Curbside Recycling

Single Stream Recycling

Effective July 1, 1994, recycling became mandatory in the Town of Stoneham. Since then the Town has switched to single stream recycling. Single stream recycling increases convenience, thus increasing participation and volume of material collected, which decreases the amount of waste going to disposal.

Having one collection for curbside recycling means less trips to the recycling processing facility, thereby reducing transportation costs and collection vehicle emissions. A material recovery facility (MRF) is where recyclables go to get sorted after they're picked up. See how an MRF works.

Recycling Container Dos & Don'ts

  1. Dos
  2. Don'ts

Do put the following items loose in your containers.

Paper and Paper ContainersPaper & Cardboard

  • Books (rip off hard covers)
  • Cardboard (flatten and fold boxes)
  • Frozen food boxes (if they rip)
  • Magazines and catalogs
  • Newspapers and inserts
  • Paper bags
  • Paper coffee cups (empty)
  • Paperboard (paper towel rolls, cereal, tissue boxes)
  • Phone books and junk mail
  • Pizza boxes (empty)
  • Shredded paper (in a stapled, flattened paper bag)
  • White and colored paper (staples, paper clips, spirals OK)

Plastic ContainersContainers

  • Aerosol cans (empty)
  • Aluminum cans, trays and foil
  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Metal cans
  • Milk cartons and juice boxes
  • Spiral cans (potato chip, nut cans)
  • Stiff plastic containers