775-VETS (8387)

Household Goods Recycling of Massachusetts -includes a master list of charitable organizations that accept donations  978-635-1763

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White Goods

 

• Anything Metal Removal Services  781-385-1404 (will pick up)

• Environmental Pickup 781-316-5979

• Brockton Iron and Steel, 45 Freight St., Brockton, 508-586-4640

• Spiegel South Shore Scrap, 175 E. Ashland St., Brockton, 508-897-0008

• Excel Recycling,37 Charlotte White Rd., Westport, 508-636-2780

 

NStar and National Grid sponsor a refrigerator/ freezer recycling rebate program through Mass Save for their residential customers.  (This is not related to the “Great Appliance Exchange” that ran out of money after a day.)  The utilities subcontract to JACO, which picks up old units at the curb for free.  NStar and National Grid pays a $50 rebate to the homeowner.  Certain criteria apply.

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Road flares

Your fire department may take them for training, or you can burn in an open, secure, paved area
 

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Construction and Bulky Waste

Construction and bulky waste, including furniture, PT wood, if not accepted at municipal transfer station, may be brought to :

• Usable building materials, kitchen and bath fixtures, flooring, windows, doors, lighting, etc. may be sold or consigned to New England Demolition and Salvage , 73 Cove St.,  New Bedford. 508-992-1099. Usable building materials, kitchen and bath fixtures, flooring, windows, doors, lighting, etc. may
• Usable building materials, kitchen and bath fixtures, flooring, windows, doors, lighting, etc., may also be donated to the Boston Building Materials Resource Center in Roxbury, or to Habitat For Humanity's ReStores in West Roxbury, Plymouth and other Mass. locations
• Sheetrock (gypsum wallboard) from new construction can be recycled at Gypsum America.  The Cambridge company provides containers and refers hauling services.  Recycling clean sheetrock is an option for achieving LEED certification.  617-596-4297
• As an alternative to renting a dumpster, Waste Management sells "the Bagster" at Home Depot.  They hold 3 cubic yards of material.  Call them for a pickup when it is full.  
• Allied Waste, 257 Ivory St., Braintree (transfer station at old landfill, Sat., 7-1:30, $125/ton, minimum charge $100, 781-843-6209
• Waste Management, 1 Incinerator Rd., Dedham, Mon-Fri, 7:30-4, Sat. 7:30-11:30, $128/ton, minimum charge $64, 781-326-1390 - also accept railroad ties
• Allied Waste Transfer Station, 250 Beaver Dam Rd. , Plymouth Tu, Th, Sat, Sun 8-4,  $8/100 lbs. 508-224-8936
• Bourne ISWMF, 201 MacArthur Bvd., Bourne M-F 7am -4pm, Sat 7-noon, $87.50/ton, 508-759-0651-also accept railroad ties

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Asbestos

Asbestos has 2 forms.

Materials containing friable asbestos crumble by hand pressure when dry, and may be found in such materials as old pipe insulation.  It should be removed and disposed by an asbestos abatement professional.  Small quantities (up to a garbage bag)may be wetted, double bagged and brought to an HHP collection.

Nonfriable asbestos, found in such materials as roofing, siding and flooring, should be handled by a demolition contractor or brought to Waste Management's Turnkey Landfill in Rochester NH.  Call  603-330-2134.

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Fire Extinguishers

There are several types of fire extinguishers.

If you have a RED tank containing CO2 (carbon dioxide), you may recharge it at the following locations:

Gorham Fire Appliance Co, 288 willard St., Quincy, 617-472-5785

• R E Lyons and Sons Fire Equipment, 197 VFW Dr., Rockland, 781-878-7599
• MetroSouth Fire Equipment, 27 Maple Ave, Holbrook 781-767-4260
• ABC Equipment Co., 844 Main St., Marshfield 781-837-1884

Alternatively, you may discharge CO2 tanks outdoors, unscrew and remove the head or drill a hole in the cylinder, and recycle with scrap metal

If you have a RED tank containing dry chemical  (sodium bicarbonate or monoammonium phosphate), put on goggles and dust mask.  Discharge contents outdoors, away from people, pets, and grass, aiming low, sweeping from side to side.  Unscrew and remove the head and recycle with scrap metal.

