Watertown's New Recycling Program Begins Aug. 6

The following information was provided by the Watertown Department of Public Works:

Recycling is Mandatory in Watertown and Easy!

A Begins Monday, August 6, 2012. Toters will be delivered to residents the first or second week in July.

Watertown is pleased to announce a new program for collecting trash and increasing our recycling efforts. A new automated trash collection program will begin on Monday, August 6, 2012.

The Town believes the chosen program is the most cost-effective and environmentally responsible program available.

One 64 gallon toter for trash and one 64 gallon toter for recycling will be given to each legal address in Watertown, free of charge.  

All toters will have a serial number assigned to a specific address. If you move, the toter stays in Watertown.

• Trash must be placed in bags – then placed into the toter with the lid closed!
• No extra bags, no extra barrels will be collected
• Old recycle bins and trash cans may be dropped off at DPW, Mon-Fri  8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., after Aug 6th.
• White goods and yard waste curbside collection will remain the same
• Recycle bins that we currently have will not be collected after August 6, 2012
• There will be no additional requests for trash toters
• Contact the Department of Public Works if your toter is damaged or stolen – 617-972-6420
• Cardboard boxes must be flattened and placed inside the toter for recycling
• A mechanical arm will be lifting the toters off the street and dumped into the truck
• The Toter should face the street, placed away from telephone poles, trees, fences mailboxes and other obstacles by three feet. LIDS MUST BE CLOSED. 

Residents now have the convenience to “Single Stream” (co-mingle, no sort) recyclables. Paper and mixed containers, such as colored glass, cans and plastics all in one toter. The toter may contain mixed paper (magazines, junk mail, newspapers, brown paper bags and telephone books) aluminum, tin cans and plastics 1 through 7, colored glass. No Styrofoam! 

Each household will receive one 64 gallon trash toter and one 64 gallon recycling toter – free of charge.  

Recycling Schedule: Recycling will remain bi-weekly; continue to refer to your current collection calendar for collection dates.

Recycling Center Hours: Remain the same. Friday and Saturday – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Holiday Impact of Pick Up:  A legal holiday will delay pick up by one day.

Building Materials / Construction Debris: Collection of any refuse left by building or building renovations or repair work will NOT be picked up by the Town. When at all possible, use the hired Tradesman who did the work to dispose of the material.

Please contact the Watertown DPW at 617-972-6420 or visit the town’s website   www.watertown-ma.gov for further up-dates.Cardboard will not be picked up in the trash, it is a recyclable item!