The Sustainable Green Committee’s effort to make Hopkinton a more environmentally friendly community continues Sunday, April 28, with its annual Recycling and Reuse Day. The drive-in event, run in partnership with Green Team Junk Removal and Eversource, will be held from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Marathon School, rain or shine.

Items that can be reused will be donated to local charities, while non-reusable items will be disposed of responsibly — in some cases, first broken down for any usable parts.

For the first time, the collection will include textiles (clothes and other fabrics), which by law no longer can be placed in the regular trash. Most items are free, but some will incur a charge. Mattresses — which also can’t be placed with regular garbage — will be taken for $45 each. Appliances, electronics and items like fire extinguishers and tires will be taken away for nominal fees ranging from $10-$30. (For a detailed list of accepted items and fees, visit hopgreen.org.)

“We usually get around 200 cars and fill two or three box trucks with furniture, electronics and other items,” said Sustainable Green Committee member Christine Coffman, a member of the Zero Waste Subcommittee. “With this being the first time we’re taking textiles, we don’t know if we’re going to get two bags or 200 bags. But we hope it’s effective and helpful to the town.”

One of the goals is to keep reusable objects local, or at least in the country. In the past, many items were sent overseas, but that well-meaning gesture can create problems by disrupting local economies with a flood of free products.

“Some of the stuff ends up in the U.S. but other times it goes overseas, which can be good and bad,” Coffman said. “We want to help as locally as we can and keep this stuff from doing harm to the economy.”

Many household items will go to Hopkinton-based Project Just Because for distribution to people in need. Gently used linens will go to St. John the Evangelist Parish for its annual rummage sale, while well-used linens will be put to use by Baypath Humane Society, the animal shelter on Legacy Farms North Road.

In addition to promoting the “Re’s” — refuse, reduce, reuse/repair and recycle — organizers will spread the word about the Sustainable Green Committee’s other work, including the two articles it is sponsoring at this May’s Annual Town Election, while aiming to have an effect on residents’ purchasing habits.

Said Coffman: “The biggest message is: Don’t buy it unless you truly need it, because then you need to find a way to get rid of it.”

‘Call for a Just World’ April 26

The Hopkinton Freedom Team and the Hopkinton Center for the Arts are joining forces to host “a series of artful events connecting our community through social justice themes.”

On Friday, April 26, the HCA Loft will host an open mic event called “A Call for a Just World Through Poetry and Music” in which members of the community will offer their take via performance art.

“Teens and older are invited to share a poem or perform a musical piece — whether original or someone else’s — that inspires you about justice,” explained Hopkinton Freedom Team President Cathleen Dinsmore, adding: “All forms of creativity and imagination are welcomed and encouraged.”

Performers are being selected on a first-come, first-served basis and will share the stage with guest poet jamele adams, the director of diversity, equity and inclusion for Scituate Public Schools.

For more information, visit hopartscenter.org or email cathleen@hopkintonfreedomteam.org.

Meanwhile, the Freedom Team will host the fourth annual Pride Parade on Saturday, June 8, from 1-4 p.m., also at the HCA.

Snappy Dogs set for opening

The popular Snappy Dogs hot dog stand is slated to open for its 15th year of business on Thursday, April 18, in the back parking lot outside CVS on Grove Street.

“Over the years, we have watched entire families grow, we have served children their first-ever hot dogs, have been invited to graduation parties, and have mourned the loss of several customers, my dad, and Teresa’s younger sister included,” shared owner-operators Lisa Volpe Hachey and Teresa Boyce. “How fortunate we are to have survived the closing of Colella’s, the pandemic, the street closures, and bicycle lanes! In those 15 years we have met so many people, many of whom we know by name, some of whom we now consider friends.”

The owners noted that the stand has received media coverage throughout the region, which has led to visitors from multiple states.

“We’re tickled when people tell us Snappy Dogs is their destination for that day, that they’ve come from Maine or New Hampshire or Fall River, even!” the duo gushed. “That’s a long way to travel for a hot dog!

“Who would have thought such a thing possible?. We started with no business plan, just a desire to get back to making money after having been out of a job! Neither of us had experience running anything. We liked people, and we liked making and serving food. The town embraced us, and we’ve never looked back.”