Worcester Relaunches Recycling Campaign To Cut Curbside Contamination

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester is relaunching a campaign this month aimed at reducing contamination in curbside recycling bins.

The Worcester Recycles Right campaign will combine curbside audits, multilingual education and enforcement at residential buildings with one to six units. The city is working with its recycling hauler, Casella Waste Systems Inc., to improve compliance and increase awareness of local recycling rules.

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"Every resident should have clear information about what goes in the bin, whether they've lived here for decades or moved in last week," Chief Sustainability Officer John Odell said. "When residents recycle right, we save public dollars, recover more usable material and protect our environment."

During October and November, city staff and volunteers will conduct audits in areas with high observed contamination. They will also distribute bilingual warning tags for bins and door hangers containing educational information.

One week after the initial outreach, contaminated bins along the same routes will receive "Oops" stickers and will not be collected. Citywide enforcement is scheduled to begin during the week of Nov. 9.

The city plans to promote the campaign through social media and its website. Additional materials for residential mailings will be developed in the spring.

The campaign was initially developed in 2022. City officials said continued multilingual outreach is needed because new residents may be unfamiliar with Worcester's recycling requirements. Reducing contamination can also produce higher-quality recyclable material that is more valuable for reuse.

Information about accepted materials and how to dispose of items that do not belong in recycling bins is available on the city's recycling webpage.

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