Reduce/Reuse Reuse your containers. Minimize purchase of containers ( for example, buy your milk in a reusable glass bottle ), Bring your drink from home in a reusable container. Reuse cardboard boxes. Instead of recycling your boxes or shipping materials, post them for free on social media. The ultimate solution for the town to reduce waste disposal costs is to reduce the amount of waste we create. Link to list of charitable organizations for donating all types of household goods: https://housing.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/TheDownsizingDonationGuide.pdf
Compost Removing food waste from our Municipal Solid Waste ( MSW) reduces Hamden's disposal costs. 25% of all the trash we throw away is food waste that is a valuable and easy resource to "reuse". Adding compost to the soil can fertilize your vegetable and flower gardens without cost.
Food Waste can now be brought to the transfer Station. Residents can bring their food waste in a reusable container (that you must keep and reuse!), during regular hours of the transfer station, Monday through Friday 7:30 – 11:30 and 12:30- 3:00 pm. The town has some plastic pails with lids free to residents for transporting your food scraps. Call the Recycling Coordinator to get one.
Recycling It conserves natural resources, reduces pollution, saves energy and saves tax dollars! While it costs Hamden taxpayers $88 for every ton of refuse disposal, recycling cost less, $ 70.00 per ton for disposal.
Curbside Recycling & Refuse Program
To guarantee pickup, please have your recycling cart out before 6 a.m. on your pickup day. Place cart at the curb with the arrows and lid opening toward the street. All trash and recycling must be placed in the provided carts. Any trash bags or recycling placed outside of the carts will be left behind. Make sure the lids are closed as this will keep animals, rain, snow and ice out. For ease of automated pickup, please place your carts no closer than 3 feet apart of each other and away from obstacles such as mailboxes, utility poles, fire hydrants, parked cars or under trees.
Pickup Schedule
Curbside recycling is collected every other week, on the same day as refuse pick-up. To look up your collection day and recycling schedule please view the Recycling Weeks by Address (PDF) and the 2021 Recycling Calendar
Holidays
There is no refuse or recycling collection on the following holidays:
- New Year's Day
- Memorial Day
- Fourth of July
- Labor Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
Collection for that day and the days of the week that follow the holiday are delayed by one day. If the holiday falls on a weekend day, there will be regularly scheduled trash and recycling collection.
Recyclable Items
Pink Bags
The curbside textile collection program is on hold due to the pandemic.
However, pink bags can be dropped off at the Pink Bin at the Transfer Station now ( updated 5-24-21)
List of places you can donate unwanted clothing and household items, furniture and more. Some of these organizations will pickup at your house: Textile and Household Bulk Item Reuse