Hazardous Waste & Recycling Committee

Agendas & Minutes

Minutes are available following approval.

Members

Mary Bigelow, Chair
Debbie Anderson, Member
Susan DeSilver, Member
Debra Ferraro, Member
Hank Petroskey, Member
Donna Pursley, Member
Bill Savastano, Member
Tom Scelfo, Member

Ex-Officio Members

Michael Downes, Town Manager
Dan Celentano, Assistant Public Works Directory and Liaison to the Committee

About the Committee

The purpose of North Branford's Solid/Hazardous Waste and Recycling Committee is to develop and implement environmentally sound solutions and best practices for solid waste disposal and recycling management on behalf of our town. We hope that this information will assist you in our efforts. In addition to this website, residents can get information from the Recycling Hotline: 203-484-4091. This is a recording only; you cannot speak to anyone at this number. If you would like to contact the committee with a question about recycling, or volunteer to help in one of our activities, email North Branford Recycling. If you have a question specifically about trash (garbage), please call John's Refuse at 203-484-0281.

Hazardous Waste & Recycling Resources

2023 Recycling / Trash Information

HazWaste Central

"Please Don't Feed the Storm Drain"

Committee's Plastic Film Recycling Program

Grocers and retailers are accepting plastic bags such as grocery bags, newspaper sleeves, produce bags, bread bags, dry cleaning bags, ice bags, wood pellet bags, salt bags, and zipper bags for recycling. They also accept plastic wraps from water bottle cases, diapers, bathroom tissue, and paper towels, as well as bubble wrap and shipping pillows. Plastic bags with recycling symbols Number 2 or Number 4 are accepted. Plastic bags with recycling symbols Number 5 or Number 7 (i.e. salad and grape bags), snack bags (potato chips, popcorn, and candy), pet food bags, frozen food bags, and any bags with food residue are not accepted. Plastic bags and wraps get recycled into products such as new grocery bags, benches, and decking.

That's quite a list of items that are currently going in the trash that can be recycled. However, they cannot go into your blue recycling bin.

There are bins to collect these items are located around town: Country Paint and Hardware, T.J's Launderette, Town Hall, Atwater and Smith Libraries, STW Community Center, Northford Store and The Food Pantry of North Branford.

If you cannot make it to the above locations, please bring these items to Big Y, Stop and Shop, Target, and/or Wal-Mart. There are bins in the front of each store for plastic bag and plastic film recycling.

The plastic bags and wraps must be clean and dry and placed in storefront recycling bins.

There are a growing number of locations in which plastic bags and wraps can be recycled, but awareness of this program is still low. A recent survey showed that many Connecticut residents do not know where they can recycle plastic bags. For more information on what can be recycled and where, visit the Plastic Film Recycling website or view the Plastic Film Recycling Brochure (PDF). You can also like us on Facebook at "North Branford CT Hazardous Waste and Recycling Committee".

The First Bench earned for the Town from the Plastic Film Collection.

The School to Work students that helped with the collection.

ReCONNstruction Center Looking for Materials

Opt Out of Phone Books

Can’t remember the last time you used a phone book? Then it’s time to opt out. Unwanted phone books are waste of resources. Phone books in the United States use an estimated 4.68 million trees worth of wood fiber annually; that equals a forest the size of 14 football fields every single day!

Here's how you can opt out:

Visit the Yellow Pages Opt-Out website.
Enter your zip code and create an account.
After completing registration, click "opt out of or order directories".
Choose "opt out of all" option, then "save changes" and click "Confirm".

Get Rewarded for Recycling