Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What if I missed the most recent Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day?

A. The next collection event is scheduled for September 22, 2012 from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. However, there are options for recycling or disposing of many of the items before then. Compact fluorescent bulbs, cell phones, and batteries can be placed in collection bins in the hallway at Town Hall near the Town Clerk’s office (though regular alkaline batteries should be thrown in the trash, as they are non-hazardous and the Town does not currently recycle them). Other types of fluorescent bulbs—including 4’ and 8’ bulbs, and lead acid batteries (not vehicle batteries but the smaller ones), can be brought to the Town Highway Garage.

Computers, televisions, and most other electronics can be recycled at the Town Transfer Station on Rupert Road free of charge; see the Town Website for hours, directions, and rates for certain items. Used motor oil can be brought to any service station or oil change facility. Gas and oil mixtures are accepted by many mechanics, or call the Recycling Office for more information.

Latex (water-based) paint is non-hazardous, and partial cans can be dried out—remove the lid and set it in the sun, or mix with cat litter or sand to speed the drying, and then dispose of the entire can in the regular trash (leave the lid off).

That leaves items like full cans of latex paint; and oil-based paints, solvents, and lawn chemicals. The Town Recycling Coordinator recommends using or storing these items until next year, or not purchasing them in the first place. There now exists water-based paints and stains for most applications, and information is available about alternatives to pesticides and chemical fertilizers at Cornell Cooperative extension, or on the internet, including the ‘solutions’ section of www.pesticide.org

Q. How do I recycle electronics such as computers and televisions?

Bring unwanted electronics to the Rupert Road Transfer Station for FREE recycling throughout the year (see listing of free items on the Transfer Station web page), or save them to bring to the Town’s Household Hazardous Waste and Electronics Recycling events held each spring and fall. The following is a list of acceptable items:  http://www.townofbethlehem.org/pages/depServices/RupertRoadTransfer.asp.  Cell phones and rechargeable batteries can be recycled at Town Hall or the Town Highway Garage during regular business hours.

Q. How should I recycle batteries?

A. Rechargeable (Ni-Cad), lithium, button, nickel hydride, manganese, computer and cell phone batteries can be recycled in the bins in Town Hall near the Town Clerk's window, at the Town Highway Garage, or at select post offices and businesses in Town. Vehicle batteries can be recycled at all businesses where they are sold.

NOTE: Alkaline batteries no longer contain Mercury or Cadmium. Please throw alkaline batteries into the regular trash. Alkaline batteries include non-rechargeable A, AA, AAA, C, D, 9 volt and 6 volt, lantern.

PLEASE NOTE: As of December 2011, per the new State Law it is illegal to dispose of rechargeable batteries in the trash. All retailers that sell rechargeable batteries are required to collect them for recycling. Please recycle at retailers or per the instructions above.

Q. How do I recycle mercury containing devices – fluorescent light bulbs and old thermostats?

A. The Town of Bethlehem accepts spent fluorescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs, and old thermostats* at the Bethlehem Highway Garage daily during normal working hours, 7:00am to 4:30pm. Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs only can also be recycled at Town Hall where a box is located near the Town Clerk's office. We also accept these items, along with other mercury containing devices such as thermometers, during household hazardous waste collection events.   *Old (non-electronic) thermostats contain large quantities of mercury and should only be disposed of properly at the highway garage throughout the year, or at our hazardous waste collection events. Most modern electronic thermostats do not contain mercury switches, though you can look up the model number on the thermostat manufacturer’s website to verify if you are uncertain.

NOTE: Please pad them well with newspaper and/or bubble wrap to prevent breakage, and place them in a tight-fitting box or bag, or their original packaging. These items are categorized as “universal waste” which allows the Town to accept these items at all times.

Q. How do I donate clothing and other textiles for reuse or recycling?

A. Please see the following for more information including a map of donation bin locations in town: http://www.townofbethlehem.org/pages/Recycling/RecyclingNews.asp#Textiles

Q. What happens to Single Stream Recyclables after they are collected??

A. The materials go to the Sierra Processing Single Stream Recycling Facility at the Port of Albany for separation, and then are shipped to national and international markets.   Click here to view a slide show with photos and information about how that facility operates.

