Increased Recycling Saves Town Money

More residents of Hamden, Conn.,  recycled their trash last year than in 2001 and saved the town money as a result, according to a report released last week. 

The report from the Solid Waste and Recycling Commission showed that 26.4 percent of Hamden residents recycled their trash last year — a 7.2 percent jump from the previous year.

The jump in recycling saved the town $172,806 in trash costs for the year ending June 30, 2002.

Hamden pays Recycling Services of Hamden $458,000 to pick up recyclables from the curb and at the Hamden Transfer Station, according to budget documents.

Recycling coordinator Stephen Marsh credited the increase to "education and enforcement."

"There’s more information getting out to the public," he said.

Hamden recycles glass bottles, aluminum cans, plastic containers, milk and juice cartons and aluminum foil and trays set out in blue collection boxes.

The town also recycles newspapers that are bundled or placed in brown paper bags, bundled cardboard boxes, mixed paper and phone books.

"Our program is unrivaled in the state," Marsh said.

Marsh said he has placed recycling bins inside town buildings, convinced Shaw’s supermarket to start recycling plastic bags again and mailed recycling brochures to residents.

Marsh also has given recycling seminars at neighborhood and civic association meetings and visited schools to talk about recycling with children.

"It has a trickle-up effect to parents," he said.

Hamden High School restarted its recycling program last year. Students, through a work-study program, collect and sort recyclables throughout the school.

"I think schools always had a social conscience about recycling," Principal Vin Iezzi said. "It’s something we’ve always tried to do."

Marsh also has gotten the town’s garbage collector, TrashMaster, to look inside garbage bags if the trash collectors hear glass bottles or feel newspapers inside.

As a result, the town suspended trash service to 315 households that refused to recycle during the 2001-02 year. The town also has placed hundreds of violation stickers on garbage cans that contained recyclable goods.

"Some people feel that trash is their private providence, but once trash is at the curb, it’s open to public inspection," Marsh said.

The town pays $917,400 for trash collection, not including disposal fees.

Marsh said he now wants to focus on apartment buildings, especially those on Mix Avenue, that do not recycle enough.

He also wants to start collecting mercury-containing fluorescent light bulbs at the transfer station, create a recycling newsletter and restart electronics recycling, where residents can drop off old television sets, computers and stereos.

The town rehired Marsh in 2001 to promote recycling throughout town. He had been the town’s recycling coordinator from 1992 to 1999.

Marsh works as an independent contractor, meaning he receives no health benefits from the town. – New Haven Register