Burlington: You'll need one of these recycling bins in 2023. Here's why.

Lilly St. Angelo, Burlington Free Press
·2 min read

Burlington will require residents to completely switch to covered recycling toters — tall bins with lids and wheels — by May 1 to reduce wind-blown litter and protect workers from injury.

The new rules, passed by the City Council in November, will effectively eliminate the use of lid-less blue bins still used by thousands of households in the city, according to the Department of Public Works.

Director of Public Works Chapin Spencer said at the council's Nov. 7 meeting that his office has received many complaints about recyclables blowing out of the blue bins, which causes litter and often results in recyclables getting wet, which makes them unable to be recycled. Spencer also said several of his employees have been injured from lifting the bins into recycling trucks. A mechanism on recycling trucks can lift the toters, eliminating the need for workers to lift bins.

"We'd like to keep our workforce safe and the city clean," Spencer said during the meeting.

More:Don't be stumped by this stuff: How to recycle TVs, freezers, lightbulbs and more

An overturned recycling bin sits on the curb on a residential street in Burlington. Thousands of households still use the lid-less blue bins which will soon be completely phased out with new city rules.
An overturned recycling bin sits on the curb on a residential street in Burlington. Thousands of households still use the lid-less blue bins which will soon be completely phased out with new city rules.

The ordinance allows the city to enforce the new rule starting May 1 with fines or other disciplinary measures.

Spencer said in a phone interview Dec. 15 that the city just received a large shipment of toters, and all sizes are fully stocked. Toters vary in price depending on size:

  • 35-gallon toter (footprint about as small as a blue bin): $10

  • 65-gallon toter: $20

  • 95-gallon toter: $25

A decorated blue recycling bin sits on the curb on a residential street in Burlington. Thousands of households still use the lid-less blue bins which will soon be completely phased out with new city rules.
A decorated blue recycling bin sits on the curb on a residential street in Burlington. Thousands of households still use the lid-less blue bins which will soon be completely phased out with new city rules.

To buy a toter, residents must apply either through a paper application that can be mailed or brought to the Department of Public Works office on 645 Pine St. or online at: https://burlingtonvt.viewpointcloud.com/categories/1094/record-types/6533. Payments made online will incur a processing fee of $3 or 2.65% of the transaction.

Mobility-challenged and elderly residents with concerns about taking a toter to the curb can reach out to the Department of Public Works at 802-863-9094 or dpw-pinecustomerservice@burlingtonvt.gov.

Contact Urban Change Reporter Lilly St. Angelo at lstangelo@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @lilly_st_ang

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Burlington recycling: Covered toters required by May for all residents