WEDNESDAY'S TRASH AND RECYCLING COLLECTION SERVICE WILL BE DELAYED DUE TO SNOW

Newport, RI (February 10, 2010) - The Newport Public Services Department's Clean City Program would like to inform Newport residents that Wednesday's trash and recycling collection service will be suspended due to the inclement weather.

The following streets will not be collected on Wednesday and will experience a delay in trash and recycling service: Ruggles Ave., Bateman Ave. and the cross streets in between as well as the streets in between Wellington Ave., Marchant St. and Thames St.

Residents should remove their trash & recycling containers from the curb so it does not interfere with plowing service or freeze into the snow bank. Collection for the areas listed will resume first thing on Thursday morning. Residents should have their trash and/or recycling on the curb by 6 a.m. Thursday in order to be collected.

MAXIMUM HOLIDAY RECYCLING PROGRAM:

The Clean City Program would like to encourage residents to participate in the Maximum Holiday Recycling program, a recycling program created to allow residents to easily recycle gift wrap and paper packaging from the holidays.

The Maximum Holiday Recycling Program allows residents to use a paper yard waste bag to recycle extra paper generated by the holidays such as gift wrap, gift boxes and cardboard. Paper yard waste bags filled with paper should be placed next to your green recycling bin and should be clearly marked "Paper recycling".

Residents can put out extra paper recycling in a yard waste bag for the first collection after Christmas for one week only. The special collection will take place on residents' regular trash day on Saturday the 26th (regular Friday collection), Monday, the 28th through Thursday, the 31st.

Other types of paper that are normally collected in the green bin program can also be recycled in the paper yard waste bag during this week only. Types of paper that are not accepted for recycling are tissue paper, foil & plastic coated gift wrap. All Styrofoam and plastic packaging must be thrown away and cannot be recycled. Tape on gift paper in small quantities is ok, as it is removed in the recycling process.

Cardboard boxes that will not fit in the paper yard waste bag must be emptied, flattened, bundled & tied and cannot measure larger than 3 feet in any direction. Flattened residential cardboard, regardless of size, may be dropped off for recycling at the Clean City Program office at 80 Halsey Street. For more details, contact the Clean City Program at 845-5613.

Christmas trees will be collected curbside from January 2nd through January 14th on residents' regularly scheduled collection day. Please do not put the tree in a plastic bag, and remember to remove all ornaments, tinsel, garland and lights. Christmas trees will be collected in a separate truck.

As a reminder, yard waste is collected the first full week in the winter months, including the week of January 4 on residents' regular collection day.

For more information about the City of Newport residential solid waste and recycling collection program, contact the Clean City Program at 845-5613.

CLEAN CITY PROGRAM'S FIRST FALL RECYCLING DAY IS A SUCCESS

December 9, 2009 - Newport's Clean City Program would like to thank the estimated 400-500 Newport area residents who came to recycle electronic items, rigid plastics and purchase recycling bins at the Clean City Program's Fall Recycling Day on Saturday, November 21 at Easton's Beach. We had an overwhelming response, diverting 19,940 pounds of electronic waste and 3,288 pounds of plastics from the landfill.

The Clean City Program would like to thank the sponsors of the event. Waste Management provided a staff member, John Carney, and a truck to recycle the plastic items.

Good Point Recycling ventured down from Vermont with many helpful staff members to assist residents in recycling their electronic waste. Sony Inc. also sponsored Good Point Recycling in their efforts to electronic waste in Newport. Also, "thank you" to the volunteers, Ellen Nichols and Jared Lazor, who donated their time to helping at the event.

Due of the success of this event, the Clean City Program is looking at new recycling opportunities for the Spring Recycling Day in May. We hope that Newport area residents will attend and help us divert even more material from the landfill.

CLEAN CITY PROGRAM REMINDS RESIDENTS OF WINTER YARD WASTE SCHEDULE

December 2, 2009 - The Newport Public Services Department's Clean City Program reminds residents that yard waste is collected during the first full week of the winter months from December to March. Yard waste will be collected the week of December 7 on residents' regular collection day.

Yard waste will only be collected in brown paper leaf bags or loose in trash barrels labeled "yard waste". Yard waste will not be collected in plastic bags. Free yard waste stickers are available to residents through the Clean City Program, located back entrance of the Public Services garage, 80 Halsey St, in the city yard, or at City Hall in the Collections office.

Yard waste includes leaves, grass, plant clippings, and small sticks and branches. Branches larger than 3" in diameter must be less than four feet long and either in trash cans or tied in reasonably sized bundles.

For more information about the City of Newport residential solid waste and recycling collection program, contact the Clean City Program at 845-5613.

CLEAN CITY PROGRAM WILL HOLD A FALL RECYCLING DAY FOR ELECTRONIC WASTE AND PLASTIC

Download the flyer [PDF] for the Fall Recycling Day

November 3, 2009 - The Newport Public Services Department's Clean City Program would like invite residents to recycle electronic waste and plastics during the Clean City Program's Fall Recycling Day. The event will be at Easton's Beach on Saturday, November 21 from 8am to 1pm. This event is sponsored by the City of Newport's Clean City Program, Good Point Recycling, Sony Electronics Inc., and Waste Management.

