The town provides weekly rubbish collection at every residential dwelling with four or less apartments and small businesses through a contract with Pellegrino Trucking of Shrewsbury. Up to 8 units of rubbish will be collected at every residence each week. A unit is defined as a bag or barrel of rubbish, or a piece of furniture. The term rubbish includes kitchen waste, garbage, plastic bags, rugs, furniture and other residential rubbish. All rubbish must be securely contained in a bag or barrel for collection.

Residences are limited to eight units of containerized or non-containerized refuse per week. The rubbish must be placed on the property side of the property line at the curb by 7 a.m.

Acceptable Rubbish Containers:

• Bags must be no less than 10 gallons and no more than 40 gallons in size.
• Bags must be tied, even if blaced in a barrel.
• Barrels may be plastic or galvanized metal, no less than 20 gallons and no more than 35 gallons in size. Barrels must have handles and be uniformly tapered. All must weigh less than 40 pounds when full, and should not be too tightly packed.

Inclement Weather: Residents should make sure that containers/bags are visible and are not covered by snow during plowing operations, and that the rubbish is not in the way of the snow removal equipment. (White bags cannot be seen in the snow.)

- Properly wrapped garbage
- Rags
- Lawn mowers without oil or gas marked "TRASH"
- Empty propane tanks marked "TRASH"
- Gas grills marked "TRASH"

- Bricks, plaster, ashes, building or demolition debris, and roofing materials or building remodeling materials
- All automobile parts, including automobile and marine batteries as well as truck tires
- Swimming pools
- Fences
- Fluorescent light bulbs, compact fluorescent light bulbs (A.K.A. CFLs, "swirls" or "energy savers"), thermostats, thermometers or other items containing mercury.
- Appliances, including air conditioners, TVs, computers, and microwaves.
- Grass clippings, brush, leaves, and yard waste
- Glass bottles and jars, metal food cans, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, soda bottles, newspapers and magazines, catalogs, junk mail, high-grade paper, note paper, copy paper, phone books, boxboard, etc; i.e. all recyclable items including corrugated cardboard, cardboard boxes, and cartons which need to be recycled.

Cardboard boxes are not acceptable containers for trash. Boxes filled with rubbish will not be picked up by the collection service. Cardboard boxes must be cut and bundled no more than 2' in any direction, tied with string and put out with recycling. Cardboard boxes may be recycled in the dumpster near the entrance to the Municipal Garage at 211 South Street, drive in and turn right.

Remodeling materials and demolition debris are not picked up at the curb in Shrewsbury, and rubbish is limited to eight items per residence per week. If you have remodeling or building materials or a large accumulation of rubbish to dispose of in preparation for moving, you should call a private rubbish removal company.

New Year's Day
Martin Luther King's Birthday
President's Day
Patriot's Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day

During adverse weather conditions, such as hurricanes and snowstorms, residents are advised to turn to Cable Channel 15 for information on delays in the collection program. Please be sure that your containers remain visible and are not covered by snow during plowing operations.

The following items are accepted for recycling: Newspapers, junk mail, magazines, catalogs, phone books, office paper, light weight cardboard boxes, like cereal and cracker boxes, and brown paper bags; also, glass bottles and jars in all colors and sizes, aluminum cans and aluminum foil items, metal food cans, all plastic bottles and jars, plastic milk and water jugs, plastic coated paper containers such as milk and juice half-gallon containers and juice boxes.

The following items are not accepted for recycling in our program: Plastic bags, soiled paper, pizza boxes, egg cartons, broken glass, paint cans, metal items that are not food containers, motor oil containers, Styrofoam items, flower pots and miscellaneous plastic items that are not food containers, and metal coat hangers. These items should be placed in your rubbish container.

All glass, metal, plastic and plastic coated items should be rinsed clean and placed in your recycling bin. It is OK to mix these items. All paper items should be in stored in paper bags and placed on top of your recycling bin. Please, do not mix paper items with the glass, plastic, or metal items in the recycling bin. Do not wrap or store papers or containers for recycling in plastic bags. Plastic bags are not recyclable in our curbside program. They should be placed in your rubbish bag or barrel for disposal. Also place recycled cardboard boxes, cut into 2' in any direction and tied, next to your bin.

The recycling bins are picked up at the curb every other week on the same day as your rubbish. Bins must be on the curb by 7:00 a.m. See recycle calendar for recycle routes.

If your recycling bin has been lost or damaged, or if you need an additional bin, you may purchase one at the health department for $5.00. Recycling calendars are mailed to every residence in late June. If you have not received a calendar, please come into the health dept and get one on our counter, or print a copy from our website.

