Keep Charlton Beautiful Committee

The Recycling Committee was appointed by the Board of Health in November of 2004 to gather information about the possibility of starting a town-wide recycling program. Free! Residential Refuse Drop-Off Center for Charlton Residents (PDF) Opens in new window

Free for Charlton residents for 5 years. For more information please contact the Town of Charlton at 508-248-2200 or download the Residential Drop Off Center (PDF).

For more information on residential waste & recycling CLICK HERE


Community Shred Day

UniBank will be offering a Community Shred Day at the bank’s Douglas branch located at 4 Mechanic Street in Douglas on Saturday, June 24, 2023 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This event is open to the community.

Click Here for more info.

Earth Day was a huge success for the Town of Charlton.  Thanks to Linda Davis' organizational talent, we had 212 volunteers pick up more than two tons of trash.  We filled to overflowing a 30 yard dumpster.  A lot of streets in town were cleaned up and we are particularly proud of tackling RT31 and Brookfield Road.  It has been years since those streets were cleaned.  A special thanks to all the wonderful citizens who made this year's festivities such a huge success.

trash

CLEAN-UP CREW - We are dedicated to keeping our roads clean.  Unless someone has a better idea, the most effective way of dealing with litter is to simply pick it up.  Thankfully, over 68 town residents have volunteered to keep their street free of litter.  This number represents about 30% of the streets in town.  We would like to get more residents on unserved streets to sign on to join our crew.  Coverage is particularly spotty on the roads off RT169 in the south west portion of town and on the roads off Stafford street on the north east side of town.  

The Keep Charlton Beautiful Committee is working on creating litter kits for volunteers.  We hope to be able to provide bags, gloves, pickers, and vests to help get the job done.

Please call or email Joe Mahaney, jmahaney@charter.net, 508-736-5922, if you are interested to help of would like further details.

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Great job done by the Charlton Middle schoolers.  In a couple of hours today, Saturday 3/19, these kids picked up 26 bags of trash, four tires and other car parts all within one half mile of Dresser Hill Ice Cream.  They are: Lilly Heybeck, Kennedy Davis, Carson Garon, Chase Morin, Colden Blackwell and Liam Greenwood.  

This is a great way to earn community service hours.  There is no shortage of litter.  Any organization or group interested, please contact Joe Mahaney at jmahaney@charter.net.

Please support Earth Day on Saturday April 30th.

CLEANING UP ROUTE 20 

Knights of Columbus and the Keep Charlton Beautiful committee chip in to clean up the traffic Islands on Route 20 in the middle of town.  

Little things make a big difference.  When people see a litter and weed-infested street, they don't think twice about adding to the mess.  Conversely, clean streets send the message that it is not ok to litter." 

Before & After Photos:

Brookfield Road & Rt 20

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IslandBrookfield2

Masonic Rd & Rt 20

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Because Route 20 is designated a state road, the state is responsible for the maintenance of that roadway.  Neither Charlton residents nor the Charlton DPW is responsible for Route 20.  

Route 20 is in a deplorable condition.  There has been no effort by the state to pick up litter or control weeds along Route 20 in a long time.  Unfortunately, it is our main street and the street most travelled in Charlton.  We are rightly proud of our town and we work hard to keep it clean, so it is particularly irksome that Route 20 is a mess.  

We have contacted our congressional delegation and Mass DOT District 3 about the deplorable condition of Route 20 through Charlton.  There is an unsightly collection of weeds and litter on the sides of the roads and on the traffic islands.  We have received positive responses from all contacted.  They promise to start cleaning up once the spring weather allows.  However, we firmly believe that more voices will be required to get the state to make Route 20 clean-up a priority.  So, please consider passing along your thoughts to the Mass DOT District 3 and our State Senator, Anne Gobi, and State Representative Peter Durant. 

(SAMPLE USE LETTER) 

Dear            :

Charlton is a beautiful country town.  The residents are proud of our town and work very hard to keep the streets clean.  It is very frustrating that the state does not do more to keep Route 20 weed and litter free.  

We understand that Route 20 through Charlton is a state road and that the state is responsible to keep it clean.  There is an unsightly accumulation of trash along the roadway, and weeds and litter cover every traffic island.  We ask that come spring you make it a priority to do something about the unsightly mess.

Thanks for your attention.     


Senator Ryan Fattmann

ryan.fattman@masenate.gov

24 Beacon Street

Room 213-A

Boston, MA  02133

 

Representative Peter J. Durant

peter.durant@mahouse.gov

24 Beacon Street

Room 33

Boston, MA  02133

 

Mass DOT Highway District 3

857-368-3033

massdothighwaycallcentercustomerservice@dot.state.ma.us