A summer morning at our Compost Facility

During the week, our Compost Facility bustles with activity. It receives deliveries of the yard trim you've set out at the curb for collection, and workers are busy turning and processing leaves and grass in various stages of becoming LeafGro.

But, early in the morning, before the Facility's workday begins, things are much quieter. Here's a photo taken by a colleague on her way to an assignment:

In addition to the beautiful compost-in-progress within the Compost Facility itself, staff and visitors are greeted by a cheerful patch of wildflowers near the entrance, complete with industriously buzzing bees:

Our July 2009 TRRAC Newsletter is available

TRRAC is our program for recycling and waste reduction at apartment and condominium properties.

The July 2009 issue includes:

• 2009 Annual Recycling Awards
• Some easy steps to put your property in award
  contention

Interested in reading back issues? Visit our TRRAC Newsletter Archive.

Can I recover a valuable item from the trash?

Recently, my phone rang. My Solid Waste Transfer Station colleague, Ray, was on the other end.

"Today, we had someone in here looking for a diamond watch and ring. Maybe this would be something for the blog..."

Indeed it is! Part of the daily Transfer Station operations includes keeping the various dropoff areas humming, and the trucks unloading. Generally, the material that's brought in is intended to stay there. However, sometimes, valuables mistakenly end up in the trash. When this happens, our Transfer Station staff springs into action.

On that day, it was jewelry that had accidently ended up in the wrong place.

Thankfully, the trash collection truck which serviced the resident's home had not yet come to the Transfer Station to unload. When it arrived, staff pulled it aside, and had the driver unload in a separate area. (If the truck had already unloaded when the resident contacted us, it would have been too late to attempt to find the items.)

We contacted the resident, who then came to begin the hunt for the bag which held the missing items. We provided safety equipment, and assisted as much as possible. This can be very challenging work, especially if the sought-for things are small.

Was there a happy ending? The missing bag was recovered! We were ready to celebrate! However, it turned out that the jewelry was not in the bag after all. The story did ultimately end in victory: the resident called us later to share that the missing items were found behind the dresser. Hooray!

What should you do if you discover that an item of monetary or sentimental value has been whisked away as trash? We've taken this particular jewelry situation as inspiration to jot down the procedure for how to (possibly) recover a valuable item from the trash.

Yard trim labels are great... when they stick

From our mailbag, in response to my recent post about the importance of labelling yard trim cans:

I agree with your concerns about labeling yard waste cans. The problem is that those labels are not robust enough to stick or stand-up to moisture and come off readily.

Thanks for your comments, M.

Agreed. Getting the yard trim labels to remain on cans has been a challenge sometimes. We haven't given up! When we ordered our most recent batch of labels this Spring, we selected ones which are supposed to have better adherence and fade-resistance than our previous ones. We'd be happy to mail you replacement yard trim labels from our new stock.

We're also happy to make a house call with spray adhesive for yard trim stickers which refuse to stay stuck. To request a visit, please contact our Customer Service staff.

Our February 2009 and May 2009 TRRAC Newsletters are available

TRRAC is our program for recycling and waste reduction at apartment and condominium properties.

The February 2009 issue includes:

• Making Recycling Count - monitoring performance
• Keep Up the Great Work!
• Let Your Residents Help!
• Where Did You Get Those Baby Blues?
• Seminar Attendees Share Effective Recycling Program Strategies
• Special Recycling Education Requests? Please Ask

The May 2009 issue includes:

• Simple Ways to Recycle More Outdoors
• Montgomery County Celebrates Earth Month
• Innovation Highlight: The Gallery at White Flint Looks "Inside the Box"
• Recycling — Cost vs. Benefit
• Got Mercury? We’ll Take It!

Interested in reading back issues? Visit our TRRAC Newsletter Archive.

Recycling Awareness Week: Special recycling achievements honored

Isn't this plaque beautiful?! We gave this -- and others just like it -- to the individuals, and multi-family and business properties we honored during our Recycling Achievement Awards Recognition Program yesterday.

We were happy to honor our special recyclers with... an award made in the United States (Colorado, to be exact) from recycled glass.

Meet our honorees for Excellence in Recycling, Outstanding Achievement, and Outstanding Achievement (Individual) at multi-family and business properties, and from our Recycling Volunteer corps.

Congratulations to all!

Recycling Awareness Week: Poster contest winners

Our Recycling Poster Contest winners were announced on Tuesday: view the winning student posters in our Flickr set.

Here is a small random sample:

Memorial Day 2009 - modified recycling + trash collection schedule

Monday, May 25, 2009 - Memorial Day - is a recycling and trash collection holiday. All County-provided recycling and will be made one day later this week.

If you have any questions or concerns about your County-provided collection, please contact our Customer Service staff online or call 240-777-6410.

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.

Solid Waste Transfer Station Holiday Closings

Solid Waste Transfer Station hours and other details

• Monday, May 25, 2009: closed
• Tuesday, May 26, 2009: will reopen with normal hours

Beauty Spot Holiday Closings

Beauty Spot locations, hours and other details

• Saturday, May 23, 2009: open
• Sunday, May 24, 2009: closed

What's in the can? Labels are critical.

The issue challenges our collection crews throughout the year. But, it's especially acute in the spring.

Quick! What's in this can?

Since it *is* a trash can, there a good chance that the contents are trash. But, what if the resident has followed our advice on using reusable cans for yard trim, and has set out grass, leaves, or brush instead? It's hard to tell, right?

Our collection crews have the same problem! As they drive down your street, the only way they have of knowing the can contents of a lidded trash can for sure is stop, lift the lid, and peer inside.

Yard trim collection routes typically service approximately 1,500 homes per day. Stopping to check every trash can that's set out to see whether there are leaves, grass, or brush -- or trash -- inside slows the crew signficantly.

Please help your your yard trim collectors do their work efficiently and accurately by clearly labeling trash cans you set out with yard trim inside. Green labels are the collectors' best signal that a container's contents are for them. Make sure that the labels face the street when you place your can at the curb.

We are happy to send you yard trim decals at no charge. The decals are also available at local libraries.