Potential Trash Collection Strike Could Impact Watertown Residents

Watertown DPWWatertown trash and recycling toters. UPDATE: Due to the strike trash and recycling pickup in Watertown will be cancelled on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. See more here. Watertown residents may feel the impact of a looming strike by employees of the company that picks up trash and recycling around the City. The contract between Republic Services and Teamsters Local 25 ends on June 30, 2025, and a strike could occur if a new deal is not reached.

WEEKEND FUN: Creative Chats, Easter Egg Hunt, Shakespeare, Recycling Event, Dim Sum

You can start this weekend early, with a Friday morning Creative Chat at the Mosesian with the artist Cat Bennett. She is a lifelong professional artist who has written a couple of books about how to make art creation a practice in your life. An important Earth Day event on Saturday is the DPW recycling day. It’s time to get rid of your very old tax files or equally old textiles and styrofoam you’ve been collecting. If you arrive before it runs out, there’ll be giving away Black Earth compost. Also, our town tree warden is gifting baby oak trees!

DPW Earth Day Event Will Include Styrofoam & Mattress Recycling, Paper Shredding & Get a Sapling

The following information was provided by the Department of Public Works:

Watertown Public Works will be hosting an Earth Day Event on Saturday April 19, 2025, from 10:00am – 2:00pm at the Jewish Community Day School Parking Lot – 57 Stanley Ave, for Watertown residents only (bring your ID). The event includes paper shredding, $25 mattress recycling, free dehumidifier turn in, styrofoam collection, a clothing drive, finished compost/soil give away, and baby oak trees giveaway. Mattress Recycling

HandUp, a mattress recycler, will be offering a discount on mattress and box spring recycling. Each unit will be $25 (and the City will pay the other $25). This is a first come, first serve option, until the truck is full.

2025 Watertown Trash and Recycling Calendar Released

The City of Watertown sent out the 2025 Trash and Recycling Calendar. See details in the announcement below, and a preview above. Please watch your mailbox for the 2025 Trash and Recycling Calendar. In addition to the calendar showing which days your trash, recycling and yard waste will be picked up, there is also useful information about composting, how to dispose of mattresses, furniture, clothing and TVs, the hours and location of the Recycle Center and what you can bring there, and a guide to what materials are and are not recyclable. You can also see the calendar on the Trash and Recycling page, where you can also download it if you can’t find the copy that you received in the mail.

Lost Diamond Recovered With the Help of Watertown DPW Employee

A woman who realized she had lost the diamond off her ring in a recycling bin recovered the stone thanks to the assistance of a Watertown Public Works employee who sifted through the refuse. On Nov. 15, a Belmont resident who asked not to be named had just been shopping at one of her favorite markets in East Watertown, Arax, when she decided to recycle some boxes. She put them into the nearby sidewalk recycling bin on Mt. Auburn Street.

Recycle Styrofoam, Mattresses, Textiles & Shred Paper at Watertown DPW Event

Watertown residents will be able to recycle mattresses, textiles, and styrofoam, and also shred paper at an event hosted by the Department of Public Works. See more information provided the City of Watertown, below. There is a General Recycling Event on Saturday, November 16, 2024, from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM at the Jewish Community Day School, at 57 Stanley Ave. Please bring a Watertown ID or proof of residency. This event is rain or shine.

Recycle Styrofoam, Mattresses, Shred Paper and More at Watertown Recycling Event

The following announcement was provided by the Department of Public Works:

There is a Watertown Recycling Event on Saturday, May 18, 2024 from 10AM-2PM at the Boston’s Jewish Community Day School Parking lot, 57 Stanley Ave. in the parking lot. Please bring a Watertown ID or proof of residency. Mattress Recycling

HandUp, a mattress recycler, will be offering a discount on mattress and box spring recycling. Each unit will be $20.

DPW Releases Results of Watertown’s Recycling Audit

The following information was provided by the Watertown Department of Public Works:

The Watertown recycling audit has concluded after two weeks. Thank you to all who reached out with questions and engaged with this city program! Observation from the audit found that about 10 percent of each route contains recycling contamination. This means we still have work to do in the city to ensure that we are sending the correct materials to our Materials Recovery Facility, also known as a MRF. MRFs, like everything else, can only work efficiently with the materials that they are built to process.