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General Refuse & Recycling Policies
The Town publishes these policies so our residents will have maximum access to information about the town. For specific questions, please contact the Recycling Coordinator at 203-287-7021.
Curbside Refuse Collection Policy
Holidays
There is no curbside refuse or recycling collection on the following holidays:
- Christmas Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Memorial Day
- New Year's Day
- Thanksgiving Day
Collection for that day and the days of the week following are delayed by one day. However, if the holiday falls on a weekend day (Saturday or Sunday) the pick-up schedule remains unchanged. The Transfer Station is closed to the public on all State and Federal holidays.
- Refuse must be put into the town supplied green trash totes, preferably in plastic trash bags, no trash can be left outside the container, it cannot be overfilled and cannot weigh over 100 pounds when full.
- Refuse must be at curb by 6 a.m. of pickup day. Do not place refuse at the curb more than 24 hours prior to collection. Remove empty trash barrels within 24 hours after collection.
- Cardboard boxes, grocery bags, laundry baskets or wastepaper baskets are not to be used as refuse containers. All recyclables including cardboard must be inside the provided blue tote.
- Do not put an recyclables into the blue bin that are not accepted. See tab below " items not accepted" .If you still have questions about what can be recycled . call the recycling coordinator at 203-287-7021.
- Hazardous wasteincluding:
- Anti-Freeze
- Asbestos
- Cleaning or Other Chemicals
- Motor Oil
- Paint
- Pesticides
- Propane Tanks
- Tree stumps or tree branches larger than 4 inches in diameter. Have them ground up or chipped in place. Other brush can be cut to less than four feet in length and bundled with twine. Call Public Works, 203-287-2600 or call the Help Desk 203-287-7676, to get on brush pickup list (separate collection for chipping/recycling). Put on curb away from trash. Brush and hedge clippings can also be taken to the Recycling Center/Transfer Station (for directions, see other side of this flyer).
- Pesticides - take to Haz Waste Central, 90 Sargent Drive, New Haven. Call 203-401-2712 for information.
- Anti-freeze - take to Haz Waste Central, or call local service station to see if they will accept it.
- Asbestos - contact professional removal company in phone book yellow pages.
- Car batteries - take to any battery retailer, or to Haz Waste Central.
- Leaves - must be recycled by packing in brown paper leaf bags. In fall and spring, collection dates are announced in local newspapers by the Director of Public Works. Other times, leaves can be transported to Hamden's composting site behind the Recycling Center/Transfer Station; or compost them in your own backyard; only put in the woods if it is your property! Small brush (branches with diameter smaller than a thumb) can be put in leaf bags, too.
- Grass clippings - illegal to dispose of in trash, leave them on the lawn, where they will decompose and act as a natural fertilizer; or mix into your home compost pile.
- Tires - take to Recycling Center/Transfer Station; limit of four per year per household.
- Metal Items - small appliances, pots and pans, old tools, lawn mowers (fluids drained), nuts and bolts, engine parts (fluids drained), metal coat hangers, and other metal must be taken to the Recycling Center/Transfer Station and put in the scrap metal recycling dumpster.
- Bulk trash - (e.g, furniture, mattresses, rugs, appliances, etc.) - Bulk trash is picked up at the curbside during the entire months of April and October * This year 2021 bulk trash is the month of September. See the "Policies and Procedures". Residents may take items to Recycling Center/Transfer Station throughout the year. call the recycling Coordinator if you have items you think are reusable for advice on how to keep them out of the bulk trash.
- Paint - If paint is not in usable condition: Oil-based paint should be taken to Haz Waste Central. Latex paint should be allowed to dry out (crack the lid and stir in kitty litter to speed up drying). All empty, and/or dry, cans should be recycled as scrap metal at the Recycling Center/Transfer Station. Usable paint can now be recycled as per a state program. Some paint stores and building materials reuse centers accept paint. Must be usable and with original label on can. The town Transfer Station will accept paint as well, at the station you will need to put latex based paint and oil based paints in separate containers.
- Heating oil tanks - hire licensed professional to remove it.
- Propane tanks - take to Eastern Fuel in Hamden, or Agway in North Haven - $5 fee. not accepted at Recycling Center/Transfer Station. Camp stove-sized tanks contact Haz Waste Central.
- Motor Oil - take used motor oil (uncontaminated by any other fluids) to Hamden Recycling Center/Transfer Station. If other fluids are mixed in, take to Haz Waste Central.
- Sand, dirt - return to the Earth!, or put in your compost pile.
- Computers, TVs, consumer electronics - recycle for free at twice-yearly Electronics Recycling Collection events in the area (watch local newspapers, or call Solid Waste and Recycling Office, 203-287-7021). Televisions can contain up to five pounds of lead in the glass, as well as possible mercury switches and heavy metals in circuit boards and batteries. Electronics can be brought to the transfer Station for recycling.
- Construction/Demolition waste - will take small quantities at Recycling Center/Transfer Station (call first: 203-387-2435, brought by homeowner only). For large amounts, get a dumpster. Modern Materials, 2895 State Street, 203-287-5424, will accept clean masonry, stone and asphalt.
- Recyclables are collected every other week and must be at the curb by 6 a.m. of pickup day. Do not place recyclables at the curb more than 24 hours prior to your collection day.
- All recyclables must fit inside the blue bin. If you have extra recycling you can bring it to the transfer station.
- Keep a few feet of space between recyclables and refuse containers, so it is easier for the collection crews to know what is what. ( lid open towards road).
- Follow instructions in Hamden's recycling guide carefully.
The guide is available here: https://www.hamden.com/ImageRepository/Document?documentId=388
Also, there is a phone APP , RecycleCT, that can be downloaded on your phone for free that has current information on what to recycle.
If you would like a printed copy of the guide please call Hamden’s Recycling Coordinator, Joe DeRisi at 203-287-7021.
- Rechargeable batteries -
- Rechargeable batteries can be recycled at participating retail collection points including most Wal-Mart and Best Buy stores. Find a location near you: https://www.call2recycle.org/locatoror contact Call2Recycle at 1-877-2-RECYCLE.
Batteries may also be accepted at Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection events. ( From Recyclect.com )
- Useable junk - Have a tag sale, or donate to a charity See this extensive list of charitable organizations: : https://housing.yale.edu/.../TheDownsizingDonationGuide.pdf
- Plastic bags - Reuse for shopping, or recycle at local grocery stores. Never use plastic bags to bundle newspapers or other recyclables.
- Phone books - Take to special phone book recycling containers at Stop and Shop from November 15 through January 31, or put in curbside recycling with mixed paper (in brown paper bag).
- Styrofoam peanuts - The UPS Store, 3000 Whitney Avenue, accepts them for reuse in packing, as well as Candy Bouquet.
- Hypodermic syringes - The Quinnipiac Valley Health District (QVHD) advises disposal of them in a clean, empty, one-gallon or smaller plastic bleach bottle. When the bottle is 2/3 full, cap it and discard it in a securely-tied trash bag. This method of disposal is for home use only (i.e., diabetics) and not for medical practices.