Recycling in Rowley

PAPER RECYCLING: The Scout Paper Drive is held the second Saturday of odd months, all year, rain or shine behind the Congregational Church. Drop off all paper-based products, including newspaper, magazines, copy paper, cardboard, books, etc. Enter the church parking lot from the Main Street side and exit on the Hammond Street side. Drive slowly and be mindful of the Scouts!

TEXTILE RECYCLING: In November 2022, Massachusetts banned textiles from disposal. Textiles include clothing, footwear, bedding, curtains, fabric, and similar items that are clean and dry. Even if your textiles are worn, torn, or stained, they can still be donated to a textile recycler. For textile recycling in Rowley, there is a textile donation bin at Town Hall Annex (39 Central Street) for clothing, linen, and other textiles that can no longer be worn or used for other purposes.

PLASTIC FILM RECYCLING: You can recycle plastic film inside the doorways of Market Basket. Plastic film includes:

  • Plastic shopping bags (from any store — remove receipts, etc.)
  • Food packaging (Ziploc-type bags)
  • Bread bags
  • Plastic liners from cereal boxes (do not include if they tear like paper)
  • Produce bags
  • Dry cleaning bags (remove staples, receipts, hangars)
  • Plastic newspaper wrapping
  • Product wrapping (such as covers a case of water bottles, etc.)
  • Bubble wrap and air pillows (popped)
  • Plastic shipping envelopes (remove labeling)

ELECTRONICS RECYCLING: The Town of Rowley Board of Health hosts a electronic recycling day each spring. Dates are posted on the Town of Rowley website, when applicable. Televisions, computer monitors, and laptops can be dropped off for a fee. All other electronics can be recycled for no fee. Alternatively, every day is recycling day at Staples! Swing by your local Staples (Beverly, Danvers) to electronics, batteries, ink cartridges and toner, school supplies, and more! Check out the brochure here, or see the list below.

HARD-TO-RECYCLE ITEMS: Unpacked Living in Beverly, MA has a number of recycling programs, including ALL brands of your kids’ squeezable food pouches, cords and wires, prescription bottles, Tom’s brand products, and much much more. Check out their website for more information. Please reach out if you are interested in starting a local recycling collection for any of their recycling initiatives, and Striving for Sustainability can assist with collection and transportation!

Recycling Tips

The general rule for recycling is, “Avoid wishful recycling.”

Wishful recycling (or wishcycling) is the act of tossing items into the recycling bin with the hope that they will somehow be recycled.

This practice can can contaminate inbound streams of recyclable materials, rendering a whole load of material worthless. When this happens, the entire load is sent to landfills instead of being recycled.

Instead, follow these tips from Recycle Smart MA to ensure only recyclable material is being put in your single stream recycling bin.

  • The bottles and containers you recycle do not need to be spotless, but they DO need to be empty and free of liquid and most food residue. A quick wipe or rinse does the trick.
  • Recycling facilities are designed to sort hard plastic containers. If it is a clean and empty plastic bottle, jar, jug, tub, or fruit container, it can be recycled in Massachusetts.
  • Flexible plastics like bags, wraps, and pouches CANNOT be recycled.
  • Plastic and metal caps and lids (i.e. soda bottle lids, milk jugs caps, mason jars lids, etc.) should be reattached to empty containers before you recycle them. Glass bottle caps (i.e. beer caps) should go in the trash because they cannot be reattached securely.
  • EMPTY pizza boxes CAN be recycled! Remove all foods, liners, and pizza savers (plastic tables) before placing the box in the recycling bin.
  • Do NOT include tanglers: old hoses, string lights, ropes, chains, or electronic cords. These items jam the machinery used to sort recycles.
  • Do NOT recycle compostable cups, plates, or utensils. These items must be handled by a commercial composting facility or put in the trash.
  • Do NOT bag your recyclables before placing them in the recycling bin.
  • Do NOT recycle black plastic. Black plastic contains carbon which is not recognized by the sorting facilities. These items cannot be sorted and go through the system to a landfill.
  • Do NOT recycle Styrofoam. Try reusing it or finding a drop of location to recycle it.

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