Customer Service
1. What should I do if
my trash/recycling/yard waste was not picked up?
2. Why would my trash/recycling/yard waste be left
at the curb?
3. What types of items can I put out in my green
bin for recycling collection?
4. What types of items can I put out for trash pickup?
5. When is yard waste collection and what is accepted?
6. I would like to get rid of some furniture, what
are my options?
7. What should I do with appliances?
8. There are abandoned appliances in the street,
how can we get them picked up?
9. How can I get rid of a computer or television?
10. How do I get rid of Household Hazardous Waste
(HHW)?
1. What should I do if my trash/recycling/yard waste was not picked up?
All items must be set out by 7:00am on your collection day, or as early as 4:00pm the day before. Routes can change at any time and so can your pickup time. If there is a rejection sticker, take note of why it was rejected and make sure that it is properly prepared for next week's pick up.
Click for more information on:
Recycling --- Yard Waste --- Trash
If your trash/recycling/yard waste was missed and was properly prepared, contact DPW at 617-796-1000 to give the address of the missed pick up. DPW will schedule pick up with our contractor, Waste Management.
2. Why would my trash/recycling/yard waste be left at the curb?
There are several common problems to be aware of in terms of preparing your trash/recycling/yard waste for collection. Please avoid these common problems to ensure pickup:
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Carts must be clear of obstacles
The cart must be at least 4 feet from objects (including parked cars, fire hydrants, telephone poles, trees, bulky waste, cart, mail boxes, etc.). Also be sure there are no obstacles overhead (low wires or tree branches). If possible, please do not park on the street on your collection day.
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Carts over the Limit. Lid must be able to close.
Waste Management will not pick up carts if the lid is open or not closed tight. In doing so, it cold cause the items inside the cart to spill onto the street when it is picked up.
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Oversized Materials
You need to call DPW (617.796.1000) to schedule collection of Items that do not fit into the carts (such as carpet, fencing, furniture, etc.) by 3:30 pm the business day BEFORE your collection day. You are limited to five (5) bulky items per week. Carpet, lumber, etc. may be securely tied into bundles less than 3 feet in diameter that do not exceed 4 feet in length or 50 pounds.
Click here for more information on overflow or additional trash.
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Yard Waste Collections
Yard Waste is collected weekly in the Spring, Summer, and Fall months, please call for exact dates. There is no yard waste collection in the winter months. Please consider
composting! Or you can choose to call a private hauler .
3. What types of items can I put out in my green cart for recycling collection?
Newton has single stream recycling, this
means that all recyclable materials can be placed in one container!
There is no more separation of recyclables at curbside. Recyclable
items include paper (newspaper, magazines, phone books, mixed
paper, beverage containers, drink boxes, paperboard); cardboard (flattened
and cut 30” x 30” or smaller); and glass, metal and
plastic containers (foil, aluminum pie trays, aerosol cans, all
colors of glass, milk, water and juice jugs, plastic containers
#1-#7 – rinse out containers). No plastic bags. For more
information visit the links below:
• Single Stream Recycling
• Materials accepted at our Recycling Depot
4. What types of
items can I put out for trash pickup?
All household trash not presently being picked up at curbside for recycling (recyclable items include glass, metal, & plastic containers, paper, cardboard, & yard waste).
Alkaline batteries are safe to dispose with household trash.
All trash items need to be placed into the blue carts. Additional or overflow trash need to be placed into orange bags. Bulky/oversized items and appliances and electronics require a special pick up. For more information, please click here.
We do not pick up household hazardous waste (paint, chemicals, fluorescent bulbs, car batteries). Please click here for information on Household Hazardous Waste Collections.
5. When is yard waste
collection and what is accepted?
Yard waste is collected weekly from late spring to early winter, check here for exact dates. Yard waste must be set out by 7:00am on your collection day, or as early as 4:00pm the day before. Place the following yard waste materials in 30-gallon paper refuse bags or barrels labeled with yard waste stickers: leaves, grass, plants, shrub prunings and twigs – thinner than your thumb and shorter than your arm.