If you are a resident in an apartment or condominium complex and do not have an opportunity to recycle, please inform your property manager that you and other residents would like to recycle.

To see the weeks during which your green or blue bin is collected, see our Recycling Calendar under "What's New." For a recorded message on Shrewsbury's Recycling Program, phone E-Call at 1-800-800-6881. (State's phone line - "call your local DPW" or leave message.)

The town collects leaves, grass, and yard waste at the curb four times in the fall and three times in the spring every year. The collection weeks are advertised on Cable TV Channel 15 and in the local newspapers. Yard waste is collected on the same day as rubbish during the specified collection weeks.

Leaves, grass clippings, weeds, etc. must be in 30-gallon paper bags for collection. Limbs and tree branches that are less than 3 inches in diameter, and brush, may be securely tied into bundles that are no more than 4 feet in length and weigh no more than 40 lbs. and set out next to your yard waste bags for collection. Up to five bundles per week of tree limbs and branches that are free of leaves may be tied together as described above and set out with the regular rubbish during the remaining weeks of the year. Branches with leaves will be picked up only during yard waste collection weeks.

Residents are reminded that there are many ways to reduce the amount of yard waste they generate. Grass clippings can easily be left on the grass. The clippings help to retain moisture in the soil and add nutrients to the grass. Grass clippings can also be used as mulch around foundation plantings and in your garden.

Leaves, garden clippings, weeds, and other organic materials may be composted on your property. The end result of home composting is a beneficial top dressing for your plants and gardens. Information on home composting and composting bins are available in the health department.

The town provides a drop-off for leaves, grass and yard waste every other Saturday at the Highway Garage beginning in late June and ending in September. The dates will be advertised on Cable channel 15 and in the local papers.

Composting is a natural technique of recycling which involves the use of decomposers to return certain organic materials to their basic nutrients. These nutrients are then added to soil, improving soil structure, texture, and aeration. It also increases soil's water holding capacity, which has the effect of loosening clay soils and helping sandy soils retain water. Though a bin is not necessary for composting, it helps keep compost piles neat, retain moisture, and retain heat.

The composting process can take as little as one month, or as long as one to two years depending on techniques used, seasonal temperatures, moisture levels and the balance in materials used. Using predominantly brown materials (dry leaves and woody materials) without having enough green materials (grass clippings, food scraps, manures) to balance it slows down the process. When the opposite is the case and the compost is too moist or when there is not enough oxygen, there is a tendency for the compost to generate foul odors. A low-maintenance approach to composting takes only five minutes of work a week, though ten to fifteen minutes will produce compost more quickly, and will produce a finer texture.

Antifreeze, Motor Oil, and Oil Filters: Massachusetts regulations state that you may return used motor oil to the company that you bought it from with a receipt. Companies which consistently accept used motor oil include: Sam' Mobil (Route 9 next to Chili's Restaurant, 508-798-2101 ) and at Wal-Mart on Route 9 in Northborough for free.

Appliances: such as washing machines, dishwashers, microwave ovens, hot water heaters and refrigerators, are not included in the rubbish collection program. Most of the small rubbish collection companies that advertise in the yellow pages or in the classified ads will remove appliances for a fee. Call Martone Trucking (1-800-734-3867) or CK Appliance Recycling at 508-755-4454. Vin's TV on Route 9 also accepts dropped-off appliances.

Car or Marine Batteries: Automotive batteries and marine batteries may be traded in wherever you get a new car battery or you may call Northeast Battery at 508-832-2700 or Wal-Mart on Route 9 in Northborough.

Gas grills, lawnmowers, and bicycles are collected at the curb on your regular rubbish collection day. The gas tanks must be removed from the grills. All gas and oil must be removed from the lawnmowers. Mark grills, lawnmowers, and bicycles as "TRASH."

Leftover Paint: Empty paint cans should be placed in your rubbish bags or barrels for disposal. If you have paint cans that still contain paint, offer the paint to someone who will use it. If you have to throw Latex Paint away, open the can and add clean kitty litter. Stir the litter into the paint until all of the liquid is absorbed. Put the lid back on the can and put the can in your rubbish bag. The Health Department collects oil-based paint and paint thinners, deck stains, etc. once a year. There will be a paint drop-off in October '07. The exact date will be announced in local newspapers, on cable channel 15, and on this website.

Pesticides, fertilizers, and car care products are not a problem when they are used as they were intended to be used. If you have some of these items, try to use them or to give them away for someone else's use. If you have a material that you are concerned about throwing away, read the directions and precautions on the label. Products which are purchased in quantities available for household use are seldom restricted to special disposal practices. Most of these items can safely be placed in your rubbish containers.