New Recycling Bins Are A 'Double Win' For Orange

It's Thursday afternoon and Stasia Packard is on the phone fielding questions from a resident about the town's new recycling bins.

Packard, the public works office manager, politely and patiently informs the resident about all the ins and outs of the new, bigger blue bin — what goes in and what doesn't, and when and where it will be picked up.

The new recycling bins, which actually are 32-gallon garbage cans with a handle and wheels, make their debut this week. They are nearly double the size of the old 18-gallon bins.

"It's durable plastic so it should hold up well," says Public Works Director Steve Savarese.

The big change, however, is that the Town of Orange has moved to single-stream recycling, which means that you no longer have to separate recyclables like bottles and paper. They all go in the new blue bin.

Exactly what goes in and what doesn't? That's all spelled out in detail — with pictures — on flyers that are taped to the inside lid of the bin. You have a group of volunteers from Silver Brook Estates to thank for putting the flyers in all 5,000 bins that have been delivered to each property in town.

"It's been a community effort," Packard says.

As for your recycling pick-up day, it will remain the same as it has been — either Wednesdays or Thursdays. With Fourth of July falling on Thursday, though, pick-up will be the following day for this week only.

The bins will be picked up curbside by City Carting, the company that submitted the winning bid for the project.

Aside from feeling good about doing your part to recycle, you may also take comfort knowing that the town is paid $20 per ton it recycles. In other words, the more the town recycles, the more money it makes and the better it is for the environment.

"It's a double win," Savarese says.