Do not include food, soil, rocks, tree limbs, or trash. Yard waste is not accepted in plastic bags and will not be picked up by rubbish or recycling crews.
Consider composting in your backyard!
Call DPW Customer Service at 617-796-1000 for stickers.
6. I would like to
get rid of some furniture, what are my options?
Help us promote waste reduction and reuse by donating furniture in good condition, check out our online donation listings. To schedule a collection of furniture i.e. soft mattress and boxspring , wood filing cabinet, chair, small sofa, carpet (must be rolled up, tied and cut in 4' lengths) etc. please call DPW at 617.796.1000.
7. What should I
do with appliances?
Help us promote waste reduction and reuse by donating
working appliances, check out our online
donation listings.
Please call DPW at 617-796-1000
to schedule a free curbside pick up of your appliance. You can also bring your appliances to the Recycling Depot on Rumford Ave.
8. There are abandoned
appliances in the street, how can we get them picked up?
Please call DPW at 617-796-1000
to report the location and type of appliance.
9. How can I get
rid of a computer or television or other electronics?
Help us promote waste reduction and reuse by donating
your working computer and/or television. Click here
for more information.
Residents please call DPW
at 617-796-1000 to schedule a curbside pickup.
10. How do I get
rid of Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)?
HHW cannot be thrown away with
your regular trash. Please check for times and dates
of HHW Collections
What's accepted at HHW
Collections: Adhesives & Glues, Oil-Based Paints,
Solvents & Varnishes, Waste Fuels (Kerosene, used gasoline),
Engine Degreaser, Poisons, Insecticides, Weed Killers, Wood Preservatives,
Fiberglass Resins, Hobby Supplies, Art Supplies, Photo Chemicals,
Chemistry Sets, Cleaners, Spot Removers, Swimming Pool Chemicals,
etc.
11. Does the city
recycle Styrofoam?
No, Styrofoam is not acceptable as part of our recycling program. Click here for other recycling options. For more information, see below.
12. Does the city
take old tires?
Yes, please call to arrange for a special pick up at 617.796.1000. You may set out no more than 2 tires per week (no rims), this is part of bulky collection.
13. Does the city
accept old paint?
The city accepts usable latex in good condition
at the Paint Exchange at the Recycling
Depot, open Monday -Friday, 7:30am-2:30pm, May to October. For small amounts of latex paint, residents may leave
the can open for the paint to dry or pour the paint onto paper
and let it dry, and then it is acceptable for curbside trash pick
up. (Adding small amounts of kitty litter or sand helps the paint
dry.)
14. Does the city
take used motor oil and oil filters?
Yes, for Newton Residents only. It is accepted at the Recycling Depot.
15. Are milk cartons
recyclable?
Yes, please rinse and flatten and place in your green cart.
16. Does the city
accept pizza cartons?
Yes, but ONLY if the pizza carton is clean of food residue and is not wax-coated, please place in your green cart.
17. Can I put light
bulbs in my recycle container?
No, only food or beverage container glass is accepted in the curbside recycling program and at the Depot. However, Fluorescent light bulbs are accepted for recycling at the Depot.
18. What types
of items are accepted at the Recycling Depot?
Click here for acceptable items.
19. What do the numbers
on the bottom of plastic containers mean?
The triangle symbol, more commonly known as the "chasing arrows" symbol, doesn't indicate recyclability, contrary to wide belief. The number just indicates the type of plastic it's made from. For example, A plastic bag may be made of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE - #2), the same material as a milk jug or bleach bottle. However, it contains different dyes, plasticizers, UV inhibitors, softeners, and other chemicals required to make it into a film. This mix of additives changes the properties of the plastic and makes it incompatible with the plastic used to make bottles. Similarly, to make styrofoam, the manufacturer adds air, thereby creating a different product which is not compatible with the recycling processing equipment. So please place only stiff plastic containers numbered #1-#7 in your green bin for recycling. You can reuse your grocery bags or bring them back to the store for recycling. For styrofoam recycling information, click here.
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