Home - Green Salem

To reduce trash tonnage in the City of Salem by increasing recycling, diverting reusable items, and motivating city stakeholders through education and information.

From book swaps to repair cafes to textile drives, we're creating spaces that empower our community members to live waste-free lives.

Providing community members with the resources to understand how to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

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Upcoming Events

August 20 @ 8:00 am

August 20 Household Hazardous Waste Day @ SHS

September 24 @ 8:00 am

September 24 E-Waste Collection Day @ SHS

November 19 @ 8:00 am

November 19 Textile and TerraCycle Drive @ Riley Plaza

December 17 @ 8:00 am

December 17 E-Waste Collection Day @ SHS

Click Here for More Information About Each Event

Questions

FOR RECYCLING QUESTIONS

Contact

the Waste Reduction Coordinator at

978-619-5672

Please call Waste Management at 800-972-4545 to

Report if trash/recycling is not picked up
Schedule bulk Item pick up
Schedule a white goods pick up
Schedule a broken bin to be repaired

or click here to use the online chat function

Click here to schedule a curbside clothing and textile pick up with HELPSY

A-Z Recycling Guide

Can I recycle it?

Not sure how to properly dispose of something? Check out our list to find places in Salem where you can recycle, donate, reuse, repair etc.

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Saturday’s Book Swap was huge success! Thank you

Saturday’s Book Swap was huge success! Thank you so much to all our volunteers who made this event run so smoothly. Thank you to the 600+ participants who came out to shop for some new books. And thanks to Discover Books for taking all the left overs at the end of the day. We can’t wait to do this again in September. 😊

SalemRecycles' Free Book Swap is back! Join us on

SalemRecycles' Free Book Swap is back! Join us on Saturday, May 7 from 10AM - 1PM, at Salem's Community Life Center, 401 Bridge Street. Swapping isn't necessary -- feel free to drop off, take away, or both.

PLEASE BRING: Books, CDs & DVDs, Video Games, Records, Reusable Bags, and Greeting Cards. All items must be clean, dry and mildew free. Media items should be in original cases. (Sorry, no VHS tapes or cassette tapes.)

DROP OFF HOURS
* Friday, May 6 from 4:00 - 7:00 PM
* Saturday, May 7 from 9:00 AM - noon

Please note the event is not open to the public until 10am, but donations will be accepted starting at 9am. No book dealers or more than two bags per swapper before noon. At close of event, Discover Books will take the un-swapped books and media to be donated or recycled.

For more info or to volunteer, please contact Micaela Guglielmi at mguglielmi@salem.com or (978) 619-5672.

We're excited to share these March 2022 Repair Caf

We're excited to share these March 2022 Repair Cafe photos with you! From practical, everyday items to sentimental oldies, from quick fixes to more elaborate repair, we saw a little of everything. Stay tuned for the next Repair Cafe date TBA!

Paper recycling plants have been around since the

Paper recycling plants have been around since the late 1800's -- and good thing, because nearly all household paper is easily recycled! Here are the exceptions, these items CAN'T be recycled:

❌ Paper towels, napkins, & tissues - their fibers are too weak for recycling.
❌ Paper cups, beverage cartons, & frozen food boxes - all plastic lined for durability.
❌ Shredded paper - it's too small. Recycle anything business card sized or larger.

Happy Valentines Day ❤️ Recycle paper items fr

Happy Valentines Day ❤️ Recycle paper items free of glitter and foil; remove strings from gift bags before recycling. Glass vases aren't recyclable due to their chemical makeup, so reuse, or return to florist. Compost spent flowers and leftover candy

Great job, Salem! 👏 👏 👏 HELPSY accepts b

Great job, Salem! 👏 👏 👏 HELPSY accepts both reuseable and damaged textiles; schedule easy curbside pickup at https://www.helpsy.co/pickup. (To view a list of all local textile recycling options, visit GreenSalem.com, and click Programs.)

