Introduction to the Did You Know Letters in the Townsman by Gordon Martin, Superintendent of

Wellesleys Recycling Disposal Facility (RDF)

Congratulations to Wellesley residents on another great year of recycling. Fiscal year 2011, statistics indicate
that we are doing better than the states average in terms of the percentage recycled from the total waste stream.
However, Wellesley can do better! We are not rated the best in the state yet!
It is a goal of the RDF to sustain our past success and strategize on ways to improve the recycling program in
an attempt to maximize environmental and fiscal benefits of increased recycling. The collection of recyclables
is easy and can be made to be fun! Try getting the kids involved and create a competitive atmosphere to see who
in the household can recycle the most is an excellent way to get the whole family involved.
We look forward to partnering with the Townsman to provide educational information on a regular basis and
feature a different recyclable item with some interesting fun facts. We hope that every member of your
household will find the Did You Know articles to be interesting and educational.
Step Up Your Recycling Efforts!!!
Did You Know 1 Paper over 2,000 years ago, the Chinese discovered that a thin, wet layer of
interlocking fibers becomes paper when it dries. The first papermaking materials consisted of fibers from rags,
the bark of trees, plants and grasses such as hemp, bamboo, jute and straw.
Most paper and paper products manufactured today use fibers derived from wood, primarily from conifers such
as spruce, fir, pine, and hemlock and some deciduous trees such as birch, oak and aspen.
When newspaper fibers are recycled for the first time, the individual fibers are long. Every time newspaper is
recycled, the fibers break down and become shorter and shorter. The problem is that short fibers, even when
they are interlocked with other short fibers, make the final product weak and unstable. The answer to this
problem is to introduce long fibers into the mix.
Americans have been recycling paper for only three hundred years. Foreign paper makers have been recycling
paper for two thousand years. This means that Americas recycled paper fibers are in great demand and foreign
buyers are willing to pay a higher price for it. The RDF sells a significant amount of paper to worldwide
markets because of the higher price paid to the Town.
Its important to note, the RDFs success starts with Wellesley residents. Your efforts make it possible for the
RDF to sell good quality material at the highest global price. The estimated added revenue from the sale of
exported sales is approximately $35,000 to $50,000 per year. In FY 2011, total sales of recyclables were over
$600,000 and over $850,000 in total were generated from all RDF programs. All money received from the sale
of recyclable products are deposited into the Towns General Fund.
Be sure to take a few moments and separate all your recyclables. Dont throw them in the trash compactors.
Remember, trees have to be cut down to make new paper products and for every ton of paper that is recycled,
17 trees will be saved. That equates to Wellesley residents saving over 60,000 trees last year.
Did you know 2 Plasticthere are over 50 different types of plastic that exist today with new types being
developed as research continues. Different plastics are used for different purposes, but most of them tend to be
strong, durable, lightweight and resistant to corrosion. They are often less expensive than other materials and
can be made in a wide variety of colors.
It is difficult to imagine a world without plastics. Among the most versatile materials ever developed, plastic
can be made to resemble and even replace a range of materials such as metal, wood, glass, stone and cloth.
When heated to a liquid or semi-solid form, plastics can be molded into almost any desired shape and when
cooled, will harden as a solid. Recycled plastic can be made into a variety of things new containers are one
possibility, and more automobile parts are made from plastic than ever before. Your old milk jugs, laundry
detergent bottles or soda bottles could end up being made into carpeting, clothing or even plastic lumber.
Unfortunately, plastic is still frequently thrown away.
Recycling plastic at the RDF has never been easier! A significant amount of plastic is sold to foreign buyers.