Residents from Newport and surrounding areas are invited to bring electronic waste for recycling. Examples of electronic waste accepted are: computers/CPUs, monitors, keyboards, mice, scanners, televisions, laptops, fax machines, modems, routers, VCRs, DVD players, miscellaneous computer parts and wires, digital cameras, cell phones & accessories and more. The following items will not be accepted: Freon bearing items such as air conditioners, dehumidifiers, refrigerators and large metal items such as washers and dryers.

Plastic items that will be accepted for recycling during this one-day event are not accepted in the curbside recycling program. Examples of plastic items accepted are: #3-7 plastics, plastic toys, buckets, milk & soda crates, laundry baskets, lawn furniture, landscape items such as edging, microwave trays, plastic totes, plastic drums (food grade only, no chemical containers), pet carriers, plastic pallets, coolers, shelving, closet organizers, dish drainers, flower pots (no soil), garbage cans, recycling bins, waste baskets, 5 gallon water bottles. All plastic items brought for recycling must be free of any wood, metal, glass, wires or batteries.

"It's time to take a good look at your basements and storage areas," said Kristin Littlefield, the City of Newport's Clean City Coordinator. "The City of Newport's Fall Recycling Day will give you the opportunity to clean out some of your unwanted electronic waste and bulky plastic items while also properly recycling them."

Newport residents are invited to exchange their old recycling bin in for recycling and receive a new bin for $5, regularly $8. This discounted price will be available at this event only and recycling bins will be offered on a first come, first serve basis. Please bring a check for payment and proof of Newport residency.

For more information about the Fall Recycling Day or the City of Newport's residential solid waste and recycling collection program, contact the Clean City Program at 845-5613.

MORE ABOUT ELECTRONIC WASTE AND PLASTIC RECYCLING

Sony Electronics Inc has history of being proactive at addressing proper end of life management of electronic waste when the customer is finished using the product. In addition, this event supports the State of Rhode Island regulation to remove electronic waste from common trash. Under the Rhode Island electronics recycling law, manufacturers like Sony are responsible for paying the cost of recycling used TVs and computers, labeled "e-waste" by many recyclers.

Sony's Recycling Division, however, has hired a Vermont company, Good Point Recycling (a division of American Retroworks Inc), which is known for careful evaluation of each piece of equipment. Can this computer have the hard drive replaced and donated to a school? Can this TV be used in Mexico (a country which still uses the old USA analog signal)?

The remainder of the items which are not suitable for recycling, especially CRT glass (which contains lead) will be recycled at an approved, certifiable recycling process, the same as the normal recycling channels paid for in Rhode Island by Sony and other manufacturers.

The Clean City Program also accepts electronic waste from Newport residents during normal business hours, Monday through Friday from 8:30am until 4:30pm.

Since rigid plastic items recycled at this event can't be recycled through the regular curbside program, they will be saved from a life in the landfill. Plastic items will be brought by Waste Management to a recycling facility here in Rhode Island where they are made into pellets and sold to make new plastic products.

THE CITY OF NEWPORT'S CLEAN CITY PROGRAM AND THE TOWN OF MIDDLETOWN'S RECYCLING PROGRAM PARTNER TO SELL COMPOST BINS

March 30, 2009 - The Newport Public Services Department's Clean City Program and the Town of Middletown's Recycling Program are partnering to offer compost bins to residents for $45 each.

Compost bins must be pre-ordered by April 30 through Newport's Clean City Program by calling 845-5613 or through the Town of Middletown's Recycling Program by calling 842-6519. Bins ordered through Newport can be picked up at the Newport Shred-it event on Saturday, May 2 at Easton's Beach from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bins ordered through Middletown can be picked up during the town's Great American Rain Barrel pick up on Saturday May 2 at the Department of Public Works yard from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Newport and Middletown residents can benefit from composting by recycling organic materials such as food scraps, garden waste and yard waste into a rich soil that can be added to your plants and grass without the use chemical fertilizers. Middletown residents may also be able to reduce their weekly trash disposal costs by composting.

These black soilsaver compost bins retail for over $100 but are being offered for $45 during this special sale. The bins feature a rugged black plastic construction that holds the heat inside while resisting weather and UV rays. It also features holes in the top to allow rainwater in for ideal moisture content and two bottom access panels to harvest compost. For easy assembly, rust-free nylon bolts are included. The bins can hold 11.4 cubic feet or 85 gallons of organic matter and measure 30" high and 28" wide and long.

Commonly composted items are coffee grounds, tea bags, fruit and vegetables scraps such as banana peels and apple cores, egg shells, expired plants, leaves, wood shavings, sawdust, and much more.

For more information on the compost bin sale, contact Newport's Clean City Program at 845-5613 or contact the Town of Middletown's Recycling Office at 842-6519 or visit www.middletownri.com and click on "Refuse Collection". Specific questions on the composting process can directed to the Clean City Program Coordinator, Kristin Zawistowski, who is also a Rhode Island Master Composter & Recycler through URI's CELS Outreach Program.

December 29, 2008 – - The Clean City Program has published the 2009 solid waste & recycling calendar.