July 8, 2025 Submitted by The Cleaner Greener Hingham Committee
The Hingham Transfer Station is proud to announce a new recycling opportunity for residents. High-density polyethylene (HDPE #2) plastic containers can now be recycled in the bin pictured below. The sign says “frosted” plastic, to distinguish it from the solid white milk jugs or other colored containers also made of HDPE #2.
Why recycle HDPE #2 separately?
Frosted HDPE #2 plastic is a valuable resource used as the raw material to make many new items. Examples include new plastic containers, pens, lumber for plastic furniture, and even the compost bins that the town of Hingham sells for backyard composting. The Town of Hingham earns money selling the collected frosted HDPE #2 to companies that manufacture these products. Frosted HDPE # 2 has a higher market value than other types of colored and white HDPE, such as shampoo bottles, motor oil, liquid detergents and other household cleaners. Recycling frosted HDPE # 2 separately lets Hingham take advantage of the material’s higher market value. Residents may also consider purchasing milk in frosted plastic containers rather than in waxy paper milk cartons which are not recyclable in this part of the state.
How can this program benefit residents?
This new frosted HDPE program will generate a small amount of revenue to support the Transfer Station’s recycling program. “Any revenue generated from recycling HDPE #2 help us offset the rising cost of hauling less valuable recyclable items away and will allow us to make improvements to the transfer station” says DPW Superintendent Ashley Sanford. This amount earned is estimated to be around $10,000 annually, depending on market rates.
How can I recycle my frosted plastic?
Frosted plastic is only valuable if it is clean and properly sorted. Containers should be rinsed clean with caps screwed on tightly. Labels are okay as they come off later in the recycling process.
Hingham’s first bale of HDPE # 2 plastic was rejected for having too many unacceptable items. “Cleanliness of the material matters and contamination in the bale makes a load not suitable for market,” said Dan Buonagurio, CEO and President of Recycle Works, the Braintree-based company that inspected and rejected the first bale of HDPE #2 from the Hingham Transfer station recently. “There were tennis ball containers, clear water bottles and other containers that were not natural HDPE #2 in the load, causing us to reject it for pickup.”
Help the Transfer Station help residents
In order for this program to be successful, please do not deposit material other than frosted or natural HDPE #2 into the marked bin. That would result in a “lose lose” situation for Hingham – it makes more work for the DPW staff who need to pick through the material and remove things that don’t belong and may result in the entire load of valuable plastics being rejected by the hauler.
More information for recycling nerds
For those readers who may keep tabs on recycling and other environmental issues, there has been a lot written about the dismal state of plastic recycling in recent years starting with a study released by the environmental nonprofit, Greenpeace in 2022 reporting that only 9% of plastics are recycled. There was a significant backlash to this study with a number of articles published that refuted that statistic, especially for the state of recycling here in Massachusetts which, according to many experts, is robust. On the contrary, the plastic recycling system is not broken, especially here in Massachusetts. The Long Range Waste Disposal and Recycling Committee (also known as the Cleaner Greener Hingham Committee) intends to write a series of articles about recycling in the Hingham Anchor in the future. We will be sure to report back to the community about the new frosted or natural plastic HDPE #2 recycling program next year.
If you have any questions or comments about recycling in Hingham or suggestions for future articles, please contact us at cleanergreener@hingham.ma.gov
Thanks for the photos to show the types of plastic jugs that qualify. Looking forward to contributing to this initiative with some frosted plastic jugs!