Q. How should I properly dispose of household "sharps"?

A. For proper disposal of home “sharps” (needles, syringes, and lancets), please visit www.health.ny.gov/diseases/aids/harm_reduction/needles_syringes/sharps/docs/albany.pdf for a list of disposal sites in Albany County.

Q. How do I recycle...

Wrapping paper and cardboard tubes: Consider reusing wrapping paper and gift bags! To recycle, all types of wrapping paper (unless it’s made of plastic rather than paper) and cardboard tubes may be placed in your Single Stream curbside recycling. If you do not have this service, brown wrapping paper, such as kraft paper bags, and paper tubes from wrapping paper can be recycled with cardboard boxes. Wrapping paper with colors can be recycled with office, home papers as long as they are not shiny. All types of wrapping paper and cardboard (unless it’s made of plastic) may also be recycled in the Green Fiber bins at the Elm Avenue CDTA Park & Ride.

Cardboard boxes: Single or triple layer cardboard must be flattened, and either recycled curbside with your waste hauler, at the Rupert Road Transfer Station, or placed in the 2 big green cardboard bins in the center of the Elm Avenue CDTA Park & Ride.

Gift packaging: Hard plastic packaging which is clean and free of contaminants, such as the clear plastic clamshell containers, can be recycled with your Single Stream curbside recycling, or with the comingled plastic/glass/metal containers at the Rupert Road Transfer Station.

Christmas tree recycling: Set real trees out curbside after the holiday, remove all ornaments and tinsel. No plastic bags please. The Town picks up trees after the holidays.

Holiday lights: Store for next year, or recycle your holiday lights: HolidayLEDs offers customers a chance to recycle their old incandescent holiday lights and receive a 25% coupon discount on any purchase of new, energy efficient LED holiday lights off their website. The program will run through January 2012.  For more information, visit their web site at http://www.holidayleds.com/holidayledscom_christmas_light_recycling_program. Light strands are barely biodegradable (if at all). Plastic and wire can take hundreds or thousands of years to decompose. Not to mention the risk to the animals that rummage in and near our landfills. Just as the plastic rings that bind 6-packs of cola can strangle small creatures, so can Christmas lights, turning a thing of joy in our homes into a killer in nature.

Plastic Bags and Film: Plastic shrink wrap, plastic bags, and other types of clean, dry “plastic film” can be recycled with store bags at your local grocery store, or stores like Target, CVS, Lowes or Walmart. 

Effective January 1, 2009, a new statewide law requires certain retail and grocery stores to set up a plastic carry out bag recycling program for their customers.  Stores with 10,000 square feet or more of retail space and chains which operate five or more stores with greater than 5,000 square feet of retail space, and which provide plastic carry out bags to customers, are required to comply with the law.

Polystyrene/Styrofoam packaging: Packing peanuts and often even the foam blocks can be given to shipping companies like Ship, Copy and More in Delmar. Alternatively, white “Expanded Polystyrene” blocks or forms that are clean and contain no paint or tape, etc. can be saved until you have a quantity, then taken to Shelter Enterprises for recycling (you can identify polystyrene as expanded foam if is composed of numerous tiny foam “beads” and will separate into little balls when broken apart). You need to contact Don Bertolucci first to make an appointment to drop it off: Phone: 237-4100 extension 16. Address: 8 Saratoga Street, Cohoes (at the North end of Route 787).

Green gift purchases: Sustainable gift ideas include food, drink and house plants; home-made items; cleaning service, restaurants and other gift cards; and donations to non-profit organizations. See the Town's Donating Reusables Brochure for a list of local charities which accept donated items: http://www.townofbethlehem.org/images/pageImages/Recycling/DonatingReusables.pdf

Shopping recycled: This can be done in the grocery store as well as the toy or department store. Look for recyclable packaging, items with less packaging or less non-recyclable packaging. Remember to bring your cloth bags to the store with you when shopping.  Keep in mind, beware of "greenwashing" (false or misleading environmental claims about products).

Fore more ways to recycle unwanted clothing, items, etc., please see Donating Reusables and Voluntary Recycling and Electronic Recycling at the Rupert Road Transfer Station

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