Recycling Options at the Transfer Station

What is Recycled at the Transfer Station?

For information on Recycle Together RI, visit RIRRC.  To see detailed information on what to put in your recycling, as well as what not to put in your recycling, review RIRRC's mixed recycling guidelines here.

Trailers are not allowed in the Transfer Station.
 
Learn more about the many materials our Hedly Street Transfer Station accepts:

  • Glass bottles and jars, plastic containers and metal cans, lids and foil recycling
  • Cardboard, cartons and mixed paper recycling.  Cartons should be rinsed.  No shredded paper, napkins, tissues or paper towels! Flatten your cardboard and no larger than 3' x 5' please!
  • Acceptable yard waste:  Leaves, twigs, and grass clippings. Branches and brush no larger than 2" in diameter cut into 3-foot-lengths. Yard waste must be placed into paper leaf and lawn bags or placed into containers no greater than 64-gallons for fast and easy disposal at the Transfer Station. No dirt, stumps larger than 2" in diameter, litter or plastic bags allowed in yard waste.
  • Books, CDs, DVDs, VHS (in donatable condition) - donation bin
  • Textiles: clothing, linens and towels - donation bins
  • Construction and Demolition debris (C&D) and Asphalt,Brick, and Concrete (ABC) disposal is also available.

        This service is available only to residents with a valid Transfer Station sticker and is for residential C & D and ABC only. 

  •  Trailers are not allowed in the Transfer Station

         Sticker Holders get  Four Passes Annually - As of 2019, annual Transfer Station sticker holders are entitled to receive up to four C&D and ABC passes provided by the Tax Collector’s Office on an as-needed basis.  A C&D and ABC pass is good for one load of C&D and/or ABC.  Each load must be in containers and volume may not exceed 32 gallons. 

          Each additional load above the 4 passes allowed - up to and including 32 gallons of C&D or ABC may be disposed of in the respective bin for a $50 fee per load by purchasing additional pass(es) at the Tax Collector's Office. 

  • .
       In order to dispose of C&D and/or A-B-C loads beyond the four 32 gallon barrels allowedresidents are required to pay at the Tax Collector’s office in Town Hall located at 2200 East Main Road between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Thursday and 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Friday.  Please provide your pass to the gate security guard when you arrive at the Transfer Station to dispose of your C & D or ABC.  

     Examples of acceptable C & D include:  • wood (including painted, treated and coated wood and wood products) • wall coverings • plaster • plumbing fixtures • glass • sheetrock/ wallboard/drywall (less than 5% in a load, by volume) • non-asbestos insulation • roofing shingles and other roofing coverings • electrical wiring and components containing no hazardous liquids, and pipe and metals that are incidental to any of the above.

     C & D loads cannot contain:  • garbage • corrugated container board • carpeting • furniture
    • appliances • tires • items regulated as hazardous waste • asbestos waste • electrical fixtures containing hazardous liquids such as fluorescent light ballasts or transformers for fluorescent lights • 55-gallon drums • fuel tanks.

    C & D is not allowed in the compactor pits.

    ABC:  concrete, asphalt, brick, and rock must be free of debris and litter.

  • Scrap metal
  • Mattresses and Box Springs

       NO  CHARGE OPTIONS 

       IF IN GOOD CONDITION AND NOT WET OR SOILED       

       If mattress or box spring is brought to the Hedly Street Transfer Station in a vehicle with a Transfer Station sticker:  when in clean, dry and in recyclable condition – free if placed in mattress container.

       Call the Hedly Street Transfer Station at 401-293-5865 first to ensure space is available in mattress container prior to bringing recyclable mattress or box spring.

-      Give it Away - . Give away new or gently used mattress and box springs in the "FREE" section of Craigslist.org, FreeCycle.org or “Aquidneck Island Families Sell & Swap” on Facebook.

Free mattress program is brought to you by Bye Bye Mattress.


      WET OR DAMAGED (OR WHEN TRNASFER STATION CONTAINER IS FULL)

Beginning July 1, 2018, RIRRC has raised the fee to $70 each piece for mattresses and boxsprings!

When in wet, damaged, or contaminated condition or if mattress container is full: $70 each. Pay fee at the Tax Collector’s Office prior to going to the Hedly Street Transfer Station. The town collects only the amount that it costs to dispose of the mattress or box spring.
 
Prudence Island Transfer Station - Pay in cash or check payable to “Town of Portsmouth”. The town collects only the amount that it costs to dispose of the mattress or box spring.


   
  
 
 


EXCLUSIONS:

  The free mattress program does not apply to fold-out sofa beds, air mattresses, futons, crib mattresses, water beds, car beds, bedding and loose mattress toppers, which should be cut up and placed into PAYT bags if at all possible, or otherwise disposed of as bulky waste.

 Anyone may bring mattresses and box springs to Ace Mattress Recycling (free of charge) or to Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC). Learn more by calling the RIRRC scale house at 401-942-1430 ext. 101.
  • Propane tanks (empty) and with the valve removed
  • Used motor oil or heating oil (maximum 10 gallons/day)
  • Large appliances/white goods: washers, dryers, stoves, dishwashers, water heaters, etc.
  • Large appliances with freon: refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners and dehumidifiers.
  • Furniture - always try to donate to:or give away free. In the event you are unsuccessful, wooden furniture can be broken apart and put in the C & D disposal section (charges may apply). As a last resort, other furniture goes in the bulky waste container.

The Portsmouth Transfer Station charges $5 for disposal of passenger tires (no rims) and $10 for disposal of truck tires.
 

All fees should be paid at the Tax Collector's office at Town Hall prior to disposal at the Transfer Station.

Additional Resources

View the RIRRC guidelines to learn more about what can be recycled here. View the RIRRC A-Z List with instructions for recycling, reuse or proper disposal of hundreds of products!