November Event Last Chance This Year to Recycle Unusual Items
On Saturday, November 7, The Northampton Reuse Committee will hold a Recycling & Reuse Rally from 9am-12 PM at Smith Vocational High School, 80 Locust Street. The event is free and open to the public. Pumpkins will be collected for composting, large blocks of Styrofoam and bulky rigid plastic will be collected for recycling, and collected usable plastic items will be available free of charge for reuse in a designated area. Bikes Not Bombs will collect bicycles for reuse, and on-site, secure document shredding will be available courtesy of ProShred of Wilbraham.
Bulky rigid plastic and Styrofoam are considered difficult to recycle because they are not accepted via normal household recycling avenues. Bulky plastic items are collected for recycling year-round at the Glendale Road Transfer Station, but only permit holders have access. This public event also promotes reuse of bicycles and durable rigid plastic items. Details are provided below.
Pumpkins/Jack-o-Lanterns
Accepted: Real carving pumpkins of any size. Small amounts of acrylic paint is OK.
Not accepted: Pumpkins with heavy paint or shellac, pumpkins with plastic or metal ornamentation.
Styrofoam® (aka expanded polystyrene or EPS)
Accepted: Large pieces of clean, dry, rigid white EPS with no attached paper or plastic.
Not accepted: Colored or food-related foam (contamination risks) and packing peanuts, soft foam.
Bulky rigid plastic
Collected bulky rigid plastic items will be made available first to the public free of charge for reuse; remaining items will be recycled via the Springfield Materials Recycling Facility.
Accepted: Large, RIGID plastic items such as laundry baskets, pet carriers, lawn furniture, yard toys (e.g. Little Tykes), and plastic flower pots.
Not accepted: items made of PVC (e.g. pipes), flexible/crinkly plastic (e.g. hoses, seedling packs), and containers that have held hazardous material.
Personal documents
Participants may bring up to two curbside recycling bin boxes of personal documents.
Accepted: Clean and dry personal or confidential documents (financial & medical records, legal papers, credit card statements, income tax files, and cancelled checks). Staples and paper clips are OK.
Not accepted: Wet or mildewed material and plastic items such as folders and page dividers.
Bicycles
Accepted: All varieties of two-wheeled bicycles (some broken pieces OK), bicycle parts, tools and accessories (e.g. helmets, lights, pumps, locks).
Not accepted: Weather beaten or rusted bicycles, kick-scooters, motorized & exercise bikes, tricycles.
A $10 donation to Bikes no Bombs to offset refurbishing and shipping costs is requested.