*Sustainable Seekonk*

The Seekonk Recycling Committee would like to remind residents of all the great recycling and sustainability programs and resources we have available in town:

Earth Day is coming! Our annual town clean up, Seekonk Litter Patrol, is scheduled for Saturday April 27, 2024. Supplies will be handed out at DPW from 7AM to 12PM-including bags, gloves, T-shrts and trash pickers. Please register your cleanup team via: http://tinyurl.com/ystyzxdd 

Terracycle Recycling- the committee is collecting hundreds of everyday items that would normally end up in the trash because they cannot be recycled traditionally. Brands partner with Terracycle to offer these free programs to recycle items like pet food bags, toothbrushes, deodorant, air fresheners, coffee bags and more! There is a new collection bin for these Terracycle items at DPW next to the Bay State Textile Bins. Find the current list at www.Facebook.com/SustainableSeekonk  or at the DPW. We’ve diverted 465lbs of materials from the trash to be turned into new items (such as our new compost bins!)-let’s keep it up.

Food Waste Compost Collection at TARF: The Recycling Committee is sponsoring a collection bin at TARF from Black Earth Compost, residents can bring their household food waste and deposit in the bins. Accepted items include: fruits & vegetables, egg shells, bread, cereal, meat & bones, wooden chopsticks & toothpicks, coffee grinds & filters and more. See www.BlackEarthCompost.com  for a full list and tips on collection and transport. You can dump food waste directly into the bins from your home container or use certified compostable bags-no plastic bags please! There are a limited number of household compost bins and liners available, the Committee will be at TARF on Sat March 9th from 10AM-12PM to hand them out. Please reach out to the Recycling Coordinator at DPW for more information about this program.

Calling all restaurants! Please consider asking customers if they need utensils, before placing them in every order. Also consider compostable utensils, and perhaps adding a compost collection bin to your restaurant. Black Earth and Bootstrap Compost both service the area and make it easy to arrange weekly or bi-weekly pickup of food waste-including napkins, and certified compostable utensils, cups and plates.

Going Back to Reusables- Did you know there is still a milk man driving around delivering milk (plus juice, coffee and more!) in reusable glass bottles?! Visit www.CowTruck.com  to check out the services that Munroe Dairy offers. Crescent Ridge is another local company to check out too. Consider switching back to reusable containers for the products you use every day, instead of using once and tossing in the recycling. Remember-REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE- in THAT order!

Don’t Trash It! Consider donating items that are still usable-Savers in North Attleboro has easy drive up drop off service, Angel’s Care Closet takes a wide variety of items or you can visit www.DONATIONTOWN.ORG  for a list of local services that will pickup items from your home. If items are broken or no longer usable, stores like Staples, Lowes, Home Depot and Best Buy take back all kinds of electronics, bulbs, ink/toner, batteries, cell phone cases, pens and markers and more. Use the Recycle Locator at CTA.tech website to find all your nearby options for electronics. If you’re interested in a town wide CURB ALERT day-where everyone can put out items for free and you can plan to drive around to “shop” for items you want or need, please reach out to the Recycling Committee, our Recycling Coordinator at DPW, or Sustainable Seekonk on Facebook.

Seekonk Transfer Station (TARF) is open year round Mon-Fri 8am-3pm for drop off of yard waste (leaves, grass, twigs). Upcoming Bulky Waste drop off days at TARF are Mar 9, Apr 13, May 11 -buy a pass at DPW for $25 to bring items that are too big to fit in blue bags/curbside trash bins. But please try to pass things along for reuse before trashing them! Bulky Waste pickup continues on the 2nd & 4th Wednesday of each month for furniture and misc bulky items ($5), metal, electronic ($5) & appliance ($12.50) pickup is the 3rd Tuesday, and mattresses ($65) are the 3rd Wednesday. Buy stickers at DPW.

Got new Eye glasses? Old pairs of eye glasses (no cases!) are accepted the DPW for donation to Lions Club.

The Library of Things- did you know the Seekonk Library has way more than books? With things like karaoke machines, metal detectors, stud finders, instruments, cameras, computers & more, it's an amazing way to borrow what you need & save money! What items would you like to see added? Reach out to the Recycling Coordinator at DPW, or the library with ideas.

Textile Recycling Bins- there are Bay State Textile collection bins at the DPW center & at all the schools. You can deposit used clothing, sheets, towels, pillows, stuffed animals, shoes and more at these bins-even if they're stained, ripped or worn out! Nothing wet or moldy, please!

Batteries & Bulbs- did you know that the #1 cause of fires in trash collection programs is rechargeable batteries? The DPW has a collection bin for batteries-including cell phone batteries and other rechargeables or hazardous batteries. They also accept fluorescent light bulbs-including CFL bulbs and tubes under 4ft. These should never go in your curbside bins! Stores like Lowes, Home Depot, Best Buy and Staples also accept most of these items as well. Single use-alkaline batteries, incandescent bulbs and LED bulbs can go in the trash.

Recycling Tip of The Month: Styrofoam should never go in your curbside recycling bin-it can be taken to a special recycling facility such as Insulation Technology in Bridgewater MA, or placed in blue bags and put in the trash. Please remember to recycle right, and…. Reduce-Reuse-Recycle (in THAT order!)