Waste Management Receives Chelmsford Recycling Contract

IPR is out and WM is in; there will be no changes in recycling procedures for residents.

The Town of Chelmsford will put its recycling duties into the hands of Waste Management beginning on July 1. No recycling procedures will change for residents. The Board of Selectmen voted last night to discontinue service with recycling contractor IPR prior to the March 1 contract extension/termination deadline. Town of Chelmsford Recycling and Solid Waste Coordinator Nick Parlee received two unsolicited bids from Waste Management, each coming in at a significantly cheaper rate than Allied Waste, who also put in a bid. Allied Waste currently resides over Chelmsford’s solid waste pickup. That could all change come 2015 when their contract runs out at the same time as the new contract with Waste Management. “I think they’re looking to make …

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You Ask ... Patch Answers

Why Isn't Recycling Picked Up Every Week?

We tackle the question in You Ask, Patch Answers.

Welcome to You Ask, Patch Answers, a weekly column where you ask us a question and we do our best to get you an answer. Got a question? E-mail it to Krista@patch.com. Question: Why do we only have recycling every other week?  The town has cut down on the number of bags we can put out every week but continue to have the same recycling schedule. I am left ever week with stacks of recyclables and no place to put them. Not everybody has a garage to store their stuff waiting for the next recycle day. Answer: We pointed this question to Jennifer Almeida, the town's recycling/ solid waste coordinator. This is what she said: So this is a great question. The short answer is that weekly recycling is too expensive.  The long answer follows: First, …

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5 Reasons Why You Should Schedule Your Free Energy Assesment

An overview of the Mass Save program and how it can benefit homeowners and tenants alike through utility cost savings

Do you want to learn how to be more efficient in your home? Are you wishing you could bring your utility costs down? Mass Saves is a free program available in Massachusetts available to tenants and homeowners that is sponsored by Massachusetts gas and electric utility providers. The program consists of having an energy specialist come out and visit you at your home. This visit will include an extensive inspection of your home and it is important to have all areas available to the inspector, including all heating systems, attic and basement spaces.  These appointments can take up to 2-3 hours depending on the size of your home.  At the end of the appointment, you will receive a custom list of energy saving recommendations and the specialist…

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Center School Goes Green

Center School's recycling program hopes to lessen their footprint and trash.

Everyone remembers those delicious juice pouches from Caprisun. They were fun to drink, but did you ever stop to think what happens to them once they get thrown in the garbage? Usually they end up in a landfill, and Chelmsford is doing its part to help. Through working with TerraCycle, a company that has found a way to recycle materials that traditionally are non-recyclable, trash from the town that was previously unrecyclable no longer needs to end up wasting away in a landfill.  Jill Eisner helped bring the program to Center Elementary School and to the community last October.  Eisner, whose daughter goes to the school, said she thought it would be a good way to teach kids about managing waste.  "They are kind of a green generation," …

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Recycling for a Good Cause

Town residents dropped off their unwanted electronics for a Center School PTO fundraiser.

Laptops, TV sets, stoves and lawn mowers. Chelmsford residents had a rare opportunity to unload these and other hard to dispose of electronics in a one-stop drop when the Center School PTO hosted a Recycle Day event at the McCarthy Middle School parking lot on Saturday in cooperation with Northeast Material Handling. Kris Lefebvre, who coordinated the event, said she got the idea when she went to Northeast to purchase a new storage cabinet for the PTO. "(Northeast) said, 'oh, we do fundraising for PTOs too,' and that's where this recycling day came in," she explained. "This is a fantastic company to work with." Northeast handles corporate liquidation services, buying inventory from clients as well as reselling. "They have stuff from the …

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