ALL TOGETHER NOW!

Recycling just got easier again in Maplewood! Beginning May 7, 2012.  Starting on May 07, 2012, all residential curbside recycling will be collected on every other Monday for the ENTIRE TOWN. The town will no longer be divided into sections for curbside recycling; all residential collection will take place on every other Monday. This will add two additional collection days this year. 

All rules and regulations remain the same. If you have any questions please feel free to contact the Department of Pubic Works at 973-762-1175.

Collection dates for 2012: 

May 07 and 21 

June 04 and 18 

July 02, 16, and 30 

August 13 and 27 

September 10 and 24 

October 08 and 22 

November 05 and 19 

December 03,17, and 31 

Maplewood recycling is single stream, which means you are able to toss all of your recyclables in just one container. That’s right! Take just one dumpster out to the curb. Our combined recycling includes: newspapers (black/white and colored), magazines, flyers, junk mail plus envelopes (with and without windows), boxes (including food boxes for cereal, cookies, etc….), cardboard (unless there’s food on it),  aluminum, and plastic, glass, and metal. 

To be clear—and joyfully emphatic—“Dump it in!” Even cardboard can go in there, but any that does not fit must be flattened and tied into bundles, as before. Actually, you can use more than one bin; the only constraint is that each bin cannot exceed 35 pounds. 

And, about plastic—Maplewood accepts plastics #1-7.  If it has a recycling number on it # 1-7, then it also goes in!

To cap it off, by recycling (and precycling, i.e. bringing less non-recyclable packaging into the house) you can reduce your regular household trash to one garbage can picked up twice a week. Find out how….

Click here to download the "Recycling Cheat Sheet," which tells you what to put into your recycling container.  You can print up a copy and put it on the recycling container in your home so everyone knows what goes in.  

PRECYCLING

Precycling refers to thinking ahead about the life cycle of any object you purchase or acquire. In precycling all the tenets of recycling are there: reduce, reuse, and rethink. It is really waste prevention not waste management. Think about it this way: what you don’t bring into your house, you don’t have to recycle out of it. Precycling is streamlined and economical, and here’s how to do it. 

Buy in bulk quantities whenever possible. Bulk means less packaging per unit; this reduces waste, plus manufacturers extend their cost savings on to you. On the opposite end, avoid single-serving sized products, which are much more wasteful, costing manufacturers more money to produce, which you then pay for. The same goes for disposables. Choose reusable or refillable products whenever possible to save the environment—and your  wallet.  You can cut down on your junk mail by going to Ecocycle and stop the mountains of catalogs by going to Catalog Choice.