Salem Recycling Drive Hits Riley Plaza This Weekend

SALEM, MA — Salem will hold a recycling drive for clothing, household textiles and other hard-to-recycle items at Riley Plaza this weekend.

SalemRecycles will host the mobile drive that runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. This drive is "touch-free" with items placed in trunks, hatchbacks and truck beds from where they will be unloaded. Items will not be removed from the vehicle front or back seats.

The drive is set to coincide with a new state law that prohibits the curbside recycling or landfill disposal of clothing through regular curbside trash pickup.

Textiles are household items that can be reused, cut into rags, or ground into new products. Those items eligible for drop off at the Salem drive include clean and dry clothing, sneakers, shoes, boots, slippers, belts, ties, purses, stuffed animals, comforters, sheets, blankets, table linens and curtains.

Items may be dropped off in any condition as long as they are clean, dry and odor-free. Old, moth-eaten, stained, torn or damaged, broken or mismatched items can all be dropped off.

Items not eligible for the drive include carpets, rugs, pillows, oil rags, and wet or mildewed items.

The drive will also be collecting some hard-to-recycle items. They should be kept separately from the other textile recycling.

Those include Swiffers, used and dried Swiffer pads, razors and razor packaging, dental care items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, mouthwash bottles and floss containers, all deodorant containers and caps, as well as writing instruments, glue sticks, watercolor dispensers, paint sets and packaging.

For more information about SalemRecycles, contact 978-619-5672 or visit the Green Salem website here.

(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.)