community service

Late registrations for baseball are still being accepted through this Sunday, February 13, 2011. Check out the Westwood Little League website for more information.

There's no need to worry about sorting your recyclables or obtaining a special bin. Paper, cardboard, bottles and cans can now be mixed together for recycling, thanks to new sorting equipment at Waste Management Recycle America in Avon. To make it easier to bring recyclables to the curb, Westwood residents may convert a trash barrel to a recycling container with a FREE Recycle sticker. Stickers are available at Town Hall, the DPW on Carby St., the Senior Center, and both libraries, courtesy of Waste Management.

Materials collected for recycling are still the same. Please do not place plastic bags, Styrofoam, other non-container plastics or food contaminated paper products in the recycle bin. Do include all clean paper, cardboard, metal cans and lids, glass bottles and jars, and rigid plastic containers 1 gallon or less. Those are the only materials that can be sorted and sold to make new products. Paper clips, staples, window envelopes and bottle caps are ok. Other contaminants may degrade the whole load or damage the sorting equipment.

Recycling is not just a good idea, it saves Westwood money. Trash costs over $70/ton to dispose of at the Wheelabrator waste to energy facility in Millbury. Recycling is processed at no additional cost to the town. (If every resident reduced their weekly trash weight by 10 pounds, it would save the town thousands of dollars per week.) Composting non-meat kitchen scraps in a backyard bin is another great way to make better use of your waste.

For more information go to http://westwoodeac.com/WMRF2.aspx, or http://townhall.westwood.ma.us/index.cfm?pid=10205

(Thanks to Westwood Environmental Action Committee for this information)

Although the Westwood Community Access Television (WestCAT) nonprofit has not yet taken over local programming from Comcast, you can now view some recorded meetings from the WestCAT website at http://westcat.tv. The meeting room at Carby Street has been outfitted with robotic cameras and a wireless microphone system. Check out the presentation on America Recycles day at the November 1, 2010 Board of Selectmen meeting--the presenation starts around 13:50. As the video for any meeting is playing, you can skip around to various times during the broadcast.

Group Launches Membership Drive & Dennis Lehane Book Giveaway

Residents who join the Friends of the Library on any given day in November or December are eligible to win a signed copy of international bestselling author Dennis Lehane’s book, The Given Day.

The Friends of the Westwood Public Library launched their annual membership drive with the mailing of the group’s fall newsletter. To join, residents simply mail a donation in the included envelope. A winner will be chosen on New Year’s Day. By joining the Friends, town residents help fund book purchases, technology upgrades, authors’ visits, children’s programs and museum passes. Residents who did not receive a newsletter or a donation envelope can pick one up at the library.

The Friends of the Westwood Public Library Library is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization and membership contributions are fully tax deductible as allowed by law.