Trash, Recycling & Leaf Collection
Neighborhood Trash and Recycling Basics
Montgomery County generates more that a million tons of waste per year and has an extensive program of waste management, operated by the County's Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Solid Waste Services. Their website provides a wealth of information about how to dispose of household trash, including recycling. Please visit that site for any questions you might have about trash and recycling in our neighborhood. To go to their website, CLICK HERE.
The County recycles approximately 57% of the recyclable or compostable waste, and their target is 100%. You can help by following the guidelines below for what and how to recycle. Everything the county collects for recycling goes to a recycler. You’ll hear people say that they just dump it all together with the trash and send it to a landfill. That is not true. If you have doubts, take a trip up to the Recycling Center at the Shady Grove Transfer Station in Derwood (just north of Rockville) and check it out. They give tours, and those are very informative.
Here are some of the basics of recycling in Montgomery County. By using the links provide in the sections below, you can visit appropriate sections in the County website to find out more detail about any issue.
Curbside Collection
Household waste for single family homes in our neighborhood is normally collected every Thursday morning. This includes three kinds of household waste: trash, recycling, and yard waste. Residents are required to place household waste, in appropriate containers, at the curbside no later than 7:00 AM on collection day morning (and no earlier than the previous day). The collection day may change (usually to Friday morning) if there is a holiday earlier that week, or if the collection schedule has been disrupted for some other reason (e.g., weather).
PRO TIP: Get on the Division of Waste Services' email or text message list for delay notifications. Then you'll always know if there is a delay. You can also sign up for a weekly reminder email/text the day before each collection day. To do that, CLICK HERE.
In additional to the weekly collection of household waste, residents are also entitled to request up to 5 bulk trash collections (see Bulk Trash Collection, below) and an unlimited number of scrap metal collections (see Scrap Metal Collection, below) per calendar year.
For additional information, CLICK HERE.
Household Recycling (Paper)
Almost any household paper product can be recycled by placing it the large blue Recycling Cart, which is provided by the county. To request a cart, repair a cart, or replace a cart, you must call 311. This cannot be done online, although there is additional information online about carts. CLICK HERE.
Rather than listing all of the paper items that can be recycled, it's easier to list the exceptions and caveats.
Household Recycling (Except Paper)
Montgomery County recycles almost any plastic, glass or metal trash. Except for large items (see Bulk Trash, below), these go in the small blue recycling bins, provided to homeowners by the County. To request a new or additional bin, CLICK HERE.
Yard Trim
Yard trim is leaves, grass, brush or anything else that has grown naturally in your yard. You can put this material out for collection in a paper yard trim/leaf bag, in a reusable trash container with a "Yard Trim" decal on it, or bundled with twine. You cannot use plastic trash bags for yard trim. For additional information, CLICK HERE, where you can also find information about alternatives to curbside collection of yard trim through composting or grasscycling.
Bulk Trash/Scrap Metal Collections
Residents are entitled to 5 bulk trash collections per calendar year for large items that won't fit in a regular trash can or trash bag, and an unlimited number of scrap metal collections. You must schedule bulk trash or scrap metal collections in advance with the County, either by filling out a form (CLICK HERE) or by calling 311. Requests must be submitted by 11:59 PM the day before the regularly scheduled County pickup day. and the material will be collected on the regular collection day. All items must be placed at the curb by 7:00 AM on the day of collection. For complete information about these special collections, click on the following items:
Recycling Tips and Clarifications
When in Doubt - Throw it Out. If you are unsure whether something is recyclable, try to find out HERE. If you are then unable to determine if it can be recycled, and you can’t reuse it, then throw it out in regular trash (unless it is hazardous waste). Do not put it in the recycling.
Cardboard Boxes. You don't have to cut, tie, or flatten them for collection, although flattened boxes make collection easier and maximize space in your cart. Just set boxes out next to your blue bin for collection. Small boxes with plastic windows (like pasta boxes) can go in without removing the window.
Mail. All paper mail can go in the paper recycling container. There is no need to remove plastic windows.
Plastic Grocery Bags. Do not put them in trash or recycling. They can be recycled at the Giant or Safeway and at some other grocery stores.
Other Plastic Bags and Wrappers. These also go to the grocery store with plastic grocery bags: Plastic padded envelops, packing pillows, plastic newspaper sleeves, bread bags, dry-cleaning bags, plastic wrapping (like covering paper towel rolls or cases of water, food storage bags, like Ziploc® bags (as long as they are clean).
Mixed Paper/Plastic/Glass/Metal. Do not mix paper items with glass/plastic/metal. Someone at the recycling center will have to manually separate them. Remove plastic or metal tops from glass containers and put them both in the bin.
Plastics. Any plastic with a recycling number 1-5 or 7 are recyclable. No 6 plastics go in the regular trash. Remove the tops from bottles. Bulky items that won’t go in the bin should be taken to the Shady Grove Transfer Station.
Paper Towels/Napkins/Tissues. These do not go in the paper recycling. Put them in regular trash or compost.
