Talking Trash

May I recycle sticker backings?

20 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EST

Happy Spring!

To help you with spring cleaning, here's a dip into our mailbag. Someone recently asked us:

May I recycle sticker backings?

We checked with our paper recycler, who said... yes! In fact, if you have stickers or labels which you are not able to use or reuse, we can accept those as well.

And, of course, when a sticker or label is stuck to paper, cardboard or envelopes which you're recycling, you may leave it stuck right where it is -- you do not need to remove it. (However, you might like to remove labels with your name or address to help prevent identity theft.)

Read more about our paper recycling program.

-- posted by Susanne

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Community Paper Shredding and Recycling Event will be held in Rockville on March 24, 2012

23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The next NBC4-PNC Bank Community Shred Community Shred will be in Montgomery County!

This free community paper shredding and recycling event will be held at the Montgomery College Rockville Campus on Saturday, March 24, 2012.

Visit our paper shredding webpage for full details on location, time, materials accepted, and quantity limits.

Do you shred your paper at home? We accept shredded paper in our weekly recycling collections. Follow our shredded paper preparation instructions and set your paper recyclables out on your collection day.

-- posted by Susanne

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Why must recyclables be separated for collection?

08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

One of the questions I am most often asked is "Why must I separate my recyclables for collection?" The answer has to do with the way our Recycling Center, or Materials Recycling Facility (MRF), is designed. The MRF is where all the recyclables are sorted by material type and processed for market.

Our customers are asked to separate materials into two containers, and our collection trucks are separated into two compartments because the MRF is divided into two sections.

The Montgomery County MRF has two separate sorting lines: one for paper products (including cardboard), and the other for commingled items (bottles, cans, jars, and containers). When the recycling collection truck enters the MRF, the paper side of the truck is emptied in one area, and the commingled in another.

The two "streams" of material are processed separately. When the commingled materials travel through the series of conveyors in the MRF, the glass, plastic, aluminum and steel items are further separated from each other. After this final separation, each material is prepared separately (most are baled) and shipped to market.

This dual stream system results in cleaner bales of material, which are easier to market. These bales bring in a higher value, enabling the MRF to cover its operating costs.

View our online MRF tour to learn more about how this facility works. We welcome your visits in person, too!

Robin D. Ennis
Chief, Collections Section
Division of Solid Waste Services

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day 2012 - modified trash and recycling collection schedule

11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST

Monday, January 16, 2012 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday - is a recycling and trash collection holiday. After the holiday, all County-provided recycling and trash collections will slide, and be one day later than normal.

If your normal collection day is	Your collection day for the week of January 16, 2012, is
Monday	Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Tuesday	Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Wednesday	Thursday, January 19, 2012
Thursday	Friday, January 20, 2012
Friday	Saturday, January 21, 2012

If you have any questions or concerns about your County-provided collection, please call the Montgomery County Customer Service Center at 311 (out-of-County: 240-777-0311, TTY: 240-773-3556)

Note: if you (or your community) have a private contract for your trash collection, or if you live in a municipality, these schedule announcements may not apply to your trash service -- check with your hauler or community manager.

Use this iCal link to add our holiday schedule for recycling and trash collection to your electronic calendar (Google, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.):
https://www.google.com/calendar/ical/rqop1duqgob4fomet7rvclsggk%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics (Let us know if you need help.)

Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station

Transfer Station location, hours and other details

Saturday, January 14, 2012: Open with normal hours
Sunday, January 15, 2012: Open with normal hours
Monday, January 16, 2012: Administrative offices and facility drop-offs closed
Tuesday, January 17, 2012: Open with normal hours

Poolesville Beauty Spot

Beauty Spot location, hours and other details

Saturday, January 14, 2012: Open with normal hours
Sunday, January 15, 2012: Open with normal hours

Reminder: Christmas Tree recycling

We will collect Christmas trees for recycling on your recycling day from through Friday, February 3, 2012. Remember to remove all decorations.

Gardeners: those Christmas trees are ground up into mulch, which is available at no charge from our Mulch Preserves in Derwood and Poolesville. If you want a pine-rich blend, now is a great time to stock up. Bring your own containers and tools for loading. (And, for tips on growing veggies, don't miss the University of Maryland's Grow It, Eat It Program.)

-- posted by Susanne

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New Year's Day 2012 - normal trash and recycling collection schedule

26 Dec 2011 00:00:00 EST

Subscribe to our holiday reminders (Available as wireless alerts, too!)

For the week of December 26 to 30, 2011, remember to put your recycling and trash items out on your normal collection day for Montgomery County-provided pickups!

Monday, January 2, 2012 - New Year's Day (observed) - is a regular recycling and trash collection day. All County-provided recycling and trash collections will be made on their normal schedule. Regular collection services will be provided the week before and after this holiday.

