Newtown residents are reminded that the curbside recycling program is going to end on January 1.

For those who are still unsure how this came about — Newtown faced many challenges in trying to navigate this year’s budget. The town boards and commissions found that there would not be enough in the budget to continue to fund curbside recycling. With over $1 million in budget cuts made in March, Newtown residents still face a $1.81 million increase to their taxes. Funding curbside recycling through the rest of the year would have pushed that tax increase to over $2 million.

The elimination of curbside recycling went back and forth with the town, with the first selectman’s budget initially cutting the curbside recycling line item in half, then the Board of Selectmen adding $411k back in to keep the program for the full fiscal year (July 2025 to June 2026), then the Board of Finance slashing that addition back out so that curbside would once again face being phased out at the end of December. Residents approved the budget, and in essence, the cut, in April. While a survey concerning refuse early in the year showed many residents in favor of curbside, the town budget faced “major headwinds,” according to then First Selectman Jeff Capeci, and the budget went through multiple rounds of cuts.

Now, on January 1, all residents who do not use a private hauler for their garbage pickup will have to bring recycling to Newtown Transfer Station. Residents can bring their old recycling bins to the office at Newtown Transfer Station any time it is open.

The schedule for the rest of the year is as follows: Thursday pickups will be on Friday, December 26; Friday pickups will be on Saturday, December 27; Monday pickups will be December 29; Tuesday pickups will be on December 30; and Wednesday pickups will be on December 31. These will be the last curbside recycling services for Newtown.