RECYCLING: A MESSAGE FROM YOUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
The East Lyme Public Works Department is stepping up our public education and enforcement of recycling for our town collection.
Here are some facts on trash and recycling pick up in Town;
• The trash and recycling service is done by Public Works employees that work for the Town of East Lyme.
• The trash that is collected in the brown trashcans is taken to the Waste-to-Energy plant in Preston, CT where as the recycling is taken to Willimantic Waste Recycling Facility in Willimantic, CT.
• CT General Statutes require that certain items be recycled by a municipality and it is also the right thing to do. If people mix trash or other unwanted items in their single stream recycling cans it can contaminate the value of the recycled products at the processing center.
• To help insure that we are only bringing recycling items to the processing plant, Public Works Supervisors have been inspecting about 50 recycling cans a day and if we find items that shouldn’t be in the can, we leave a warning notice (see attached picture of the notice) on the can and the can won’t be picked up until those items are removed.
• We are also beginning to install stickers on the top lids of the cans identifying to residents what should and should not go in the recycling can. I am attaching a copy of a sticker and where it will be installed on the can. We received 4,000 stickers from the Southeast CT Regional Resources Recovery Authority (SCRRRA) but we have more than 4,000 recycling cans, so if you have not seen a sticker on your can yet, we are working our way around Town.
• We ask that residents spend an extra second or two when they are dumping into their recycling cans to make sure there are no non- recyclable items mixed in. One of the biggest offenders in the recycling cans is plastic bags and plastic wrap as they clog up the sorters at the recycling plant. Also, don’t put your recycling in a plastic trash bag and then put the bag in the can as that is the same problem as the plastic bags. Additionally, items such as TV’s and electronics are recyclable but should not be put in the recycling can; those items should be dropped off at the Town’s transfer station at 91 Roxbury Rd.
• If you want to look up where to dispose of a specific item, you can go to the following link on the web, https://www.scrrra.org/resident/what-goes-where/
• Our recycling and trash routes have been busier than ever so if we have not yet picked up your cans at a usual time, please wait to call the office until the next morning as we might be just running behind.
• If you ever have any questions about our trash and/or recycling service, please feel free to email the Public Works Department at PublicWorks@eltownhall.com.
Joe Bragaw
EL Public Works Director