By Laura Dickerson

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

Q: Can people be charged small fees for not recycling? Is it too much to ask? It bothers me to watch another town resident discard recyclable items (plastic milk, bottles. newspaper) - even items others could use; clothing, toys, etc. Random checking could result in a small fee. A way to get people recycling.

A: The town would need to get a lot of fees to pay for an additional employee whose job would be to go through the trash. and it would have to be legal to open the trash bags. The penalty for putting recyclables into the trash is supposed to be that the trash isn't picked up. but many households put their trash out in sealed bags.

It is not practical for the workers on the truck to try to figure out if there are newspapers or containers in a closed plastic bag. The other thing legally not allowed in the trash is yard waste, but once again it's hard to tell if the plastic bag is sealed. On the other hand. if people put trash into the recycling bin the truck workers are supposed to slap on a non-compliance sticker and not take the bin. but sometimes they're in such a hurry that they don't pay attention too well.

The financial inducement to recycle was done away with when Pay as You Throw was voted down. If you pay for your trash, but have your recycling picked up for free, it makes you think. This obviously worked in Lexington - the recycling rate went way up and the trash tonnage went down during the duration of PAYT. Afterward. the trash rate went up but fortunately the recycling rate has stayed pretty high, although not as high as during PAYT.

It is legal to throw out used clothing and other goods like that. but you are right that it is a shame to waste usable items when they could be donated to charity. The Goodwill donations truck is still in the Walgreens parking lot (near the corner of Bedford Street and Worthen Road) and there are many charities that will pick up at the door - call the Salvation Army at 781-231-0803; Vietnam Veterans of America at 800-775-8387; Big Brothers & Big Sisters Foundation at 800-483-5503; or the Epilepsy Foundation at 617-436-6283.

If you think your neighbors just don't know what items are supposed to be recycled. you could stop by the town office building or DPW and get another copy of the flyer explaining the rules. or download it from the Internet from the DPW's Web site. Go to the quick link mentioned at the bottom of the column.

Q: I have an old metal mailbox that isn't usable because of rust on the hinges. What can I do with it?

A: Carroll's on Waltham Street will take many forms of scrap metal. Call

them at 781-861-6060 for more information.

Q: Where can I buy recycled paper for back to school?

A: Most office supply places carry some. but you need to look carefully. Some spiral notebooks are made with recycled content. Some aren't. They should be marked with the recycle symbol and tell you percentages. The higher the post-consumer content. the better. The state standard for printer/photocopier paper is 30 percent recycled content, and you can find it at many stores. For lots of good information about environmentally friendly back to school, see the Web site: shopbacktoschool.org.