March 1, 2001

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

Q: We live in Lexington, but we also have a house in Maine. Two years ago, they instituted a new pay-as-you-throw program for trash collection. Light blue bags with lettering are sold in two different sizes, 15 and 30 gallon. These are the only bags allowed. They will not pick up any other trash bags. We do not have to worry about weight. As long as it goes in the bag, they will take it. People originally were reticent to buy and use the bags, but it has been very successful with a large per cent of the residents participating. Has anyone considered this option for Lexington?

A: Use of town-issued bags for PAYT has been successful elsewhere and it was considered for Lexington. But the PAYT Advisory Committee finally concluded that tags have several advantages. With tags, each household can use whatever size bags they prefer. Tags are easier for homeowners and merchants to store. Lexington wants to mail every household 26 free tags as part of a town-wide solid waste information mailing, and this would be harder to do with bags.

And even with a bag system, we would still have to have tags for items that don't fit in bags or barrels. As for the bag weight limits, thirty pounds is more than people may realize. You probably won't have to worry about it so long as you don't deliberately cram your bags full of high density trash.

Q: I am thinking of getting a new stove. Should I hurry to buy it before PAYT so I don't have to pay to throw it away?

A: Under PAYT, the collection of white goods (basically major appliances) will still be paid for by taxes, not tags. You must call Waste Management in advance at 933-2113 and arrange for pickup, as is true now. Refrigerators must have the door(s) removed. Even if your stove still works, it is nearly impossible to find a place that will take it as a donation, unfortunately.

Q: If the market goes down for recycled materials, is it still good to recycle?

A: Yes, recycling makes good sense whether the market is up or down. Recycling saves money by avoiding the per-ton "tipping fees" paid when you take trash to the incinerator. This is the big cost savings in recycling - and the actual price received for recyclables is a secondary consideration. Also, recycling reduces pollution by avoiding the pollution generated during extraction of virgin materials from forests, mines, or oil fields.

Q: Do you know which recycled material is the most efficiently recycled?

A: Aluminum. Recycling aluminum cans saves 95% of the resources needed to

Produce aluminum cans from scratch.

Q: My neighbors put plastic bags into the recycle bin. Are they recyclable?

A: Please tell them not to put any plastic bags into the bin, as it interferes with the sorting process at the recycling facility. Many grocery stores take returns of the plastic shopping bags, and the Star market on Waltham street will also take the clear #4 newspaper delivery bags. Anton's cleaners will take dry cleaning bags for recycling. It's better not to take a plastic bag if you can help it in the first place, though. Plastic can't be recycled over and over the way glass or aluminum can be, and soon the quality is too low to use for new bags.

Got a question or a suggestion? You can reach us by calling the League of Women Voters line at 861-0123 or by email at lexrecycles@hotmail.com. For

More information, check out the SWAT web page at

http://www.lexingtonma.org/swat/HomePage.htm