Polystyrene/Styrofoam. Most plastic items can go into your recycling bin—but not polystyrene/StyroSfoam (No 6. Plastic).
Milk Cartons and similar Waxed Cardboard. Items like milk or juice cartons should be placed in theh Paper recycling bin. The plastic cap does not have to be removed, but the containers should be lightly rinsed out.a
Bottles and Cans. These go in the small recycling bin. There is no need to remove labels. A light rinse is helpful.
Pizza boxes. These can go into recycling—if there is very little or no pizza residue. If there is residue, the best thing to do is rip or cut off that part & put it in the trash. Then the rest of the box can be recycled.
Scrap Metal. Large scrap metal can be picked up with a Scrap Metal collection (see above). Smaller scrap metal (other than cans and similar food containers) go in regular trash. Those are removed at the Transfer Station and are recycled.
Light Bulbs. Older style incandescent bulbs and halogen bulbs go in regular trash - not in recycling. Compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), light emitting diode (LED), and liquid crystal display (LCD) bulbs, and florescent tubes and ballasts all contain hazardous chemicals, so they cannot disposed of in regular trash or recycling. They should be treated as Household Hazardous Waste. CLICK HERE for disposal instructions. You can also drop those items off for proper disposal at Home Depot, IKEA, Zimmerman's Home Center (Burtonsville), and Amicus Green Building Center (Kensington).
Batteries. Due to the risk of fires, all batteries are treated as Household Hazardous Waste and cannot be put in household trash. They can be disposed of at retailers with battery recycling centers like Strosneiders and other Ace Hardware Stores, Lowe’s, Home Depot, and UBreakiFix. They can also be taken to the Shady Grove Transfer Station located at 16101/16105 Frederick Road, in Derwood MD. CLICK HERE for additional instructions. This includes dry cell and alkaline batteries (i.e., common household batteries); and rechargeable ones (lithium batteries, lithium-ion batteries; nickel-cadmium batteries; lead acid (vehicle) batteries; uninterruptable power supplies (personal & network), and tool batteries). The safest way to transport batteries is to protect the terminals by placing each battery individually into a plastic bag, or by taping the ends with masking tape or another non-metallic tape.
Metal Clothes Hangers. Best - return them to your dry cleaner for reuse. Most dry cleaners accept metal hangers in usable condition. 2nd best - Donate them or give them away. Otherwise, they go in regular trash.
Newly Added Recycling Services. These items are now accepted at the Shady Grove Transfer Station for Recycling. They cannot be picked up during weekly curbside collections:
Durable Medical Equipment (more info HERE)
Mattresses and Box Springs
Textiles
Additional Electronics, including Drones
Composting
If you're interested in composting, there are many resources available through Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, including workshops, videos, and online information, starting HERE. They also provide free compost bins for homeowners. The County is piloting two programs that may lead to curbside food composting. There are plenty of other sources available online on home composting basics, for example HERE.
There are also several local services that will do most of the work by collecting compostable waste from your home and turning it into high-nutrient compost for your garden. Just search on the web for "composting services."
Household Trash
Residents must provide their own trash containers, which should be rigid metal or plastic containers with tight-fitting lids and with a capacity of 15 to 45 gallons. You can use disposable plastic liners (bags), but they must be made of heavy, waterproof plastic and cannot exceed 45 gallons capacity. In addition, bags must be kept in approved containers when storing trash between collections. The County will not collect uncontained piles of trash, or overflowing containers.
Paper that can't be recycled (which goes in regular trash):
3-ring binders (but please recycle any paper inside the binder)
carbon paper
foil gift wrap
leather-bound books
packing material such as Styrofoam or plastic
envelopes with plastic padding
paper or cardboard contaminated with paint, chemicals, food, or used kitty litter.
paper towels, napkins, or tissues
photographs/photographic paper, because of the coatings used on this type of paper.
For more complete information about paper recycling, CLICK HERE.
Put the following materials together into your blue recycling bin for "commingled" curbside recycling pickup:
Aluminum foil products
Cans - aluminum, steel, bi-metal
Glass bottles and jars
Plastic bottles, containers, tubs, and lids
Just about any stiff plastic can be recycled except No. 6 plastics (polystyrene/Styrofoam). Those go in regular trash.
Note that you can also dispose of aerosol spray cans in these bins, provided they did not contain hazardous material.
Free Leaf Collection
Each fall, Montgomery County leaf vacuum crews conduct two (occasionally three) curbside leaf collection sweeps in our neighborhood, usually once in early November and a second time in late November or early December. Several days in advance of these efforts, you will see signs Montgomery County posts throughout our neighborhood announcing the upcoming vacuuming. Montgomery County asks that you rake/blow your leaves to the curb, leaving the leaf pile on your yard, NOT in the street or gutter. For homes with sidewalks, place the leaves on your yard as close to the edge of the sidewalk as possible.
For more information about the leaf collection program, including how to sign up for email/text updates, CLICK HERE.