Its important to note, the RDFs success starts with Wellesley residents. Your efforts make it possible for the
RDF to sell good quality material at the highest global price. Last year, the RDF sold 552 tons of plastic for
almost $54, 000. The estimated added revenue from the sale of exported plastic is approximately $18,000.
Did you know 3 Waste Oil very little oil is needed to contaminate fresh water? One gallon of used
motor oil is enough to foul one million gallons of drinking water. Waste oil is an amazing resource; one gallon
of used motor oil provides the equivalent lubricating effect of forty-two gallons of crude oil.
Used motor oil can be reprocessed into fuel that can be used in furnaces for heat, or in power plants to generate
electricity for homes, schools, and businesses. It can also be used in industry and utility boilers, blended for
marine fuels and many other uses. Used motor oil can be re-fined into lubricating oils that meet the same API
specifications as virgin motor oil. Recycling waste oil saves energy and is a valuable resource. .
In fiscal year 2011, the RDF recycled 15 tons of waste oil. Thats 30,000 pounds or approximately 4,100
gallons. Every year in the United States an estimated 1.3 billion gallons of used motor oil is generated from oil
changes performed from repair shops and do-it-yourselfers.
Did you know 4 Glass a glass bottle that is sent to the landfill can take up to one million years to break
down. A recycled glass bottle only needs 30 days to go full circle, from the time it leaves your kitchen recycling
bin until it can appear on a store shelf as a new container. Glass containers are 100-percent recyclable, which
means they can be recycled an infinite number of times with no loss of purity or quality in the glass.
Every ton of glass that is recycled saves more than one ton of raw materials needed to create new glass,
including 1,300 pounds of sand, 410 pounds of soda ash and 380 pounds of limestone. Making new glass means
heating the glass to 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit which requires a lot of energy and creates a lot of air pollution.
Making glass from old glass (called cullet) consumes 40% less energy than making glass from raw materials.
The RDF received 419 tons of glass in fiscal year 2011 and sold it for $3,770 to a local glass manufacturer.
Did you know 5 Aluminum aluminum is the most plentiful metal on the earths crust. It is found in
every clay bank and in most of the common rocks on the earth. At present, however, it is not economical to
extract aluminum from clay. Aluminum can be recycled an infinite number of times, and can be processed and
placed back in stores in as little as two months.
The number of aluminum cans thrown away in the United States every year could rebuild an entire commercial
air fleet four times a year. Throwing away just one aluminum can is comparable to wasting six ounces of
gasoline, according to the Aluminum Association of America.
The RDF collects three types of aluminum products: 1) in the metal area where the non-ferrous metal container
is located near the ferrous metal, 2) aluminum foil and trays in the recycling area and 3) the aluminum cans also
located in the recycling area.
If you are you having a difficult time distinguishing aluminum from metal, use a magnet to tell the difference.
Steel is magnetic and aluminum isnt.
Its important to note, the RDFs success starts with Wellesley residents. Your efforts make it possible for the
RDF to sell good quality material at the highest price. Last year, the RDF collected and sold approximately 60
tons of aluminum products for almost $6,000.
Did you know 6 Batteries more than 3 billion batteries are sold every year in the United States?
Batteries contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals including mercury and lead which can cause life-threatening
diseases and child birth defects. An average car battery contains 18 pounds of lead and 1 pound of sulfuric acid.
Instead of buying the cheaper alkaline batteries, consider purchasing rechargeable batteries. In the long run they
will save you money and reduce the toxicity in the waste stream. Rechargeable batteries can be recharged
hundreds of times without losing the ability to hold a charge while single-use batteries are one and done. Be
sure to shop around for good deals on rechargeable batteries so you dont get stuck buying alkaline batteries at
the last minute when you need it right away.
Also, you will need a good energy efficient charger. Consider buying an Energy Star-qualified battery charger
so youll use less energy during the recharging process.

Did you know 7 Textiles. every year in Massachusetts, over 260,000 tons of textiles are disposed of at
incinerators and landfills? 95% can be reused or recycled for its scrap value. Most people are unaware of how
much clothing and other textiles they can donate and recycle. Theres no need to question or judge the condition
of out-of-style or worn clothing. Torn shirts, paint stained pants, back packs, old pocket books, belts, stuffed
animals that lost its stuffing, blankets, pillows and even a single shoe or sneaker can be recycled in the used
clothing collection container.
Its possible to recycle almost 100% of all the above items. All you have to do is keep it dry. If your
textile is wet, be sure to allow it to dry before you place it into the collection container.
Textile recycling creates jobs, funds charitable organizations, promotes small businesses and encourages
recycled product development. One interesting thing that you may not know is local textile recyclers offer
meaningful employment for special needs workers.
In fiscal year 2011, the RDF recycled 338,000 pounds of textiles, which equates to 169 tons diverted
from the waste stream. This saved the Town almost $17,000 of disposal fees not including the added benefit of
most used clothing and other textiles finding its way to help needy families in Massachusetts.
The RDFs success starts with Wellesley residents. Your efforts make it possible for the RDF to sell
good quality material at the highest global price. In fiscal year 2011, total sales of recyclables were over
$600,000 and over $850,000 in total were generated from all RDF programs. All money received from the
sale of recyclable products is deposited into the Towns General Fund.