If your normal collection day is	Your collection day for the week of January 2, 2012, is
Monday	Monday, January 2
Tuesday	Tuesday, January 3
Wednesday	Wednesday, January 4
Thursday	Thursday, January 5
Friday	Friday, January 6

If you have any questions or concerns about your County-provided collection, please call the Montgomery County Customer Service Center (MC311) at 3-1-1 (out-of-County: 240-777-0311, TTY: 240-773-3556)

Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station

Transfer Station location, hours and other details

Saturday, December 31, 2011: Open with normal hours
Sunday, January 1, 2012: Administrative offices and facility drop-offs closed.
Monday, January 2, 2012: Open with normal hours

Poolesville Beauty Spot

Beauty Spot location, hours and other details

Saturday, December 31, 2011: Open with normal hours
Sunday, January 1, 2012: Closed

Reminder: Christmas Tree recycling + holiday recycling tips

We will collect Christmas trees for recycling on your recycling day from Monday, December 26, 2011 through Friday, February 3, 2012. Remember to remove all decorations.

Local holiday light recycling locations accept light strings through January 2012.

This holiday material	May be disposed/recycled in this way
"Blister" packaging from electronics and toys	Put into the trash.
Cardboard boxes	Add to your curbside recycling. May be unflattened - but, consider flattening and folding so that you don't advertise your new items to prospective thieves.
Clementine fruit boxes	Put into the trash.
Cookie / popcorn / cake tins	Share for reuse, or put into your blue recycling bin.
Gift wrap	If paper, remove ribbons and bows, and add to your paper recycling. Tape does not need to be removed. If foil-coated, put into the trash.

-- posted by Susanne

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Christmas 2011 - normal trash and recycling collection schedule

21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 EST

Subscribe to our holiday reminders (Available as wireless alerts, too!)

Monday, December 26, 2011 - Christmas Day (observed) - is a regular recycling and trash collection day. All County-provided recycling and trash collections will be made on their normal schedule. Regular collection services will be provided the week before and after this holiday.

If your normal collection day is	Your collection day for the week of December 26, 2011, is
Monday	Monday, December 26
Tuesday	Tuesday, December 27
Wednesday	Wednesday, December 28
Thursday	Thursday, December 29
Friday	Friday, December 30

Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station

Transfer Station location, hours and other details

Saturday, December 24, 2011: Open with normal hours
Sunday, December 25, 2011: Administrative offices and facility drop-offs closed
Monday, December 26, 2011: Open with normal hours

Poolesville Beauty Spot

Beauty Spot location, hours and other details

Saturday, December 24, 2011: Open with normal hours
Sunday, December 25, 2011: Closed

A look ahead to the New Year's Day 2012 schedule

There is no holiday slide changing the collection schedule for New Year's Day 2012. Regular collection services will be provided the week before and after this holiday.

If an actual holiday falls on the weekend, but the County observes the holiday on the Friday before or the Monday after the actual holiday, there is no change in the collection schedule.

Christmas Tree recycling + holiday recycling tips

We will collect Christmas trees for recycling on your recycling day from Monday, December 26, 2011 through Friday, February 3, 2012. Remember to remove all decorations.

Local holiday light recycling locations accept light strings through January 2012.

This holiday material	May be disposed/recycled in this way
"Blister" packaging from electronics and toys	Put into the trash.
Cardboard boxes	Add to your curbside recycling. May be unflattened - but, consider flattening and folding so that you don't advertise your new items to prospective thieves.
Clementine fruit boxes	Put into the trash.
Cookie / popcorn / cake tins	Share for reuse, or put into your blue recycling bin.
Gift wrap	If paper, remove ribbons and bows, and add to your paper recycling. Tape does not need to be removed. If foil-coated, put into the trash.

Montgomery County Carryout Bag Law Effective January 1, 2012

Under the new carryout bag law, all retail establishments in the County that sell goods and provide their customers with a bag (either paper or plastic) to carry out purchases will be required to charge 5 cents per bag, beginning January 1, 2012.

Visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/bag for details. Resources include fact sheets for residents and retailers, webinars for retailers, and more.

-- posted by Susanne

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Veterans Day 2011 - normal trash and recycling collection schedule

07 Nov 2011 00:00:00 EST

Subscribe to our holiday reminders (Available as wireless alerts, too!)

Friday, November 11, 2011 - Veterans Day - is a regular recycling and trash collection day. All County-provided recycling and trash collections will be made on their normal schedule.

If your normal collection day is:	Your collection day for the week of November 11 is:
Monday	Monday, November 7
Tuesday	Tuesday, November 8
Wednesday	Wednesday, November 9
Thursday	Thursday, November 10
Friday	Friday, November 11

Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station

no changes to hours of operation
Transfer Station location, hours and other details

Poolesville Beauty Spot

no changes to hours of operation
Beauty Spot location, hours and other details

America Recycles Day 2011 - paper shredding and household goods donation events

Celebrate America Recycles Day with us later this month! Shred and recycle your confidential paper and donate clothing and household goods in working condition at our two events. Read detailed paper shredding and donation guidelines.

