Welcome to Arlington's residential drop off option for harder-to-recycle materials! 

Weekday Appointments

Most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays

Register Here

Weekend Appointments

Saturdays October 5, November 2, and December 7 Register Here

What you can bring:

(most things are free, when fees apply we accept cash and checks only, no cards)

• Electronic waste (some fees apply) *** see below for details
• Scrap metal
• Propane tanks
• Batteries (all but alkaline, which are trash)
• Ink and toner cartridges
• Fire extinguishers- $5
• Bulky rigid plastics, details about what's acceptable
• Foam- on white, clean rigid plastic packing foam (looks and act like a foam cooler)
• Clothes/shoes/textiles
• Books and prerecorded media (book/movie/game CDs and DVDs)
• Mattresses and box springs dropped off for recycling, $45 per unit/piece, all sizes crib-king, curbside collection is the same price, signup at toughstuffrecycling.com
• Mercury items- thermometers & thermostats. No fluorescent bulbs, take those to local hardware stores for safe disposal.
• Soft plastic film materials, such as grocery bags and bubble wrap- please bring back to retailers for recycling

Purchase compost bins ($25) and sink-side food scrap collectors ($5)- Both the Earth Machine bins (in stock) and New Age bins (out of stock). 

***Electronic Waste details:
TVs & computer monitors: $20 each, please bring a helper if your TV is heavy.
Laptops: $5 each
All other electronic waste is free, examples include:
stereo equipment, printers, phones/tablets, cords, chargers, hard drives, keyboards, small appliances (such as toasters, irons, food processors, coffee makers: leave glass/plastic  parts at home for your trash, bring us the part that plugs in), ink and toner cartridges, rechargable/button/nicad/lithium batteries (alkaline go in trash), string lights, one- and twenty-pound propane tanks.

Not Allowed at Drop Off:

• Smoke or carbon monoxide detectors (trash)
• Light bulbs (hardware stores take fluorescent bulbs, the rest go in the trash)
• Regular curbside recyclables- keep those at home for our curbside program
• Cardboard- this is allowable at the curb, unlimited quantities
• Appliances- these are collected at the curb only, $20 each, call Republic at 781-289-0500 Appliances include microwaves, ACs, fridges, dehumidifiers, ovens, washers and dryers, etc.
• Burnable bulky trash items- one allowed curbside per week, search here to find out if your bulky is indeed "burnable"
• Anything wooden- we have no way to recycle wood, this is trash, here is some advice

24/7 Clothing/Shoes/Textiles and Books/Media drop off

Book drop off is no longer 24/7, please make an appointment at the Reuse & Recycling Center (see above) or drop off directly at More Than Words in Waltham.

Textiles (old sheets, towels and unwearable items), as well as usable clothing/shoes/belts/luggage, are accepted in all Bay State Textile bins at our local schools. If you don't see the bins in front of the school, look back by the parking areas. Good quality, wearable clothing can be donated in the green Second Chances  bin located at 33 Ryder Street or 24/7 in the Second Chances bin behind Arlington Whole Foods.

Medical Sharps

Collected by the Health Department on the following dates, 9 AM to 12 PM, no appointment needed:

2024
September 8 (Sunday) 
December 7 (Saturday)
2025
March 9 (Sunday)
June 14 (Saturday)

More information on the Health Department web page

Shredding Events

Secure document shredding, your privacy is protected

• No registration required
• Arlington residents only
• 2 box limit (about one foot cube-sized boxes)
• Please do not bring your already shredded paper (place in your trash)

2024
September 7 (Saturday)
November 16 (Saturday)
2025
March 8 (Saturday)
May 3 (Saturday)

Time: 9 AM - 12 PM

• Cash donations will be collected for local food security nonprofits in lieu of a fee for residents
• Businesses pay $5 per box, 5 box limit (about one foot cube-sized boxes)

Medications

Drop off prescription medications 24/7 at the Community Safety Building, 112 Mystic Street

Never flush any medication down the drain or toilet, it can negatively affect our marine life

More information about medication safe disposal 

Volunteer with us!

We are always looking for help at the Recycling Center. Even families can volunteer together. We ask that kids be at least 10 years old and accompanied by a parent. Sign Up Here (we suggest you start with just an hour if this is your first time)

Details about what you can bring to Events 

• Foam- this material is allowed in the trash, recycling is just optional, it's made from 95% air. We can only accept and recycle all-white expanded polystyrene (EPS) packing foam, such as foam coolers.  It will snap when you bend it. If it doesn't snap, then we can't accept it. Please remove all tape and labels before you come. No food packaging such as meat trays or take-out containers. No insulation-type foam (pink or blue board), packing peanuts, soft bendy foams, or mail order food prep kit foams, even if they say they are recyclable.
• Bulky Rigid Plastic- this material can also be placed in the trash, recycling is optional) Large plastic furniture, toys, barrels, bins and storage containers. Nothing smaller than a five gallon bucket. Please do not bring infant/toddler car seats, small plastic toys, or office and household items.  If items such as these cannot be donated elsewhere, they should be placed in the trash. Here is a visual explanation of what we can accept.
• Textiles and Clothing- (Bay State Textiles and Second Chances) clothes, sheets and towels, whether reusable or not. Unusable items get recycled into rags or insulation. Rags that have been used with paint or chemicals, or which are moldy/damp, should be placed in your curbside trash. More at Bay State Textiles which takes all textiles, and Second Chances, which takes only reusable items. Interesting fact: starting in fall 2022 textiles will be required to be separated from the trash per state law.
• Books and Pre-recorded Media, such as music, movies and video games- (More Than Words Bookstore) CDs, DVDs that you purchased can be donated, personally recorded CDs /DVDs, moldy books, and encyclopedia sets should be placed in your curbside trash. Cassette tapes and VHS tapes are also trash. More at More Than Words.
• Electronic Waste- Many items are in this category, including stereo equipment, printers, computer equipment, phones and televisions equipment. We have a $20 charge for screens and $5 for laptops, everything else is free. No appliances accepted (A/C, dishwasher, water heater, microwave) - you can dispose of these (fees apply) by calling Republic at 781-289-0500 then making an appointment for them to be picked up at the curb. Our e-waste recycler is Complete Recycling Solutions
• Soft film plastics - or bring to local grocery stores with your other soft plastic recycling- we accept grocery bags, produce bags, lock-type storage bags and bubble wrap.
  • Here is a visual explanation of what we can accept.
  • This is the same material that you can bring to local grocery stores for recycling, they all end up in the same place. It's easier for us if you would take these to the store for recycling.
    • Air pillows are okay, but please deflate them first.
    • No crinkly plastic, cereal bags, frozen food bags, foam-like plastics, or mixed materials, such as paper and bubble wrap mailers. All of these go with your trash.
• Scrap Metal such as file cabinets, screen, pots and pans, tools, and down spouts
• Ink and Toner Cartridges or take them to your local office supply store
• Batteries: we can recycle rechargeable, button cell, lithium, nickel cadmium and lead acid batteries. NO alkaline batteries, these go in the trash.
• Propane Tanks from camping or grills, up to 20 lbs. size.
• Fire Extinguishers, free if they are discharged and the top is removed; $5 fee for extinguishers that are full or have the top still on

What about recycling items that contain multiple materials?

Unless you can separate materials from each other before you get here, we cannot recycle it.

So, items that are all metal we can place in our metal collection, but items that are part metal, part plastic and part wood or fabric should be placed with your curbside trash (such as infant car seats, and some snow shovels)