Wellesley Launches RDF App

New Tool Helps Keep Waste Out of Landfills, Lowers Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Supports the Town

Unsure how to dispose of your greasy pizza box? Want to know if the Recycling and Disposal Facility (RDF) is open, or when the next shredding event is scheduled? Just check the Wellesley RDF App to help you manage your waste more sustainably. Search for “Wellesley RDF” in your App Store, download the tool today, and open up information at your fingertips.

Residents who don’t have a smartphone can access the RDF App from a computer by going to the RDF webpages on the Town of Wellesley website here.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle are key strategies for conserving our precious resources, keeping trash out of landfills, and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. The new RDF App simplifies the do’s and don’ts of waste management and will help you make better use of a treasured Wellesley institution.

Use the App’s “How to…” function to:
- Search specific items such as plastic bottles, cardboard, and food waste;    
- Learn their most sustainable endpoints; and
- Find out where to place them at the RDF.

The App’s event calendar keeps you up to date on:
- The RDF hours;
- Opening and closing days for the popular Reusables Area;
- Special events and collection days for paint, hazardous waste, and shredding.

Use the App to StepUp! your RDF use:
- Apply for a permit;
- Sign up to volunteer;
- Learn more about how to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle in Wellesley.

“By using Wellesley’s innovative RDF, residents can help protect the environment and contribute revenue to the Town of Wellesley,” said Jamie Manzolini, RDF Superintendent. “Solid waste generated in Wellesley makes up approximately 6% of our greenhouse gas emissions. Most greenhouse gases from waste handled by the RDF emanate from organic material decomposing in a landfill. Diverting this material away from the landfill through reduce, reuse, and recycle practices, and especially food waste diversion, lowers our waste-related carbon footprint.”

Thanks to its many reuse and recycling options, in Fiscal Year 2020, the RDF diverted 38% of materials from landfills. In addition, the granularity of the RDF’s recycling system produces high quality, valuable plastic and paper products, which the RDF sells to distributors for a profit benefitting the community.

Be Part of Wellesley’s Climate Action
​The new RDF App also helps supports Wellesley’s new Climate Action Plan by enhancing and expanding access to and services at the RDF, and by seeking to lower greenhouse gas emissions. The Climate Action Plan, completed in February 2022, provides a roadmap for achieving townwide greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals, including the goal of net zero emissions by 2050. These goals, adopted by Town Meeting in April 2021, align with the State of Massachusetts and federal government carbon neutrality goals.

So, StepUp! Download the RDF App and take action to protect our planet by helping the RDF raise Wellesley’s reduce, reuse and recycle efforts to a new level.

For more information visit the Wellesley RDF App webpage and to provide feedback on the Wellesley RDF App, contact Jamie Manzolini, RDF Superintendent, at 781-235-7600 ext. 3340 or email jmanzolini@wellesleyma.gov