Uncategorized

After you read a subscription magazine and before you recycle it, consider passing the magazine on to a friend, an office waiting room, your local library or school.

Light ballasts are the heavy black boxes found in some fluorescent light bulb fixtures. They can be recycled with scrap metal if they are labeled “No PCBs”. Older ballasts contain capacitors whose oil contains hazardous polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). If a ballast is unmarked, bring it to your local transfer station for proper disposal.

Leaf/yard waste and clean (untreated wood) must be separated from your household trash and are not allowed to be landfilled (since July 1, 2016). The best management is to let them decompose in a pile on your own property. Shredded leaves are an excellent addition to food scrap compost piles.  Alternatively, yard wastes are accepted at your local transfer station.

Reduce. If you accumulate a lot of paper or plastic grocery bags, consider switching to reusable sacks. They are easier to handle and stronger.

Reuse. The Upper Valley Co-op, many village stores, and thrift stores such as SEVCA and LISTEN, accept clean brown bags or plastic bags for reuse.

Recycle. Brown paper bags can be recycled with cardboard or paper in your regular recycling program. Some grocery stores accept plastic grocery bags for recycling. Look in the front of the store or inside for a collection container. Be sure to put only clean and dry plastic grocery bags into the collection container.

Glass food and beverage containers may be recycled with your regular recycling program but check first because some transfer stations require that the glass be recycled separately. Most programs require that you rinse the containers. If the lid or cap is less than 2″ in diameter, throw it in the trash. Smaller lids/caps fall through the grates at a MRF (Material Recovery Facility.) Labels do not need to be removed.

NOTE: In most cases*, you cannot recycle light bulbs, window glass, china, crystal, ceramics, mirrors or drinking glasses with food and beverage glass. Even in very small amounts, these items contaminate regular recycled glass. Ask your transfer station operator or trash hauler for guidance. 

Waste gasoline is hazardous and highly flammable—please take it to the District’s household hazardous waste depot for proper disposal.

DO NOT dump it on the ground where it can get into the water supply. “If you dump it, you drink it.”

Local thrift stores, yard sales, local listservs, and Front Porch Forum are great outlets for your used furniture. It may be of use to someone else even if you don’t want it or don’t consider it good enough. If the furniture is really beyond use, bring it to your transfer station for disposal. Or your local hauler may be willing to take it. It’s best to call them first.

(a brand name we use to mean all refrigerants) is found in air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and refrigeration units. By law, Freon and other chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) cannot be released to the atmosphere but must be removed with special equipment. This is because the gases destroy the ozone in the atmosphere, leaving the Earth prone to higher levels of solar radiation. Please take your old refrigerator/freezer or air conditioner to your local transfer station where the Freon will be properly removed for a fee. Be careful not to puncture the tubes of the appliance and emit the gases into the atmosphere. Alternatively, you may be able to take Freon-containing appliances to Evergreen Recycling on “A” Street in Wilder for a fee (802-295-7506).

See Appliances.

Fire extinguishers are not accepted at our Household Hazardous Waste Depot. Some fire extinguishers can be refilled but many household fire extinguishers sold today are not refillable. If you cannot refill your common “ABC” compressed air, dry powder extinguisher, it should be de-pressurized and dismantled before disposal. Release the product into a trash receptacle then remove the valve by unscrewing from the canister. The metal canister, once de-pressurized and empty, may be recycled as scrap metal. The powder and valve can go in the regular trash.

PLEASE NOTE: Very old fire extinguishers (often brass, glass, or copper) may contain extremely hazardous substances. Please contact your local fire department for disposal options or bring them to a household hazardous waste collection.