Greenfield collected 128 tons of recycling in the month of July. That’s 10.81 tons more than the city collected in July 2025, representing what the city says is a trend toward increasing recycling volumes. Over the past year, Greenfield has collected a total of 1,303.14 tons of recycling, which the city attributes to recent changes in how recycling is collected.
Last year, Greenfield switched to a single-stream recycling system, allowing all recycling to be placed in a bin and collected together, whereas previously, paper, cans and plastic materials had to be separated. Earlier this summer, the city also replaced the 18-gallon bins with 95-gallon carts that could be picked up and collected using new automated recycling trucks.
“As with most changes this significant, there were some initial adjustments, but our new recycling program is working very well,” Department of Public Works Director Paul Newell said in a written statement. “It’s really reduced strain on our staff, and is improving the efficiency of our operations.”