1971 - First City in Massachusetts to start newspaper recycling program (drop-off)
1972 - Bi-monthly voluntary curbside collection of newspaper
1975 - Added glass and cans to bi-monthly curbside collections
1980 - Weekly paper collections, bi-monthly collections of glass (separated by color) and metal cans, began city-wide educational program
1981 - Mandatory paper recycling ordinance passed
1984 - Stopped collecting glass and metal curbside, but began collecting glass at Rumford Ave
1989 - Yard Waste (YW) special collection days
1990 - Expansion to weekly residential curbside program (accept newspaper, glass jars and bottles, plastics #1 and #2, aluminum and metal cans and seasonal YW collection) and Recycling Depot at Rumford Ave opened
1991 - Collections at City buildings (including schools) and businesses encouraged to bring paper to Depot
1992 - Added magazines to program
1993 - Partnership with Salvation Army to include bagged clothing and household items in weekly curbside collection (stopped in 1997)
1994 - Expanded to include mixed paper, junk mail, paperboard, and cardboard in curbside collections
Received grant from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to provide low-cost home composting bins to residents
1995 - Expanded to include all stiff plastic containers (#1-#7), set goal to recycle 50% by 2000
2000 - To be in compliance with State Waste Bans, computer monitors and televisions (CRTs) are no longer accepted as trash and must be brought to the Resource Recovery Center at Rumford Ave for recycling.
2002 - Began collecting ink-jet and laser cartridges and cell phones. Collection points at City Hall Customer Service, Newton Free Library, and Resource Recovery Center at Rumford Ave
2003 - Division of Environmental Affairs created in the Department of Public Works whose primary fuction is to oversee soild waste collections and provide education
2004 - Organized Trade and Recycle Day (now held yearly in April) as part of NewtonSERVES Day. See Special Events for more information.
Opened Permanent Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility at the Resource Recovery Center at Rumford Ave (open mid-May through mid-October)
Created www.WasteNotNewton.com, an online reusable materials exchange
2005 - Recycle More Paper city-wide educational campaign -- "if you can rip it, you can recycle it!"
Received grant from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to provide low-cost rain barrels to residents (sold yearly during the Spring)
2006 - Established GreenUp
Newton, a month long celebration of Earth Day in April
2008 - Began Single Stream Recycling project and collecting
CRTS and tvs curbside.
2009- Expanded Single Stream Recycling City Wide. In
October 2009 using 64 gallon recycling cart. No more 18 gallon bins.
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