If you have any other type of tank, consult your local fire department.  It is likely hazardous.

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Greeting Cards

Paper greeting cards may be recycled with your paper, unless they contain non-paper components like foil, glitter, or recording devices.

St. Jude's Ranch for Children is accepting cards again

• Card fronts only from all types of greeting cards, including Christmas are used.
• No Hallmark, Disney or American Greeting cards.

    Mail donations to :
    St. Jude's Ranch for Children
    Recycled Card Program
    100 St. Jude's Street
    Boulder City, NV 89005

Cards also make great bookmarks, gift tags for packages or makeshift frames for pictures on the fridge or bulletin board. And if you remove the back of the card, it can be popped in the mail and used again as a postcard.

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Home Medical Waste

Do not flush or put prescription medicine down the drain.

• By law, once a prescription has been issued, the pharmacy cannot take it back.
• Unused pharmaceuticals found in the trash may be stolen for unregulated use.
• Antibiotics kill beneficial microbes in septic and wastewater treatment systems.  Other medications, even at very low concentrations, may have serious detrimental effects on fish and other aquatic life.
• For pills: crush and pour powder in trash.  Recycle empty container.
• For liquids: pour into a container of inedible material like cat litter, coffee grounds or dirt.
• Hide containers in the trash. DO NOT put them in your recycle bin unless empty.
• The Weymouth Police Department has a kiosk for unwanted medications at their Winter St. station.

Do not put medical sharps in trash or recycling.

• Needles and lancets may infect people or animals who come in contact with trash or recycling.

• Keep needles, syringes, and lancelets in secure plastic containers out of the reach of children. Disposal instructions may be found at Proper Use and Disposal of Needles and Syringes (Mass DPH), or ask your pharmacist.

• Secure sharps collection containers are sold at CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid for about $5, and at HVMA for $2.50.

• Syringe and Needle Disposal Sites in Massachusetts (DPH) accept needles brought in secure plastic containers (not loose).  Sites include:

  • Cohasset Town Hall, 41 Highland Ave

  • Hanover Fire Dept., 32 Center St.

  • Hingham Transfer Station (residents only)

  • Middleboro Health Dept., 10 Nickerson Ave.

  • Plymouth Health Care of Southeastern Mass., 123-1 Camelot Dr.

  • Scituate Fire Dept., 149 First Parish Rd.

  • Weymouth DPW, 120 Winter St.

  • Weymouth Town Hall, 75 Middle Rd.

  • Whitman BOH/nurse's office, 54 South Ave.

Check with your Visiting Nurse Association to see if there is a needle or prescription drug collection or re-use program in your area.

For more information, call the Mass. Dept of Public Health, Division of Community Sanitation at (617) 727-2660.

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Radioactive trash

printable 1 sided flyer | printable double sided flyer                                                                 

Kitty litter, diapers, tissues and other absorbents that have touched fluids from patients or pets undergoing nuclear medicine treatment are RADIOACTIVE

Segregate for 90 days before disposing in the trash, or flush if small and biodegradable.

DON’T LET YOUR TRASH SOUND THE ALARM!

Detection of any amount of radiation in the trash causes the following chain of events:

• the entire 20-ton load is rejected at the disposal facility (SEMASS)
• driver & vehicle are detained for hours while Mass. DPH is notified
• the driver must return to town with the load
• a radiation consultant and hauler sift through the load to attempt to identify the source and type of radiation
• if the source can’t be identified, the container is reloaded and quarantined for up to three months, until the consultant determines it to be acceptable at SEMASS
• cost to taxpayers, ratepayers, or the individual can exceed $1,000     

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Plastic film, bags and wrap

Plastic bags should never go in your recycling bin with rigid plastics!  They jam up the processing equipment and are a safety hazard for workers.

