New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
After the gifts have been unwrapped, New Bedford residents are encouraged to recycle as much of their holiday waste as possible.
“Residents may have questions about which items can be recycled curbside or at the transfer station as well as what to do with their Christmas trees after the holiday. We are sharing this information now to help our residents prepare,” said Ken Blanchard, Director of the Department of Facilities and Fleet Management.
Here are a few tips to help ensure holiday waste ends up in the right place:
· Wrapping paper: Recycle this in the curbside recycling cart. Metallic wrapping paper, bows, and ribbons cannot be recycled; reuse if possible. Place cardboard boxes, gift boxes, greeting cards, catalogs, bottles, and cans in the recycling cart.
· Styrofoam blocks and Christmas tree lights: Clean blocks of Styrofoam can be recycled at the Shawmut Avenue Transfer Station at 1103 Shawmut Avenue. Christmas tree lights can be placed in the scrap metal pile at the transfer station. These items do not belong in the recycling carts.
And, once your Christmas tree has been undecorated, here are several ways it can be properly disposed of:
· Christmas tree collection: ABC Disposal will pick up Christmas trees from January 8 to January 12. During this week only, residents may place trees at the curb by 7 a.m. the weekday after trash and recycling collection. Please note, if your trash is usually collected on Friday, Christmas trees will only be collected along your route on Monday, January 8th. If your trash is usually collected on Mondays, Christmas trees will only be collected along your route on Tuesday, January 9th and so on. The City will not collect Christmas trees curbside at any other time; if placed at the curb any other time, property owners may be issued a violation notice. Please remove all ornaments, stands, holiday lights, and tinsel. Do not place trees in plastic bags.
· Christmas tree drop-off: Starting December 26th, Christmas trees can be brought to:
o East Rodney French Blvd. beach lot, between Hudson Street & Seymour Street, ends January 11th
o Brooklawn Park, near Pony League Field, enter at Irvington Street, ends January 11th
o Shawmut Avenue Transfer Station, 1103 Shawmut Avenue, open Monday, Wednesday, Friday, noon to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Transfer Station will be closed on December 25th and January 1st.
For additional tips, follow @NBRecycling on Twitter, or visit our New Bedford Recycling Facebook page. If you have questions, please contact the recycling office by phone at (508) 979-1493 or by email at recycling@newbedford-ma.gov
