Salem Expands Municipal Recycling To Include More Household Items

SALEM, MA — Salem is expanding its municipal recycling program to include more household items that would typically wind up in the trash.

Permanent collection bins for items such as toothbrushes, household cleaning products, deodorant containers and razor blades are at the City Hall Annex on Washington Street. The bins are available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays and 8 a.m. to noon on Fridays.

"The Recycling Committee is always looking for creative ways to reduce waste around the city, and now residents can keep these items out of their trash and know they are being recycled into new items," Recycling Committee Chair Carol Hautau said.

Items now collected include: used, dried Swiffer pads, razors, blades, cartridges and packaging, toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, mouthwash bottles, floss containers and soap and toothbrush packaging, all brands of deodorant containers and caps, writing instruments, glue sticks, watercolor dispensers, paint sets, and packaging.

All items should be empty and dry. Go here for more information.

"We couldn't have made this happen without the dedicated work of the city's Recycling Committee, SalemRecycles," Waste Reduction Coordinator Micaela Guglielmi. "We've had great success collecting TerraCycle items at our Textile Drives, so we're excited to have a permanent, year-round location for residents to drop off these items."

Any questions about this program can be directed to Guglielmi at mguglielmi@salem.com or 978-619-5672.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)