DPW Launches Pop-Up Recycle Events for Hard-To-Recycle Materials

The Department of Public Works (DPW) is launching a 3-year pilot program to host pop-up events in different neighborhoods to help residents divert batteries, e-waste, and other hard-to-recycle items from landfills. DPW will host 10 pop-up events in 2026.

The first pop-up is on Earth Day, April 22, at the Tobin School, 181 Vassal Lane in the bus loop from 4:00-7:30 p.m. To access the event by car, use Fresh Pond Parkway or Lakeview Ave.

Residents are invited to drop off the following accepted items:

• Batteries
• Books
• Electronics & printer cartridges (i.e. small appliances, computers, cell phones, string lights, and other small electronics with a cord)
• Fluorescent bulbs & other mercury items (thermometers, thermostats)
• Plastic bags/film. See here for which types are accepted
• Scrap metal (no sealed containers, no large appliances)
• Curbside recyclables & bulky rigid plastics (laundry baskets, pails)

Accepted items are the same as those accepted at the DPW Recycle Center on Hampshire St. If you're unsure if an item will be accepted, please use the "Get Rid of it Right " tool.

Email DPW ([email protected]) if you plan to bring more than 50 items or 25 pounds of material, or if you have any questions.

The second pop-up will be held behind the former Kennedy-Longfellow School at 104 Fulkerson St on May 20, 4:00-7:30 p.m. Future pop-up locations and dates will be announced on the City's Recycle Center webpage or by subscribing to the monthly newsletter for Recycling.

By making collection easier and more accessible, DPW hopes to safely manage items prohibited in the trash (i.e. fluorescent bulbs, mercury-containing products and lithium-ion batteries) and keep more materials out of landfills. This project is funded through Participatory Budgeting after residents voted to fund the 3-year pilot program in 2025.