Local Recycling Resources
If you have read these columns regularly, you know that our trash is an environmental problem across the state, the country, and globally. Recycling and composting can take care of some of our discards, but not everything. There is another option for disposing of some items we cannot send to the transfer stations. TerraCycle is a company that collects materials globally. They work with companies and the public to collect materials that are repurposed into construction materials, playground supplies, and other things. While they are not able to recycle everything they collect, they are able to work with a lot.
TerraCycle will offer you free shipping for returning certain products. If you are a user of Colgate, Burt’s Bees, Huggies or many other brands, you can register in their programs, collect the materials (a minimum weight is recommended to make it economical), get a free shipping label, and send your stuff to be repurposed. You can see if the brands you use are partnered with TerraCycle by looking for their logo on the packaging:
You can also check the website for brands by going to https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades. You will be able to register at that point. Reward points can be earned which in turn can be used to support several environmental programs. TerraCycle also has specific collection boxes that can be purchased if you work in an office, a salon, a science lab, a café, or a fitness center. These boxes can be filled and then shipped back with a pre-paid shipping label to TerraCycle where the contents are then recycled. More information on those boxes, the recycling process, and their initiatives can be found at terracycle.com.
To help collect some household materials, The Meetinghouse will be holding four collection days over the course of 2025:
- Saturday, January 4th, 10-2 collecting kitchen wares and holiday decorations
- Saturday, April 5th, 10-2 collecting action figures and pet products
- Saturday, September 6th, 10-2 collecting flip-flops and garden products
- Saturday, December 6th, 10-2 collecting oral care waste and binder and presentation materials
It will be $10 for each box, to cover the costs, so if you bring items for each box that would be $20. For each collection there will be a specific list of what you can bring and cannot bring. For the January collection you may bring:
For kitchen wares- cups, mugs, cutting boards, trays, measuring tools, pitchers, plastic food storage containers, plates, bowls, skillets and grills, pots and pans, utensils, steamers, strainers, soap dispensers. NO electronic appliances, disposable dishware, knives or sharp objects or toasters
For holiday decorations-balloons, banners, LED string lights, ornaments, plastic flowers, ribbons and bows, streamers, confetti, tinsel, garland, wrapping paper. NO batteries, broken glass, live material or light bulbs other than the LED string lights
Do some cleaning out and see you January 6th!
