April 12, 2001

Q: Can I recycle wet paper, or does it have to be dry? Like many people, our basement was flooded recently and lots of books and magazines were soaked through. I have heard that any wet paper gets discarded instead of recycled. Should we not put out our bins on rainy days?

A: Paper that has been wet due to exposure to clean water can be recycled. KTI (the facility that sorts our recycling) sells wet paper to the recycling plants. It is untrue that newspapers left out in the bin on rainy days are discarded. In terms of the basement flooding, though, it's a little more complicated. If the water was contaminated from something like oil (from your oil-burning furnace) or stored fertilizer, then the paper would be soiled and not recyclable. If you waited long enough that mold or mildew formed on the paper, it should not be recycled. Remember that you can't put hardcover books into the recycle bin, no matter how dry they are. You can put paperbacks into the bin. But if the books are in good condition (dry and not mildewed), it would be much better to give them to Goodwill or other charities so that they can be read again by somebody else. It's correct to put phone books into the bin as well.

Q: When is the new pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) program going to start? How do I find out about the new rules for curbside collection?

A: The DPW is now planning a July 2 start date for PAYT. They plan to send each household in Lexington at least two mailings that will explain the changes to the waste management program. One mailing will contain a set of "free" bag tags (paid for by taxes) that you can use to get started. In addition, a series of public meetings is being planned to provide more information and help residents plan for the transition. We'll try to help by answering some PAYT questions in this column.

Q: If I buy a barrel tag for my trash the first year of PAYT, can I save the tags supplied by the town for use with barrels the next year, or do they expire?

A: According to the current PAYT plan, the tags will not expire. You could save them for future use in case you decide to stop using the barrel sticker, or you could use the tags for occasions when you need to put out an additional bag or item (like spring cleaning, or maybe after a party).

Q: After the storm I cut up the downed branches and tied them into neat piles but they haven't been picked up. Did I do something wrong?

A: The official DPW policy: Residents may cut branches between 1" and 4" into three-foot lengths, bundle and tie. They may put five bundles curbside with their TRASH every week. Anything less than 1" in diameter, including branches with leaves and needles, is considered yard waste. Residents may either bring these to the Hartwell Avenue Composting Facility or may put them curbside for the spring yard waste pick ups the weeks of April 23, April 30 and May 14.

REMINDER - CRTs and other electronics can be dropped off at the DPW on April 21st from 8 AM - 1 PM. No CRTs can ever be put into the trash.

Got a question or a suggestion?You can reach us by calling the League of Women Voters line at (781) 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