- Home
- Government
- Boards & Committees E - Z
- Recycling Commission
Westford Recycling Commission (WRC)
Happy Spring! There lots of events this spring so please take advantage of these opportunities to keep items out of our waste stream saving the Town money and keeping it clean.
The Westford Recycling Commission (WRC) is hosting three events on consecutive weekends this spring: (1) Brush Chipping Collection on April 24, 2021; (2) The Electronics & More Event on May 1, 2021; and (3) Household Hazardous Waste Collection event on May 8, 2021.
In addition, the Westford Rotary Club is holding a plastic bag collection event on April 10, 2021 which kicks off a 6 month "Bags to Benches" challenge to collect as many plastic bags as possible through October 10 at four drop-off locations in Westford.
Finally, the Rotary Club is holding its periodic document shredding event also on April 10, 2021.
Please scroll down for details on each event.
Pickup Status
This week's trash and recycling pick-up are on a NORMAL schedule. Check the icon on the right to see if it's a blue or green week (you can confirm which week applies to your street HERE). See the schedule for the year in our FY2021 Recycling Guide.
Brush Chipping on April 24, 2021
Saturday, April 24, 2021, 10:30 am – 4:30 pm, Westford Highway Garage, 28 North Street, Westford, MA for Westford Residents
Important Covid-19 protocol: Residents are required to wear masks and social distance. Please unload your brush as directed by the Highway Department personnel.
Proof of Westford residency required.
Accepted: Brush and branches up to 3 inches in diameter and 10 feet in length. Must be average residential brush categories and reasonable amounts: A load ranges from a trunk to pickup truck volume, includes tow behind a full trailer.
Not accepted: Building materials (e.g., fences, boards), land clearing materials and debris (e.g., roots, bushes, anything mixed with poison ivy), grass, and leaves.
Cost: $10 per load, checks only, payable to the Town of Westford, deposited in the marked container.
Electronics & More Event on May 1, 2021
Saturday, May 1, 2021, 9 am – 1 pm Westford Highway Garage, 28 North Street, Westford, MA for Westford Residents
For more information click HERE to view the flyer.
Important Covid-19 protocol:
- This is a fee-based collection open to Westford Residents only
- Residents are required to stay in their vehicles and wear masks.
- The Northeast Materials' staff will take the items from the vehicle for them and collect fees from the driver’s side window.
- CASH OR CHECK – No credit cards accepted. Checks should be made out to “Northeast Materials Handling”.
- The Town of Westford receives no proceeds from this event arranged by the Westford Recycling Commission.
Westford's Household Hazardous Waste Collection event is scheduled for May 8, 2021 (pre-registration is required)
To pre-register for the event, fill out the pre-registration form by May 1, 2021.
Additional Information:
- Pre-registration is required for this year's event to manage the expected high volume of participation and to minimize wait times.
- This event is for Westford households only (not businesses).
- There is a fee of $30 or $50 per vehicle (depending on volume). Residents are encouraged to consolidate with friends and neighbors to save time and money.
- Refer to Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event flyer for details and instructions on how to safely transport waste to the event.
- If you need assistance with pre-registering or have other questions about this event, please reach out to the Westford Recycling Commission:
- Andy Bergamini at 978-692-1582 (between 7am-7pm)
- Ellen Harde at 978-692-2039
- Email: recycling@westfordma.gov
You can find general information on hazardous waste collection by clicking the relevant link on the left side of this page.
Kickoff for the "Bags to Benches" Challenge on April 10, 2021 hosted by Westford Rotary Club
Kickoff Event: April 10, 2021, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Westford Valley Marketplace Parking Lot, 160 Littleton Road (click HERE for details)
The Recycling Challenge is hosted by the Trex Company. Trex Outdoor Furniture will turn the collected plastic bags and wraps into a bench that will be placed at the Roudenbush Community Center playground and other places in the future. The Bags to Benches Challenge six month collection goal is a minimum of 500 pounds of plastic bags and wraps from April 10, 2021, to October 10, 2021.
After the April 10 kickoff, there will be four Rotary/TREX collection sites for plastic bags and wraps around Westford until October 10, 2021 -- locations and other details can be found clicking HERE.
The Westford Recycling Commission has also prepared this video to help you identify what bags are accepted.
Document Shredding on April 10, 2021 hosted by Westford Rotary Club
April 10, 2021, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Westford Valley Marketplace Parking Lot, 160 Littleton Road
Documents are shredded safely and securely on site. The cost is $10 per banker box or 3 full paper bags, cash or check. All boxes are returned for personal recycling. Shredding service is provided by A1 Data Shred. The event is sponsored by Padma Sonti Homes and Keller Williams Realty.
A special thanks to Wilder Group Westford for the use of the Westford Valley Marketplace parking lot
More information on both events hosted by the Westford Rotary Club: www.westfordrotary.org or call 978-692-8958.
Need help with practicing the 3 R's (reduce, reuse, recycle), please check out this video by the youth of Westford:
The youth of Westford have worked hard to make a difference in Westford’s Reduce, Reuse, Recycle efforts through the production of the Waste Pyramid Video. In a very creative way they have driven home how we as residents can do better in this effort. Erin McEwan developed this project as part her successful efforts to achieve the Girl Scout Gold Award with a focus on reducing single-use plastic in Westford. The video is presented by 5 girl scouts who she recruited for this effort and their message is very compelling. The Westford Recycling Commission is very honored to host this wonderful video and applauds this effort.
Check How to Recycle Everything and RecycleSmartMA.
Be sure to follow our Facebook page:
Successful Audit for Westford Recycling
Members of the Westford Recycling Commission visited Westford’s recycling vendor, Waste Management, over 11 days in early February as part of an audit to verify if Westford’s recycling composition matched the requirement in the contract. Essentially, if the audit showed that Westford residents are putting non-recyclables in excess of 10% by weight, this would trigger penalties as removing non-recyclables from the stream incurs additional costs. However, the audit showed that only 8.4% of the recyclables contained contaminants meaning that our residents are doing a good job separating trash from recycles.
Waste Management found some interesting “contaminants” in our recycling.
Our recycling guide has helpful reminders for what can be put in the recycling.
On behalf of the Recycling Commission, we want to thank our residents for your efforts and saving the town money. Please see the letter we sent to the Select Board.