Saturday, November 19, 2011
10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Thomas S. Wootton High School (Bing map)
2100 Wootton Parkway
Rockville, Maryland 20850

Sunday, November 20, 2011
10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Takoma Park Middle School (Bing map)
7611 Piney Branch Road
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

Autumn yard trim reminder

Want information about composting (and compost bin pickup locations); curbside recycling for leaves, grass, and brush; yard trim decals; or leaf vacuuming? We've compiled all the web links you need onto one handy page: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/yardtrim

Please do not put leaves into plastic bags. (The leaves are composted, and plastic bags cause tremendous problems in the composting process and finished product.)

New Montgomery County Carryout Bag Law Effective January 1, 2012

Visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/bag for details. Resources include fact sheets for residents and retailers, webinars for retailers, and more.

At events, we share recycling information... and are inspired in return

28 Oct 2011 00:00:00 EST

Most weekends find Division of Solid Waste Services staff and volunteers at community fairs, festivals, and other happenings. These events give us great opportunities to bring you our displays, to give you literature and other goodies and to answer your questions about waste reduction, recycling and trash disposal.

We teach at these events, and we also learn. We get to hear about the interesting and inspiring things you and your families are accomplishing!

Last Saturday, a colleague represented our Division at Bethesda Green’s “Green Home Expo”. In chatting with an Expo visitor, she learned about Kate. Kate is a local middle school student… and a filmmaker.

When an English class assignment tasked her with reporting on her experiences about a community project, Kate focused on recycling. She wanted to show her class the importance of recycling, and the consequences of not recycling. To accomplish this, she set to work on a video, scripting, filming, and adding voiceovers and music.

Her research took her to our Recycling Center, where she filmed video segments of the Tour Room and the sorting process. She was surprised to see how many workers manually sorted recyclables passing by on swift conveyer belts. In an email interview, her mother reflected that “Kate learned that recycling at the Montgomery County Recycling Center -- with all its mechanical parts and quick hands -- is very complicated. She also learned that our role in everyday life is simple -- just put recyclable items into the right bins.

Beyond the classroom, Kate also showed the video to her church community. She didn't stop there, however. She also organized a recycling drop-off event for her church!

Come see the Recycling Center’s sorting process yourself by dropping in for a visit or scheduling a group tour.

Review what’s recyclable in Montgomery County, and refer to our Recycling Basics flyer for a quick visual reference on what goes in your blue bin at home.

Kate, thanks for the inspiration!

How do you share recycling with your community? Send us a comment -- we love hearing about your projects!

-- posted by Susanne, with interview input

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Can you recycle toilet paper rolls with little pieces of tissue?

21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 EST

Our Division of Solid Waste Services website covers the recycling basics, like what types of plastics we accept in our curbside recycling program, or how to prepare yard trim for weekly collection.

Talkin' Trash Reader W. sent us a set of questions. Very practical questions. The kind which has you standing there with an item in hand, scratching your head, and wondering beyond those basics, "Now what about THIS?" I confess: these are asked in our house, too! With thanks to you, W., here is the first post under a new blog tag titled "the finer points" of recycling (and trash disposal)...

W. asked:

What about the tissue left on empty toilet paper rolls - okay or will it spoil the recycle process?

Please drop those toilet paper rolls right in with your other recyclable paper items. We cannot accept paper towels, napkins, or tissues because we are concerned about receiving ones which have been used for wiping hands, noses, and messes. However, those clean little bits of towel or tissue stuck on paper towel or toilet paper rolls are fine.

For recycling basics on paper, visit our "How to recycle/dispose of paper / mixed paper" page.

What are the finer-point questions in your household? Send them our way!

-- posted by Susanne

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Watch webinars for answers on Montgomery County's new Carryout Bag Law

19 Oct 2011 00:00:00 EST

Starting January 1, 2012, retail establishments in Montgomery County, Maryland which provide plastic or paper bags to customers are required to charge 5-cents a bag. Shoppers can avoid the charge—and help reduce litter in the County—by bringing their own bag for purchases.

Montgomery County’s Carryout Bag Law (8-11) is a low-cost incentive to

encourage shoppers to use reusable bags,
refuse bags for their purchases, and
encourage retail cashiers to ask whether a bag is even needed.

Plastic bags are consistently one of the top items found in studies of litter in Montgomery County. This Law is intended to help reduce litter in our waterways, on our streets and in our parks. Proceeds from the Carryout Bag Law go exclusively to programs that fight litter and provide stormwater pollution control in Montgomery County.

The Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Finance are jointly hosting free half-hour Webinars to help retailers understand the County's Carryout Bag Law requirements and receive answers to their questions without leaving their workplace.

To learn more about the Carryout Bag Law, including the webinar schedule and fact sheets for residents and retailers, visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/BAG

Have questions on the Carryout Bag Tax or on the webinar content? E-mail the Department of Environmental Protection or dial 3-1-1 (240-777-0311 outside Montgomery County, MD).

-- posted by Susanne

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