Frequently Asked Questions

If you prefer e-mail to the telephone, you can make inquires about, and/or report all of described below. You will receive a response from the Solid Waste and Recycling Enforcement Officer within 24 hours (M-F)


What can I do with my latex paint?

Latex paint is not hazardous and can be dried out by taking off the cover and letting it dry out or put some kitty litter to absorb the paint; once the paint is dry, you can bring it to the transfer station and put the empty can in the scrap metal container or you can choose to put it in your trash for weekly pick up.  Please do not put too many containers in one bag or barrel; it will be too heavy to pick up. 


What is Snow Coning?
Snow coning is trash that is over the rim of the barrel.  Snow coning is not allowed.  Please buy a Marshfield PAYT bag in a local store for excess trash.  



Why is PAYT good for Marshfield?

It is a more fair and equitable system.  Previously, every household paid $365.00 regardless of how much trash they generate.  PAYT saves everyone in the overall cost of trash disposal.    So everyone is encouraged to recycle more.



How does PAYT help the environment?

Recycling makes a significant difference by reducing the power consumption and emissions produced by manufacturing products from raw materials.
Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) reduces the amount of trash and forces you to recycle, results less trash in landfills.  


How does  PAYT work with curbside trash and recycling?
With Marshfield's PAYT you are allowed one bag or one barrel, not to exceed 35 gallons.  Any amount greater than that has to be put in a Marshfield PAYT bag.  Those bags are available at many local stores.  No barrel or bag can exceed 50 pounds.  Recyclable bottles/cans and paper/cardboard are the only recyclables allowed for curb pickup and will be picked up on the same day, with no limit on the number of recycling containers you can put out.  Please separate your paper/cardboard from your bottles/cans



Why do we need a Transfer Station sticker;  we have PAYT bags?
The Transfer Station sticker identifies that you are a resident of Marshfield and allows you access to the Transfer Station.  You can access the Transfer Station as often as you like to leave recyclables, visit the Swap Shop, or to pick up as much compost as you need.  All trash must be in a Marshfield PAYT bags.



What about Styrofoam?

Many people are under the impression that molded styrofoam is recyclable.  Unfortunately, it is not.  Styrofoam is only one name for a material called "expanded polystyrene" or EPS. EPS is a petroleum by product, first commercially produced during World War II in the production of synthetic rubber.  EPS is most often referred to as styrofoam, although "Styrofoam" is actually a brand of home insulation tradesmarked by Dow Chemical.  Polystyrene comes in two forms: molded pieces and as peanuts.  Molded pieces are used to make coffee cups, salad boxes, trays, egg cartons, and protective packaging and shipping is out of the question.  As it is not recyclable, molded polystyrene should be disposed of as trash.

What can be recycled?

Marshfield residents can recycle a lot more than many people realize.  There are two basic categories of recyclables:* These 2 categories need to be separated.  Your bottles/can/plastics (#1,2,3,4,5,&7)) in the recycling bin or barrel that is marked recyclables and paper/cardboard to be put in a brown bag or tied together.  You may place your paper/cardboard beside your bin or on top of the bin, but it must be tied together (you can not leave it loose)  Please keep the paper together (brown bag or tied together) so that the wind will not blow it all over.  Do not recycle plastic bags or plastic from your cleaners, or bread bags.  

PAPER  (Please view curbside and transfer station acceptable items)

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Newspaper and magazines
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Paperback books, phone book
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Office paper
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Shredded paper in closed paper bags or clear plastic bags
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Junk mail, even with windows
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Cereal boxes, paper towel tubes
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Cardboard (unless it has food stains)
 
CONTAINERS

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Steel and tin cans
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Aluminum cans, pie plates and trays
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Glass containers
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All plastic marked #1,2,3,4,5.7 (not#6)
If there is no chasing arrow with the numbers 1-7 on the item it is NOT recyclable.

What about attic or basement cleanouts?

Large volumes of bulky waste may be taken to the Transfer station.   You weigh and pay $75 per ton (with a minimum of $35 at the Transfer Station.  Please bring a check to be made out to the Town of Marshfield to the Transfer Station.  If you have commercial plates and have a business $150 per ton with a minmum of $100. 

What if I don't have space to store all my recycling?

The Town offers additional bins at no extra cost.  In addition, the Town has "Recyclables" stickers that can be placed on barrels.  Use the recycling bin for heavier paper and a bin or marked barrel for bottles and cans. No container can weigh more than 50 pounds.


Will there be more illegal dumping?
The Town has not had more illegal dumping since PAYT began.  There is now an Enforcement Officer who is able to monitor the areas that have had illegal dumping in the past.  



What about large families?
The PAYT program gives everyone an incentive to recycle everything they can.  That is particularly important for larger families.  It has been our experience so far that most larger families have been able to increase their recycling enough to hold their total cost to approximately what it cost them before PAYT.  One Marshfield PAYT bag per week (in addition to the allowable barrel) brings the annual cost up to roughly the level in effect before PAYT.  The result has been a dramatic increase in recycling and a decrease in trash.  In PAYT towns, residents have reduced their trash tonnage by 25%-35% by recycling  more, composting more, donating more and buying with an eye to packaging.  If we hadn't implemented PAYT large families, along with everyone else, would have seen their costs increase significantly.  

What is the composting process?
All organic material contains carbon and nitrogen in varying amounts.  The microorganisms need carbon for energy and nitrogen to reproduce, they are most productive when the ratio of carbon to nitrogen is about 30:1.The main thing to keep in mind as you build your pile is that dry, woody materials, like dried leaves, straw and cornstalks, are high in carbon and should be layered with materials like green weeds, grass clippings, or animal manure, which are high in nitrogen.  Do not add meat, bones, fat, and greasy or oily foods.  Other materials which should not be added to the compost pile include cat and dog manure, diseased plants, weeds that have gone to seed, and weeds that spread by rhizomes, such as morning glory, ivy and quack grass.  In order ro keep your compost pile from developing unpleasant smells, oxygen must be available so that aerobic organisms will thrive.  The soil organisms need a moist evironment.  As the organisms go to work, they produce heat, which causes the temperature in the pile to rise.   Bins are preferable to open compost piles for several reasons.  They look neater, keep out pests, and help the pile hold in heat.   



What will happen at the transfer station?
You need a $20 sticker to enter the transfer station.  All trash must be in PAYT bags. Small quantities of Large trash items that cannot be bagged – e.g. a window or door may be accepted. If you have a clean out from your attic or basement you may opt to weigh and pay, $75/ton $35 minimum. All recycling will remain the same.  If you have commercial plates and have a business it is $150 per ton with a minimum of $100. 



Will we still have Household Hazardous Waste days?

Yes,  September 15, 2012   9am - 1pm at the Furnace Brook Middle School.
This is for TOWN OF MARSHFIELD RESIDENTS ONLY!!

For further information please contact:
Debbie Sullivan, Solid Waste and Recycling Enforcement Officer
Donna Loomis, DPW Administrative Clerk-Solid Waste Division