By Susan Wineland
Orange Recycling Committee
The Orange Recycling Committee and the town have been busy over the last nine months.
Last fall, town composting began so that Orange residents can now take their compostable material to the Transfer Station and Recycling Center located at 100 S. Orange Center Rd. There are four large green bins to toss kitchen waste into. Acceptable items are fruits, vegetables, peels, pits; eggs and eggshells; dairy products; meat and poultry including bones; seafood including shells; coffee grounds; baked goods, chips and snacks; pet food; and rice and grains.
Items that are not accepted are coffee pods, plastic wrap, takeout containers, plasticware, paper goods, metal or aluminum foil, jars or glass or pet waste.
Bay State Textile Recycling started serving Orange in January with a new opportunity to recycle clean, dry textiles while producing added revenue for the town. Recycling clothes, footwear, towels, bedding and other fabric-based products prolongs their life and reduces waste, providing social, environmental and economic benefits. You can find their collection bins at three locations in town: High Plains Community Center near the pavilion, at the Orange Transfer Station on the hill next to Goodwill and at the Orange Public Works driveway at 308 Lambert Rd. near the Post Road. Go to baystatetextiles.com for more information and to see what can and cannot be donated.
The Orange Household Hazardous Waste Collection took place on April 13 at High Plains, providing residents with a safe and easy way to protect our environment by keeping chemicals out of our landfills, roadsides and waterways. The Regional Water Authority reported that there were 168 cars counted and 230 pounds of hazardous waste collected. This includes liquids, solids, antifreeze/oil and miscellaneous household waste products. HazWaste Central is now open for the season at 90 Sargent Dr. in New Haven. Go online to water.com/hazwaste/to for more information including the collection schedule, how to register and satellite collections.
A very successful Shredding Day was held at High Plains on April 27. A huge 12,450 pounds of paper was shredded to be repurposed by a local paper manufacturer. This service was funded by the Rotary Club of Orange, which received $2,443 for the Orange Rotary Scholarship Fund. Fifty-six mattresses were collected by Bye Bye Mattress, which not only keeps mattresses out of landfills but recycles each part into new and useful products. The Orange Lions Club charities provided at-home pickups. Electronic recycling collected over 50 computers and hard drives which were then wiped clean of data and broken down for their scrap metal value while also ensuring landfill disposal of the remaining waste.
A new, sturdy plastic bag shed was installed at the transfer station in May. A big thanks to the Orange Rotary Club for securing funds for the purchase of this shed from Home Depot, which took care of all the particulars including constructing the shed on site. And many thanks also to the Orange Public Works Department for leveling and grading the area so the shed sits securely.
The shed also has signs indicating what you can recycle and what you can’t. Please read these and adhere to the guidelines so that everyone’s recycling efforts pay off and the plastics aren’t contaminated. For instance, mulch bags, fertilizer bags, animal and bird food feed bags and black plastic bags are not accepted. As with all recycling, if we don’t recycle materials properly, they can damage equipment, injure workers, slow the process down, increase the cost of sorting and decrease the value of recyclables.
A glass jar and bottle recycling bin was located next to the recycling container in June. Among the many reasons to recycle glass are that it can be recycled endlessly with no loss in quality. Orange will save valuable tax dollars, as this program will be less expensive than paying for the cost of transporting single-stream mixed recyclables. The collected glass will be taken to Urban Mining, a recycling company in Connecticut. They create a wide range of products including fiberglass insulation, food and beverage containers, reflective materials and other consumer and industrial products. When recycling glass, the food-grade containers and bottles should be empty and clean. Remove the lids, which can go into your recycling bin. Redeemable beer and soda bottles should be returned for their deposit value or given to a local donation center that collects redeemable bottles for local charities. No plastics or bags are accepted.
Support the Orange Recycling Committee efforts. Our next Shredding Day will be on Saturday, Oct. 26 at High Plains Community Center.
Susan Wineland is a member of the Orange Recycling Committee.