Bottles and Cans

The Troop has built a shed at the Bolton Transfer Station for the purpose of sorting returnable bottles and cans deposited in the shed by Bolton residents. This section describes the procedures to be followed by Scouts and their parents when it’s their turn to sort.

Remember – sorting redeemable bottles and cans is the Troop’s sole source of funds. These funds are used to help offset the cost of camping trips, to purchase and repair equipment, to pay for advancement materials, and more. As a member of Troop 1, you have an important role to play in keeping the Troop on a secure financial footing.

Figuring Out When It’s Your Turn

The schedule is posted on the troop website , and it is announced at each Tuesday’s meeting.

Before You Go

Before heading to the shed:

• Give the other member of the sorting team a call to verify that he’s coming and to arrange a time to meet. Two Scouts are assigned to most weekends; three Scouts are assigned following some holiday weekends, when larger volumes of bottles and cans can be expected. Parents are not explicitly assigned, but it is expected that one or both of a Scout’s parents will help.
• Collect beer case boxes from local convenience and package stores. These boxes are required to organize the bottles that are returned to the redemption center (cans and plastic bottles are sorted in large plastic bags). It is the responsibility of each team member to bring as many boxes as they can collect. You can never have too many.

If you leave the collection of boxes for the last minute, chances are you won’t be able to find enough. It’s quite common to fill 50 or more case boxes each weekend. Good sources for these boxes are: 

• Firewater on Forbush Mill Road
• Country Cupboard on Main Street
• Colonial Spirits in the Shaw’s plaza in Stow
• Bacon’s Wine and Spirits in Hudson

All you have to do is ask.

When dealing with local businesses, the boys should make the request for the boxes and make it clear that they’re being used for fundraising and community service (and not, say, for moving). Please remember to be polite and courteous as another Scout will inevitably be visiting that business for more boxes in the future.

• Check the weather. While it’s possible to get out of the weather and sort inside the shed, it’s often more convenient to sort outside.
• Pack a snack and a drink.

How Sorting Works

It’s quite simple, really:

1. Put on a pair of latex gloves; you’ll find these in the shed. If you prefer to bring your own, that’s fine, but it is strongly suggested that hands be covered at all times. Any way you slice it, sorting is a dirty job.
2. Returnable/redeemable glass bottles are placed in the case boxes you brought, 24 bottles to a box. Use only case boxes (not, for example, wine boxes). (You remembered to bring boxes, right?)
3. Returnable/redeemable cans (typically soda cans) and plastic bottles (soda and sparkling water) are placed in one of several bins in the sorting shed. There are separate bins for aluminum cans, and for plastic bottles of different sizes (2 liter, liter, and half-liter); the bins are marked to indicate the type of container they are intended for. Each bin is lined with a large plastic bag. (You will also find plastic bags in the sorting shed.)
4. When a bin is filled to the top, remove the bag from the bin. You will see that there’s still quite a bit of room in the bag. Keep filling until the bag is nearly full, but leave enough room to tie the top of the bag (square knot, of course!).
5. Place an empty bag in the bin.
6. Repeat steps 2 through 5.

Sorting Rules

• Don’t crush the cans.
• Don’t crush the plastic bottles.
• Don’t tie-off bags unless they’re filled.

Are We Done Yet?

You’re done when there are no bottles and cans left to sort, the shed is swept clean, and supplies have been put away. Does this mean you have to plan on a full day at the shed? No. But it does mean that you cannot arrive at, say, 10am and call it a day at noon, as additional bottles and cans will surely be deposited until the transfer station closes, at 3pm.

Your sorting team can come when it wants, but you need to stay until the job is done. If you leave before the job is done, you will be required to return the following weekend to help the other team.

One approach that works for many teams is to arrive at noon and stay until the Transfer Station closes (at 3PM) or later, if needed. You can remain at the Transfer Station after hours, just make sure to close the gate securely when you leave. Similarly, you might choose to come on Sunday if your team can’t make it on Saturday. The Troop has permission to be at the Transfer Station when it is closed to the general public.

One approach that seldom works is for the team to work separately (one member/parent in the morning, another member/parent in the afternoon) as it is difficult to anticipate, for the morning crew, how many bottles and cans were left during the week (the Transfer Station is open on Wednesday and Friday), or, for the afternoon crew, how many bottles and cans came after the morning crew left or will come during his shift.

The bottom line is to work as a team. Stay until the job is done. If you can’t make a Saturday work, Sunday is a valid option.

What About Non-Redeemables?

Redeemable bottles and cans aren’t the only items that get left at the shed. People also mistakenly (it is presumed) leave other glass items (empty jars, wine bottles, and so on) and plastic items (milk containers, for example) and other recyclable but not redeemable containers. Thankfully, the Transfer Station has large bins for recyclable items, and as Scouts, we should take advantage of them.

The following items should be set aside during the sorting process and recycled/trashed accordingly:

• Corrugated cardboard – put in the cardboard recycling bin
• All other cardboard (six-pack packaging, for example) and paper (paper bags, for example) go in the mixed paper recycling bin
• Plastic and tin cans have their own bin
• Wine and liquor bottles go in the glass bin (sorted by clear/colored)

Plastic bags should go in the trash. No sticker is required for trash collected by the Scouts during the sorting process. Scouts should use caution if walking to the recycling bins.

Before You Leave

Take an inventory of the shed supplies – specifically, check the supply of gloves and plastic bags. Report this information to the Bottles and Cans coordinator, and make sure to mention it at the following week’s Troop meeting.

You also need to count the number of bags and case boxes that are ready to be hauled to the redemption center.

Hauling

Hauling is done, typically on Saturdays, by assigned Scouts and parents. When the shed is full of sorted and bagged/boxed bottles and cans (as reported at Tuesday’s meeting), the assigned hauling team should haul at the earliest opportunity. This ensures that the Troop gets the money that it has worked for, and that Scouts have room to work in the shed while sorting.