Let's Talk Trash, edited by Laura Dickerson
June 12, 2003, Column from the Lexington Minuteman
RECYCLING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q:  What will stay the same or change now that the budget cuts are going into effect?

 
A:  The trash and recycling pick up will stay the same.  The CRT &  lectronics drop-off day is still scheduled for July 26th.  The big
difference will be curbside yard waste collections.  The one scheduled for the week of June 16th will still happen, because that is in this fiscal year, but after that  yard waste won't be picked up at the curb, and there will be no Christmas tree pick up.  This year  would be a good time for more people to start composting their leaves and garden waste.   Yard waste will still be accepted at the Hartwell Avenue composting site.
 
The DPW feels  that recycling at Discovery Day was a big success. Approximately 2000 plastic, aluminum, and glass drink containers were collected  for recycling.  The cardboard boxes used to collect them and the boxes for trash were saved for future use at town-wide events.  The DPW also gave out hundreds of the helpful wheels with recycling, hazardous waste and composting information, and sold 10 compost bins.
 
 As the end of the school year draws near, it's a good time to think about recycling paper and cardboard.  The DPW will help the schools with this effort by providing extra receptacles and additional pickups beginning June 13th.  The schools will also send leftover lost and found clothing to charity.  For papers and notebooks brought home, remember that classroom papers, cardboard file folders, and notebook covers can all go into your paper recycling bin, as long as you remove the metal binding from spiral notebooks or any other extraneous materials.
 
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, the town's web site http://ci.lexington.ma.us (click on the Solid Waste quicklink) or call:  (781) 274-7298.