Southbury Launching New Recycling Program on Environmental Awareness Day

The Town of Southbury is partnering with the Audubon Center at Bent of the River to establish the first Environmental Awareness Day in Southbury this weekend.  

Events such as activities with reusable items, paper shredding and antique appraisals will take place at Southbury Town Hall on Saturday, May 18 from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. and all town residents are welcome and encouraged to join.  

“I hope that this will be part of an annual tradition to partner with other organizations to raise awareness of the importance of caring for our environment,” said Southbury First Selectman Ed Edelson. “The health of our local, region, national and world environment is critical to our quality of life.”  

Saturday will also mark the launch of the town’s new recycling program. The new program is expected to lower municipal waste costs and increase the rate of recycling in town. Covanta, Southbury’s municipal waste handler, has provided an outreach grant to begin a marketing campaign to encourage more extensive recycling.  

“Our current single stream recycling was launched several years ago,” said Edelson. “This made it much easier to recycle and the rate of recycling increased. However, without a concerted effort to remind people about this, and to educate more people of how it works, we find that the rate of recycling has decreased and that people are still sorting paper and bottles when this is no longer necessary.”

Edelson added that the town hopes to create enhanced awareness about recycling through a new branding program that will include a new logo for all of the town initiatives.  

“Over time we will be doing more to communicate more about single-streaming of recyclables, but also about our electronic recycling program and possibly an organic waste program,” said Edelson.