Thursday, January 29, 2004 • LEXINGTON MINUTEMAN

Better Living with Less Waste

by Laura Dickerson, editor

Lexington Solid Waste Action Team

This biweekly column tries to answer some o f the most commonly asked questions about recycling, composting and the town's solid waste program.

Q: Is there a way to recycle soda gas chargers? They are made of some sort of high grade steel (see the Web site - www.isi-group.com.

A: The customer service person at the company said that they can be taken anywhere that collects steel for recycling. A listing of places to recycle steel in Massachusetts is at: wastecap.org/wastecaplrsd/scrap.htm, but it's not complete. It leaves out the closest, which is Carroll & Co., 781-861-6060, 700 Waltham St. in Lexington. Carroll's had never heard of this particular product, but they take scrap steel in general and thought it would be fine for you to drop it off.

Q: When we started sending our garbage to the incinerator, we were told that they would use it to generate electricity. Is this true?

A: The Wheelabrator incinerator in North Andover is designed as a "waste-to-energy" plant. When the waste is being burned, boilers such as those used at other utilities recover the heat, converting it into steam that is used in a turbine generator to make electricity. They spokesperson said this week that they generate enough to power 30,000 average homes. The electricity is brokered through ISO New England, for use in the New England grid.

Remember that Jan. 31 is the last day that Christmas trees can be dropped off in the designated area at the DPW at 201 Bedford St.

Got a question or a suggestion? You can reach us by calling the League o f Women Voters line at 781-861-0123 or by e-mail at Iexrecycles@hotmail.com. For more information, check out the SWAT Web page at www.lexingtonma.org/swat/HomePage.htm, the town's Web site ci.lexington.ma.us (click on the Solid Waste quicklink) or call: 781-274-7298.