By Ilene Moyher
The most popular destination at the Orange Transfer Station & Recycling Center is the hopper at the top of the hill, with a continuous flow of residents throwing their household trash into the giant receptacle. The facility also has separate stations for recycling of common household items, each clearly marked with a sign and any relevant instructions. Residents simply drive up and place items in the designated place.
Here’s one reason why this matters: all garbage collected in Orange gets weighed and the town gets billed by the pound for disposal. The same goes for recyclables, though the cost is lower. Therefore, throwing recyclables away rather than recycling them costs Orange more. With multiple recycling stations at the Transfer Station & Recycling Center and residential blue bins, it’s easy to recycle.
The mixed recyclables bin is the first station on the left on the way to the hopper. This large bin/dumpster is for cans, bottles, plastic containers and paper. Do not put plastic bags in this bin, because it can cause the entire load to be rejected for recycling, thus costing Orange extra. If your recyclables are in a plastic bag, simply dump the contents into the bin and put the bag in the “Plastic Bags and Wraps” shed, conveniently located next to the bin. This shed is for all plastic wraps, bags or bubble wraps. You can also bring these items to local retailers.
Do not put polystyrene in any recycling bin. All polystyrene goes in the trash.
To the right of the info booth are “Electronics” and “Paint” stations. Residents may put computers/laptops, monitors, TVs, cell/smart phones, MP3 players, iPads/tablets, hard drives and wiring and cables into the electronics trailer. The paint can trailer (open on Saturdays only) is for leftover cans of paint, primers, stains, sealers and clear coatings such as shellac and varnish. Empty cans go in the hopper or your regular trash bin.
For more on recycling at the Orange Transfer Station & Recycling Center, visit orangerecycles.com/transfer-station and facebook.com/ORCinCT. For info on recycling specific items, visit recyclect.com.