Earth Day to Arbor Day

Celebrate Earth Month with Us!

The City of New Albany’s annual Earth Day to Arbor Day activities include paper shredding, e-waste and hazardous waste drives, an Arbor Day proclamation, and tree planting.

E-Waste, Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off & Paper Shredding Event

The Spring Collection event (E-Waste, Household Hazardous Waste & Paper Shredding) was a success! On April 18, residents dropped off:

  • E-Waste: 9,593 lb.
  • Household Hazardous Waste: 14,595 lb.
  • Paper: 7,380 lb.

 

These materials will be recycled or properly disposed of, keeping them out of the landfill. 

What is allowed?
  • Please note: Paper shredding drives are intended to shred truly sensitive materials. Paper materials that do not contain sensitive information can be recycled with your residential recycling services (vendor dependent).
  • To help manage volume, we are unable to accept commercial quantities or bulk collections.
  • While the event remains open to the public, it is specifically designed to serve household and residential waste, with a primary focus on New Albany residents.
  • Learn about accepted materials, e-waste guidelines, and more by clicking here.

We encourage non-New Albany residents to seek out recycling options closer to home rather than waiting for one-time events like ours or traveling long distances.

Click here for a list of regional locations that accept recyclable items throughout the year.

Traffic should enter the Public Service facility from Walnut Street – not from Bevelhymer Road. Bevelhymer Road will be dedicated to pickleball complex traffic and for traffic leaving the waste drive. Signage on site will direct traffic to the appropriate lanes based on the materials they have to drop off. Please see the map below.

Four workers unloading paint cans from a car trunk onto a cart outside a white barn-like building.
Two young girls kneel in a wooded area digging in leaf litter with small trowels beside a green bucket and pink survey flags.

Arbor Day Proclamation & Tree Planting

The City held an official Arbor Day proclamation on April 24, 2026, in a celebration with local students planting over 300 native species of tree. These trees will grow the urban canopy providing shade, shelter for pollinator species, and reduce flooding.

Two uniformed emergency responders at a fire station holding clear bags of prescription bottles and pills with blue gloves.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

The New Albany Police Department and Plain Township Fire Department collected more than 72 lb. of pill and capsule medications on National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. If you missed the event, you can drop off leftover drugs at the New Albany Police Department (50 Village Hall Road). There is a drop box in the lobby available 24 hours a day. Accepted items include unused and unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medications in pill and capsule form only – no needles.

Two teen volunteers wearing green "Green Guardians New Albany" T-shirts stand outdoors in front of recycling bins holding litter pickers, one smiling broadly and the other giving a thumbs-up while wearing blue gloves.

Become a Green Guardian!

We’re looking for student and adult volunteers to help keep our community events clean and green by ensuring compost, recycling, and trash go in the right receptacles.