"50 Years of Recycling in Ridgefield: Then & Now" Exhibit

Ridgefield is celebrating a golden environmental anniversary this year and a new exhibit highlights the decades-long effort to promote recycling.

Two days before Earth Day, on April 20, 1974, Ridgefield celebrated the official opening of the Ridgefield Recycling Center, one of the first such municipal facilities in the state. Townspeople were early and enthusiastic adopters of recycling: regular collections of recyclable materials had begun several years before the center opened. A 1972 event, The Dump Ball, brought townspeople together to support the creation of a permanent center for recycling.

The Ridgefield Historical Society, Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority and the Town of Ridgefield have created an exhibit in Town Hall opening in February that highlights recycling efforts here over the past 50 years. Visit the exhibit Monday through Friday from 8:30am-4:30pm through April 30, 2024 in the entrance lobby at Ridgefield Town Hall. Throughout April there will be special promotions by the town on ways to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.