Recycling Day for Hard-to-Recycle Items Saturday

The Newport Public Services Department’s Clean City Program is hosting Spring Recycling Day this Saturday, April 27, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the Easton’s Beach east parking lot.

Any area resident will be able to recycle a wide variety of items, as well as purchase compost bins. There will be no entry into the event until its start time of 9am. Absolutely no hazardous waste will be accepted.

This event will accept the following items for recycling. Please visit http://www.cityofnewport.com/cleancity or call 845-5613 for a detailed list of items accepted along with rules and guidelines. All vendors listed will take items on a first come, first served basis:

• Paper shredding service (paper will be recycled): bring up to four banker size boxes of paper to be shredded. Waste Management will also be available to recycle your cardboard box.
• NEW! Scrap metal: metal hangers, pots, pans, metal chains, screws, nails, any other item that is primarily made out of metal. No items containing Freon.
• Electronic waste:  Computers/CPUs, monitors, televisions, air conditioners and more. No small appliances.
• Rigid plastics not normally collected in the curbside recycling program: plastic containers over 2 gallons, old recycling bins & trash barrels, plastic toys, buckets, milk crates, laundry baskets, plant pots and more. Plastic accepted by Waste Management.
• Styrofoam (polystyrene): All Styrofoam packaging must be labeled with “PS” with a “6” below it.  No packing peanuts. Plastic utensils will also be collected, but must be packaged separately and rinsed.
• Clothing & household items for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ocean State: gently used items such as: anything made of cloth - clothing, blankets & more, household items & small appliances. Many restrictions – please see above referenced website.
• Books for Discover Books: hardcover, paperback, any age - child or adult, DVDs, VHS tapes. NO magazines, phonebooks, catalogs, or books that have mold or mildew.
• Bicycles/bikes: working and salvageable bicycles will be accepted for recycling for the East Bay Met School to teach students & community how to fix bikes.
• Plastic bags: plastic grocery & shopping bags and other types of clean & dry plastic film. Collected by the East Bay Met School.
• Cooking oil: Newport Biodiesel will be accepting all vegetable cooking oil for recycling, which is turned into biodiesel for vehicles and home heating oil.

This event is NOT the Eco Depot collection for hazardous waste, therefore, items such as paints, fluorescent bulbs and other hazardous waste will NOT be collected at this event.

“It’s time to do some spring cleaning,” said Kristin Littlefield, the City of Newport’s Clean City Coordinator. “The Spring Recycling Day is a one-stop shop to drop off items to be recycled and make sure they get put to good use while keeping them out of the landfill.”

Other services offered at the Spring Recycling Day:

• Recycle your broken recycling bin: You will be able to recycle any broken recycling bins or trash barrels along with other rigid plastics.
• Buy a compost bin: the Earth Machine compost bin will be available for just $45 each (retails at over $100). Visit www.earthmachine.com to see the exact bin that will be available for sale. Compost bins are also available for purchase at the Clean City Program office during normal office hours. Please bring a check for payment and proof of Newport residency. Cash and credit cards will not be accepted. First come, first served.
• Free coffee & other goodies: Event attendees may also enjoy a complimentary cup of coffee from Custom House Coffee in Middletown. Attendees are encouraged to bring their reusable coffee mugs. Also, the Clean City Program will be encouraging “Earth Day is everyday” by giving away pens that have the phrase printed on them, as well as other goodies that encourage recycling.

For a detailed list of items accepted and restrictions for the Spring Recycling Day, contact the Clean City Program at 845-5613 or visit www.cityofnewport.com/cleancity.

Last year’s at Fall Recycling Day, held in October 2012, Newport residents recycled over 13,000 pounds of material. Since 2008, the Spring & Fall Recycling Days have kept 163,000 pounds of material out of the landfill.