Boston's Sept 26 Zero Waste Day, and Its Limits

Sellers keep hitting the same wall somewhere between deciding to list and the photographer showing up. The basement holds a pile that the trash truck won’t take: oil based paint, gasoline in a can, a propane tank, fluorescent tubes, an old thermostat with mercury inside it.

The date and the place

The City of Boston’s next Zero Waste Day drop-off is Sept 26, from 8:30 a.m. to noon, at 400 Frontage Road, the Central DPW facility in Roxbury. The city lists the price as free.

Who can use it

Boston residents. You show a photo ID, a utility bill, or a lease as proof of residency. The city does not take waste from businesses, and it reserves the right to reject material that doesn’t meet its regulations. That last line is about packaging. Mercury items have to arrive intact, since the city won’t take cracked ones, and paints and other hazardous liquids have to be in containers with labels staff can read.

The limits

There’s a 20 gallon limit on paint, motor oil, gasoline and all chemicals, and no single container can exceed 5 gallons. Car tires are capped at 8 per person, and bike tires at 8 per person. Paper shredding is capped at 10 copy paper size boxes. The shredding happens on site, but the city warns that traffic volume means residents can’t watch their own documents go through.

What you can skip bringing

Latex and acrylic paint is not hazardous. Let it dry out in the can and put it out with your regular trash. Plain alkaline batteries, the single-use AA and AAA sort labeled no added mercury, also go in the regular trash. Rechargeable lithium ion batteries are different, and those the city does want.

What it’s actually for

Electronics down to cords and chargers, hazardous chemicals, mercury items including thermostats and fluorescent bulbs, tires and car batteries, fire extinguishers, propane tanks empty or full, paper shredding, and the textiles station, which takes clothing, shoes and linens along with dishware, pots and pans.

Why I bring it up to sellers

A garage stacked with hazardous cans reads as deferred maintenance in photos, and a buyer’s inspector can note the storage. Getting that pile out costs you a morning. Thinking about listing in Boston this fall? Send me the address and I’ll tell you what’s worth doing before the photographer comes. Diana Kim, REALTOR®, eXp Realty.