Reduce Your Waste

Divert materials from your household trash to use fewer Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) trash bags, reduce the quantity of waste disposed of in incinerators and landfills, and reduce your costs. Produce less waste by reducing, reusing, and recycling. 

Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle

Your first step to managing your waste should always be to reduce your consumption to decrease the amount of trash generated. If you don’t need it, don’t buy it or use it. Divert materials from your trash by minimizing consumption and being less wasteful of goods. Some examples include: bringing your own shopping bags to stores, choosing reusable products, buying items with less packaging, using a refillable water bottle, skipping single-use plastics (straws, utensils, take-out containers), and going paperless for bills.

Your second step is to find new ways to reuse materials before throwing them away. Consider donating or gifting items you no longer use or want, repairing broken items instead of replacing them, or repurposing them for different functions that you can use.

After an item has lived out its course, recycling should be the last step to consider to turn something old into something new again. Recycle as much as you can to keep materials out of the waste stream. View our Acceptable Trash & Recycling Materials List. If something is not acceptable for curbside recycling, consider another alternative way to reuse or recycle it.

Textile Recycling - Clothing

Keep clothes out of the trash by donating unwanted textiles to thrift stores like Goodwill or the Salvation Army. The City of Concord proudly partners with Apparel Impact to provide a community textile recycling and recovery program. Several drop-off bins are available locally throughout Concord to keep materials out of incinerators and landfills, while helping families in need. Acceptable items include men’s clothing, women’s clothing, children’s clothing, vintage clothing, coats/jackets, winter gear, undergarments, sheets, towels, all footwear, and accessories such as hats, purses, bags, backpacks, belts, gloves, ties, scarves, robes, and jewelry. Items collected are inspected and prioritized for reuse, or if in rougher condition, will be upcycled or downcycled into new life. Together, let’s make an impact on textile recycling. 

City-Owned Apparel Impact Drop-Off Locations:

  • Concord General Services: 311 North State Street
  • Concord Water Treatment Plant: 53 Hutchins Street
  • Concord Transfer Station: 77 Old Turnpike Road
  • City-Wide Community Center: 14 Canterbury Road

Composting – Food Waste

Minimize food waste by cooking smaller portions, eating leftovers, and composting food scraps. When managed correctly, composting will create an all-natural, nutrient-rich soil that you can use as fertilizer for your lawn or garden. What a great way to turn unwanted waste into a new, useful material. Compost bins are available for purchase in a limited supply at our Utility Billing Office. Email Adam Clark to inquire about purchasing a compost bin, or use your own.

Books

Keep books out of your trash by donating them. Books are not acceptable for curbside recycling, but books in decent condition may be acceptable for donation at Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or a library. 

Electronics

Keep electronics out of your trash by recycling televisions, computers, tablets, radios, cellphones, video games, cameras, chargers, printer cartridges, and more. These items are not acceptable for curbside recycling, but they may be acceptable for recycling at a local electronics store. Please contact the business to confirm acceptance before drop-off.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle to minimize waste, protect the environment, and save energy, money, and resources.