To the Editor:

I was happy to see your article about recycling in last week’s Bee [The Newtown Bee, “Curbside Recycling Dos and Don’ts: A Guide To Being A Better Recycler”]. I was very aware of the discussions and confusion about recycling on social media. One of the more talked-about subjects was how to recycle glass, and unfortunately, your article didn’t help to clear that up. I went to the HRRA website, and also called to make sure I had the correct information.

It is definitely preferable to bring glass to the transfer station, and not to put it in your bin for curbside pickup. This helps in several ways. When glass is put with other recyclable items in the bin, it can easily break, and then contaminates all the other items. Also, glass is much heavier than the other items, and thus it adds to the cost of recycling. Finally, when glass is recycled at the transfer station (free to Newtown residents for the glass recycling), it definitely gets recycled. That may not be the case if it is put in the curbside bin.

At this point, it is strongly encouraged that people bring their glass to the transfer station. My understanding is that more guidance about this will be coming soon.

Thank you,

Lynne Covill

9 Blakeslee Drive, Newtown

Editor’s Note: The abovementioned article does note: HRRA is asking residents to separate their glass items from the mixed stream (curbside) recycling and take glass items directly to the transfer station’s recycling center instead. We thank Covill for elaborating on this point.