We get it -- the struggle is real! However, if you

We get it -- the struggle is real!
However, if you're ready to let go of that "really good box," try offering it online where we see frequent requests for moving boxes; or bring it to U-Haul at 43 Jefferson Ave where they maintain a free Box Swap corner; or if corrugated cardboard doesn't fit in your blue bin this week, drop it off at Greif, 38 Jefferson Ave., for recycling. #cardboard #recycling #box

Earlier this month, we held our first Salem-Beverl

Earlier this month, we held our first Salem-Beverly Styrofoam Recycling Collection! We're pleased to report that over 150 cars participated, filling 3/4 of Save That Stuff's trailer. We anticipate making this an annual event. #styrofoam

Some good news from our ongoing recycling efforts:

Some good news from our ongoing recycling efforts: our contamination rate has dropped to 8.3% in the 2021 audit! That’s down from 28% three years ago and 8.9% last year. Our goal had been to reduce contamination to under 10% and we reached it! These results keep us in Waste Management’s “best in class” category of its client municipalities. There are still some routes where we can make more progress, however; please see the graph below. It is important to remember that plastic films, bubble wrap, Styrofoam, liquid and food waste, wood, and scrap metal should NOT go in your recycling bin

Hang on to that rigid Styrofoam! Until January 8th

Hang on to that rigid Styrofoam! Until January 8th that is. Salem and Beverly have combined forces to put together a Styrofoam collection day. See flier image for details.

The City of Salem is excited to partner with Terra

The City of Salem is excited to partner with TerraCycle to offer permanent collection bins to recycle items that would otherwise be thrown in the trash. These items include:

Used, dried Swiffer pads.
All brands of reusable and disposable razors, blades, and cartridges, as well as any flexible or rigid plastic packaging they come in.
All brands of toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, mouthwash bottles, floss containers and soap and toothbrush packaging.
All brands of deodorant containers and caps.
All brands of empty writing instruments, glue sticks, watercolor dispensers, paint sets, and the flexible or rigid plastic packaging these items come in.
Please place these items in the proper collection bins located on the first floor of City Hall Annex, 98 Washington Street. The bins are in the lobby area around the corner from the elevators. City Hall Annex is open 8AM-4PM Mondays-Wednesdays, 8AM-7PM Thursdays, and 8AM-noon Fridays. Please make sure all items are empty (no toothpaste or deodorant residue inside) and dry. #TerraCycle

In a 3-hour event, SalemRecycles' volunteer fixers

In a 3-hour event, SalemRecycles' volunteer fixers were able to help 50 people repair and mend all these things! Saving them from the trash, textile recycling, and e-waste. The repair volunteers seem to have as much fun as the "customers." Thank you to all who participated!

Here are our TOP 10 reasons to recycle textiles at

Here are our TOP 10 reasons to recycle textiles at the Textiles & TerraCycle Recycling Drive, this Saturday, November 20 at Riley Plaza from 8-1. See you there! 👕👖👠👟👗👜

🔟 Pass along that impulse-buy outfit you wore one time.
9⃣ Satisfaction of knowing others will use clothing that has sat idle.
8⃣ Recycle clothing & linens that are worn, torn, and beyond usability.
7⃣ You'll likely never find the mate to that sock - let it go!
6⃣ Revel in having a dresser full of only things you love.
5⃣ Contribute to the re-use economy, saving water, energy, $.
4⃣ Production of new textiles is polluting - recycling minimizes this!
3⃣ Let our volunteers empty your car while you relax.
2⃣ Drop off TerraCycle items for recycling at the same time.
1⃣ Prepare for MA's new waste ban on Textiles - it begins Nov. 2022.
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Repost from @recyclesmartma Don’t end up with a

Repost from @recyclesmartma Don’t end up with a spooky amount of waste at your Halloween Party! 👻Here’s some sustainable tips.
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#Recycle #SalemRecycles #Recycling #ZeroWaste #Salem #RecycleRight #RecycleRightRecycleOften #RecycleSmart #RecycleSmartMA #Sustainability #SingleUse #Reduce #Reuse #Repair #Rethink #Refuse #choosetorefuse #Recover #bulkitems #wastemanagement #plastic #plasticiseverywhere #dowhatyoucan #lowwaste #reduce #Halloween #scary

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