Recycling Plastic Bottles and Aluminum Cans

Clean and Convenient Recycling

While I don't use that many plastic bottles or aluminum cans, I am always aware of the impact they have on our landfill. All of our garbage is sent to a facility about 70 miles away to be burned. The costs have started to skyrocket. Therefore we have easy recycling at the landfill. However, because Massachusetts has a bottle bill, we are charged a deposit of 5 cents for every plastic bottle or can of soda we buy. The place that sells it has to take it back. If I bring it here, I get my nickle back. If I take it to the landfill, the town gets the nickle. It was only $2 after I recycled at the Stop & Shop, but it was my two dollars and it did buy a loaf of bread. 

Recycling at the Sandwich Transfer Station

Recycling Books at the Sandwich Transfer Station

Disposing of household trash is very expensive in the Town of Sandwich. We pay about $100 just to enter the facility. Then we pay about a dollar for plastic blue bags to throw in the general trash bin. That does make it fairer for individuals like myself compared to large families. Why should I pay the same amount to dispose of trash as a family of four?

It also makes us very aware of what we put in those trash bags. The town has made it very easy to recycle. I have a bunch of old books that need to be thrown out. Putting them in trash bags would be very expensive. Instead I just put them in the Donate Books bin. Every day I take 10 or 15 books to the transfer station. I can conveniently park beside them. Because they are so heavy, it's hard for me to do too many at a time. However, since I go by the transfer station daily, I just pop in and unload a few. In a few weeks, they will all be recycled.