WILMOT — Have you ever wondered why the Town of Wilmot stopped recycling cardboard, plastics, and metal containers in the fall of 2022? Does this concern you?
About a year ago, seven Wilmot residents formed the Wilmot Waste Reduction Advisory Committee. This is not an official selectboard committee, but rather a volunteer group that works with the Wilmot Public Works Supervisor to explore ways to reduce materials going to landfills and increase materials that are being recycled.
As a committee, we have decided to write a monthly article to inform the citizens of Wilmot of our activities, challenges, and opportunities (both long- and short-term), to reduce material going to landfills. Wilmot stopped recycling cardboard, plastic, and metal cans for a number of reasons, depending on the material.
With regard to cardboard, Wilmot does not have a covered facility that would allow us to keep the cardboard dry. When the open container of cardboard got wet, it was rendered unsellable and eventually ended up in the landfill. The mixed plastic and metal cost more to dispose of (due to trucking fees) than to throw into the municipal waste compactor.
The good news is, we now have a dumpster specifically dedicated to recycling aluminum cans. The dumpster has been in place since May 2024 and has been a very successful effort in removing aluminum from the waste stream. In late November, we sent the first load of cans to be recycled, and not only did we remove just over 2,000 pounds of aluminum from the trash compactor (saving about $120 in landfill cost), but we also received $1,088 net, of all costs, for the aluminum.
In total, this new recycling service saved the town a total of $1,208 in our first six months. This is a great community effort, and we expect aluminum recycling to increase as the word gets out.
If you choose to recycle your aluminum cans, please make sure to include ONLY beverage cans (this means no aluminum foil, pie tins, or any other kind of metal). It is important to remember that contaminants in the aluminum dumpster jeopardize the value.
In addition to aluminum recycling, Wilmot residents are now able to recycle all other metal in the metal bunker. There are two trash cans next to the bunker that hold tin cans, jar lids, pie tins, and other metal containers. Please be sure everything has been cleaned prior to depositing in the designated trash cans.
The next meeting of the Wilmot Waste Reduction Advisory Committee is Wednesday, February 12, at 2 PM, at the Wilmot Public Library. These meetings are open to anyone who would like to attend. We appreciate all the input we can get in dealing with this complex issue.
If you have any questions or concerns, the committee can be reached at wilmotrecycling@nullgmail.com. Keep an eye out for the next issue of “Wilmot Talks Trash.”