 

Several retailers accept only the following types of clean, dry plastic bags and films labeled #2 or #4, LDPE, PE-LD, or LLDPE  to recycle into plastic lumber-type products:

• plastic retail bags (remove hard plastic, string, receipts)
• plastic newspaper bags (empty)
• dry cleaning bags (remove receipts, staples)
• bread bags
• produce bags
• plastic overwrap from toilet papers, napkins, diapers, paper towels
• furniture wrap
• sandwich bags
• clean Tyvek (no labels or glue)

Bring them to:

Big Y, Hannaford, Market Basket, Roche Brothers, Shaw's, Star Market, Stop and Shop, and WalMart.

The following are considered contaminants and can cause an entire load to be rejected:

• NO food or cling wrap
• NO frozen food, salad or cereal bags
• NO film that has been painted or has excessive glue
• NO garbage, wood pellet, sand, soil or salt bags (they have other barrier films embedded in them that aren't compatible)
• NO chip bags, granola or candy bar wrappers
• NO bio-based or compostable plastic bags

 

Reduce your plastic bag use - bring your own bags to the store

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Styrofoam® - packing peanuts

Some municipal transfer stations and local pack-and-ship stores often accept expanded polystyrene packing material for reuse.  An incomplete list can be found here, enter area code (not zip code).

Foam blocks are accepted at a very few Mass. locations

When choosing packing material, bubble wrap is more easily recycled (with plastic bags) and reused.

 

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Preserve Recycles Brita Filters

Brita® pitcher filters are accepted at many Whole Foods locations for recycling, including the one in Hingham. Preserve (aka Recycline), based in Massachusetts, transforms these, as well as Stonyfield Yogurt containers amd other #5 plastics into toothbrushes, plates, cutting boards and the like.

If Hingham is too far, look for other locations, or simply mail filters to Preserve:

1. Dry the filter by shaking off excess water and setting it in a dry place for at least three days.
2. Wrap the filter in a plastic grocery bag, then pack it in a box. (Boxes and bags will be recycled.) If possible, send multiple filters at a time.
3. Mail filters via ground shipping to: Preserve Gimme 5, 823 NYS Rte 13, Cortland, NY 13045

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Sensitive Documents

Sensitive documents that contain bank and credit account info, social security numbers, or other information that requires privacy and/or can result in identity theft (and is not in the phone book) is best shredded.  If you have too much for a personal shredder, look on the Home page to see if there is an upcoming shredding event, or contact:

• Doc Shredding Corp, Plainville, MA  866-560-4555
• Shred King, Quincy, MA  617-221-1600
• for secure data destruction pickup service.

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Used motor oil

Motor oil, fuel oil (free of water, gasoline and other contaminants) and (less commonly) antifreeze are accepted by many towns at their Highway Garages or transfer stations.  Click on the "Members" menu.

Every Advance Auto Parts store accepts motor oil, transmission fluid, hydraulic oil, gear oil, power steering fluid and used vehicle batteries free of charge.

Every AutoZone store accepts used batteries for recycling and 95% of our stores accept used motor oil and other used fluids. See your closest AutoZone store for details.

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Tires     

Tires are accepted by many towns at their Highway Garages or transfer stations. Click on the "Members" menu.

All Sullivan Tire stores accept used tires for a fee of $5 each.

 

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Gasoline

Spoiled gasoline is flammable, and must be brought to a haz prod collection.  If treated with gas stabilizer, it lasts at least a year.  It is best to use it up before it spoils.
    

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Scrap Metal

Many towns accept scrap metal items at their transfer stations, recycling centers or highway garages.

Environmental Pickup will pick up grills, bikes, anything metal for free.  781.316.5979

 

Mad Dog Demolition will pick up large scrap metal items.  617-365-7834

The following yards may pay for copper and aluminum:

• Brockton Iron and Steel, 45 Freight St., Brockton, 508-586-4640
• Spiegel South Shore Scrap, 175 E. Ashland St., Brockton, 508-897-0008
• Excel Recycling,37 Charlotte White Rd., Westport, 508-636-2780