Single Stream Recycling (SSR)

Effective Date
Effective May 4, 2013, the Town of Washington is officially a Single Stream Recycling community.

Description of Single Stream Recycling
With Single Stream Recycling, residents no longer have to sort recyclable materials such as glass bottles, plastic containers, paper, newspapers, cardboard and aluminum into separate bins, bags or bundles.CARDBOARD BOXES MUST BE FLATTENED- NO PLASTIC BAGS!    Please rinse food containers !  Now you can just mix all your recyclables together in one bin. The TUNXIS Recycling Center now has the ability to sort these items once they are delivered.

Residents may continue to use the present 22 gallon bins or opt to use the new 48 or 96 gallon wheeled bins for their recycling. Residents are asked to trade in their 22 gallon bins if they decide to use a 48 or 96 gallon wheeled bin. Bins are available by calling the Selectmen's Office and are provided free of charge to residents.

Curbside and In Yard Recycling
The Town of Washington will continue to provide free curbside pick-up for its residents. At curbside, large bins should be placed no more than 5 feet from the road.

All American Waste, our recycling hauler, is prepared to enter into a supplemental monthly fee arrangement with residents who wish to have their recyclables picked up in yard (by their garage or residence). This fee will cover the additional cost of making an in yard pick-up of recyclables. Residents should contact All American Waste at 800-826-7952 to determine the present fee arrangement for in yard pick up and to sign up for this service. The service will begin once a resident has the required large bin on site.

Benefits of Single Stream Recycling
Next to education and highway expenses, waste disposal is the largest piece of our Town's budget, costing taxpayers about $432,000 in Fiscal 2011/2012. This includes the costs of running the transfer station, bimonthly curbside pick-up of recyclables, hauling garbage and recyclables from the transfer station to disposal sites and tipping fees.

Washington is a founding member of two organizations that handle its waste disposal, BRRFOC (garbage) and TROC (recyclables). Tipping fees are a per-ton disposal fee paid by member towns to these organizations. Currently, tipping fees are $62.50 per ton for garbage and there are no tipping fees for recyclables.

In light of the increased volume in recyclables resulting in part from the "Challenge to Increase Recycling by 16% to 525 Tons by Fiscal 2014" posed to the Town in 2010 by the Washington Environmental Council and the present zero cost for disposing of recyclables, the Town's overall cost of waste disposal has gone down measurably over the past three years.

Single Stream Recycling is expected to increase the volume of recycling in Washington by a significant amount. The experience of other towns that have initiated Single Stream Recycling is that their volume of recycling has increased from 25% to 100% during the first year of the program. In addition to the positive impact of increased recycling on the environment, the significant reduction in waste disposal costs that will result is why it is so important to have all residents actively participating in the Town's Single Stream Recycling program.

Thank you for being an active Single Stream Recycler.

Please contact the First Selectman's Office at (860) 868-2259 if you have any questions.

Single Stream Recycling Guidelines- Permitted Recyclable Items

Please remember - you can put your paper bags with recycling directly inot the recycling bins.

NO PLASTIC BAGS

(All items should be Empty, Rinsed and Clean)

Do Not Recycle These Items
As Not Permitted

Town Recycling Center
Permitted recyclable items may also be brought to the Town's Recycling Center located at the Transfer Station on Clark Road and placed in the designated Single Stream Recycling (SSR) containers.