This chart shows Lexington's trash and recycling tonnage for three fiscal years (FY01, FY02 and FY03). These tonnage figures do not include yard waste, hazardous waste, or CRTs and other electronics collected at the special drop-off days. It does include residential trash and recycling (including cardboard) from Lexington households and all municipal buildings and all schools.

The FY01 data are for the 12 month period prior to the implementation of the Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) program. The FY02 tonnage figures include the 9 month period under PAYT until its cessation in late March 2002 with regular trash collection provided for the remainder of the year. Weekly recycling was initiated in January 2002, half way through FY02. Trash tonnage declined by 32.4% from FY01 to FY02 when PAYT was introduced, and then increased 15.4% after PAYT from FY02 to FY03. Recycling tonnage increased by 23.4% from FY01 to FY02, and was almost unchanged (up 2.3%) from FY02 to FY03.

Putting recyclable paper and containers in the recycle bins and not the trash can saves Lexington money, because the Town can broker or sell unused "trash capacity" to other towns. Under the current Guaranteed Annual Tonnage (GAT) disposal contract with the waste-to-energy incinerator in North Andover, each year Lexington must deliver 11,396 tons of trash. In FY02 the Town brokered 3,313 tons of this "capacity" at $75 per ton, reducing the town's trash disposal costs by over $248,000. In FY03 the DPW brokered 2,070 tons of trash capacity at $85 per ton for a total of nearly $176,000.

While Lexington residents should be applauded for their efforts to reduce waste and increase recycling, the statistics show that we disposed of over 1,000 tons more trash in

FY03 than FY02, at $85 a ton. More could be done to reduce the trash numbers. Some ways to reduce trash generation include: remember to shop carefully, buy as few items with wasteful packaging as possible, dispose of yard waste properly (by taking it to Hartwell Ave. or composting it), and when clearing your house of unwanted items, donate as much as possible to charity - clothes, furniture, kitchen goods and many other items can be given away. The Goodwill truck behind Walgreen's is open daily and there are many charities that will pick up furniture, clothing, and other goods from your home. Which items are accepted depends upon the charity and the quality of the item. People should call the Salvation Army at (781) 2310803, Viet Nam Veterans of America at (800) 775-8387, Boys' and Girls' Clubs at (800) 483-5503, the Epilepsy Foundation at (617) 436-6283, Mass Coalition for the homeless at (617) 423-9162 x 101, or other organizations to schedule a pick up.

Some sort of house cleaning must have happened this summer! At the recent CRT special collection, nearly 500 vehicles brought 43,762 pounds of TVs computers and electronics. This was a very successful event and the next special collection for TVs, computers and electronics is scheduled for Saturday November 1, 2003 from 8AM to IPM at the DPW Operations Facility located at 201 Bedford Street.

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.