The Town of Newtown launched a recycling survey, on September 15, that will be available to fill out until October 1.

According to Newtown Public Works Director Fred Hurley, the survey is for “public input on where to go with recycling.”

The Public Works Department created the questionnaire with the assistance of the Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority (HRRA), which is a regional, governmental, waste management, and recycling authority that serves 14 Connecticut municipalities, including Newtown.

The survey comes shortly after it was announced that Newtown, and other HRRA towns, will take part in the new glass recycling program.

Glass recycling is still accepted through curbside pickup, but residents are encouraged to bring acceptable glass to the transfer station to be put in the “glass-only” bay. [For more information on glass recycling, read “HRRA Announces Official Launch Of New Glass Recycling Program,” reported in The Newtown Bee’s September 10 edition.]

The public can access the survey online by scanning the QR code on the town’s Facebook post or by visiting surveymonkey.com/r/9QJMBQ2.

“Residents also have the option of calling our office at 203-270-4300 and taking the survey over the phone,” Hurley said.

A physical copy of form is not currently available.

The six questions are:

*What road do you live on in Newtown?

*Do you use the town’s curbside recycling?

*Do you use the transfer station?

*Do you have a private hauler for garbage pickup?

*Do you use your private hauler for recycling too?

*If the town no longer provided curbside pickup of recycling, would you use the transfer station or your private hauler for pickup?

All the questions are multiple choice except for the first one where respondents must type in their street name. As an anonymous survey, the house number is not needed.

Residents should be aware that while the original social media post about the survey with the QR clode indicates there are seven questions, Hurley has noted it was shorted to six questions after it was made public.

Social Media Feedback

The public engagement on the Town of Newtown’s Facebook post about the recycling survey resulted in mixed reactions and many comments.

Some expressed that they do not know where the transfer station is located and that its hours are not convenient for their schedules.

The Public Works Department’s Transfer Station webpage details that the station is on Ethan Allen Road and its hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday from 7 am to 3 pm. The Transfer Station is closed on Good Friday, July 4th, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving (on Thursday and Friday), Christmas, and New Year’s Day. It closes early, at 11 am, on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

There were also remarks about how people wished there was a place in the survey to add typed-in feedback.

In response to those requests, Hurley told The Newtown Bee, “They can always send [a] comment to Newtown Public Works, ts.permits@newtown-ct.gov or 203-270-4300.”

For more information about Newtown Public Works, visit newtown-ct.gov/public-works. To learn more about HRRA and recycling in Newtown, visit hrra.org.

Reporter Alissa Silber can be reached at alissa@thebee.com.