This bar graph of recycling and trash tonnage is a little different from the previous ones. Instead of just the September numbers, these include the entire first quarter of the new fiscal year that started in July, just after the PAYT vote. It is still true that it includes only trash and recycling, not white goods or hazardous waste or yard waste collections. The schools and town buildings are included in the tonnage. The figures for 2001 are during PAYT, the 2002 totals are not. The recycling totals still look good. As predicted, after PAYT ended the trash totals started to rise (and again went up in September).

If people are still doing a good job of recycling, where is the extra trash coming from? It might be home businesses, or the owners of homes being renovated allowing contractors to add construction waste to the trash (now that there is no tag per barrel) or maybe people waited until after PAYT to clean out their basements. It's hard to guess. It would be interesting to find out from individuals in Lexington whose trash has gone up lately - what's the explanation? Please reply to the contact email address or phone numbers at the bottom of the column.

Q: I have some pressure treated wood (with chromated copper arsenic) to get rid of. What should I do with it?
A: If you have enough that it could be useful for new construction, call Building Materials Resource Center at 617427-2491, Boston Restore at 617-288-8400, or Habitat for Humanity at 617-524-8891. If you just have a few scraps, you can put them out with your trash. They need to be cut to lengths no longer than three feet and bundled together. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection feels that the filters at the Wheelabrator incinerator adequately take care of the arsenic released during incineration.