Monday Map: GIS Day 2013

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Last Wednesday was GIS Day. This day provides an international forum for users of geographic information systems (GIS) technology to demonstrate real-world applications that are making a difference in our society.

Angie Braun, our Division of Solid Waste Services GIS Specialist, participated in the GIS Day event at Montgomery College, Rockville Campus. Angie, who earned her MS in Computer Science, completed a GIS Certificate from Montgomery College in 2007. The specialization allowed her to pursue a career in the things she loves most: data analysis and the representation of information using maps.

The GIS Day event gave Angie an opportunity to educate students of all ages on the mission and function of our Division, to answer questions and discuss ideas about the collection and disposal of solid waste, to promote an increase in recycling efforts, and to show some of the many maps Solid Waste Services uses to help conducts its business.

Her poster included maps that held answers to these questions:

1. How many active landfills are there in Montgomery County?
2. If you go to the Transfer Station on Sunday, which entrance would you use?
3. What can you bring to the Transfer Station?
4. Does Montgomery County provide any collection services to the City of Rockville?
5. What day of the week is collection in Darnestown?
6. Does Montgomery County pick up Trash in Darnestown?
7. Does Montgomery County pick up Trash in Bethesda?
8. Are there more households in Area 7 or Area 10?
9. Who should you call to order a Blue recycle bin?
10. Who should you call to find out the hours of the Transfer Station?

Angie notes that “These students are bright and articulate. Their 'think global, act local' environmentally-conscious attitude, promoted and enhanced by the Applied Geography program at Montgomery College, is the future of our planet.”

GIS Day participants (l) and Angie (r) discuss the Solid Waste Services poster.

Monday Map: Service Area Cartogram

 

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The thirteen Division of Solid Waste Services' Service Areas are typically shown on a map by their geographic size and shape.  Service Areas encompass the roads that must be traveled to make collections and the households that actually receive collection service.

What if we wanted to show the relative size of a Service Area based on household count? One way would be to attach a table of actual household count numbers to the map, letting your eyes and brain figure it out.

Another method is the Cartogram. A Cartogram is a map on which a thematic variable, such as household count, is substituted for land area. That is, the Service Area would be displayed not by Square Feet, but by how many households get Montgomery County-provided collection service.  As you can see, the land area size and shape as we know it are distorted. However, it is easy to see how “big” an area is based on household count. Notice how the downcounty became bigger and the upcounty became much smaller.

-- Angie Braun, GIS Specialist

Monitoring Development in Montgomery County

 

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The Division of Solid Waste Services received over 2,000 new tax accounts from the Maryland State Department of Assessments & Taxation in Levy Year 2012. (A Levy Year is from July 1 through June 30.) A tax account is a unique identifier for each taxable unit in Montgomery County. A new tax account alerts us that development is pending.

Using a map to display the location of new tax accounts, we can see the areas of heaviest planned development. While these areas may still be piles of dirt, being aware of what to expect helps us plan resources and prepare for a smooth transition to providing solid waste services.

The heavy development in Clarksburg continues. And, notice the growth spurt in Olney and east of Layhill Road? While we do not provide collection services in Gaithersburg, the development of Crown Farm (see center of map) will affect solid waste services in the County by increased use of the Transfer Station and increased efforts by our business recycling and apartment/condominium recycling teams.

-- Angie Braun, GIS Specialist

Why did we change your collection day?

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The Division of Solid Waste Services and our collection contractors continually monitor the actual and the planned development of single family houses in the County to review load balancing of collection services. Determining routes, including the day of the week and the truck to be used for collection, is based on house count, house type (detached or townhouse), distance, and traffic patterns. Tweaking of routes that don’t affect day changes is transparent to residents.

However, occasionally we must change the day of collection services. This recently happened in Clarksburg, due to the rapid development there.

We do not take the changing of collection days lightly. Using maps, we work with the collection contractor to verify new route boundaries. Again, house count, house type, distance, and traffic patterns are reviewed. Once the new route is determined, we use maps and map data to identify individual houses that will be affected. From this, we create address lists. Then, our Collections team starts the process of notifying the residents.

If your day has changed, remember that all Montgomery County provided collection services will be moved to that new day.

Look up your collection day

-- Angie Braun, GIS Specialist

Monday Map: Maps for Petitions to request County-provided trash collection service

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Historically, the County provides recycling collection service to all residential properties, with the exception of incorporated municipalities. Trash collection service is provided only in the down county (e.g. Bethesda, Chevy Chase, lower Silver Spring, and Wheaton).

Through a petition process, residential communities can request to receive trash collection service from the County.

When we receive a petition, maps play a big role. Using those maps, we can analyze the area, isolate the properties involved, and convey the information to residents, collection companies, and Solid Waste staff.

When a community’s petition is successful, its Solid Waste fees are adjusted for the change in service.

Our most recent addition is 89 properties in the Colesville Farm community of Silver Spring.

See details about the petition process

--Angie Braun, GIS Specialist

Monday Map: Where can I pick up a compost bin?

Today’s Monday Map features our compost bin pickup locations. Our bins are available to residents and businesses at no additional charge.

We had an existing webpage with a text version of the various locations. Next to each address was a map link for that particular site.

However, what if you weren't sure which site was most convenient? You had to click through to each map.  And, on our end, we had 18 map links to maintain.

Our GIS specialist, Angie, had a better solution! In honor of International Compost Awareness Week, she put all of the location information into one file. We uploaded that to our website. Then, we used Google Maps to display that information on one map, giving you a better overview.

The map markers on our first version were hard to see, so Angie changed those to more visible red dots.  She also refined the address and phone number display which pops up for each location.

How else can we improve our online maps for you?

Visit our compost bin pickup location page
View a larger version of the map

-- Susanne Wiggins

Monday Map: Recycling/Trash Collection Days

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To determine your solid waste collection day, we analyze the routes the trucks must take, and the number of homes in an area.

If we provide your service, we collect all of your solid waste material -- recycling, yard trim, and in some areas, trash -- on the same day. (Please remember to set your items out at the curb by 7:00 a.m. on your collection day!)

Need to know the day of your Montgomery County collection? Use our Collection Day Lookup, or call Montgomery County's Customer Service Center at 311 . (From out-of-County, dial 240-777-0311; TTY: 301-251-4850)

If Montgomery County does not provide your trash service, verify your collection day(s) with your homeowners association, municipality, or private collector.

--Angie Braun

Monday Map: Residential Solid Waste Service Areas

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At first glance, this may look like a jigsaw puzzle.

It's actually a map showing our 13 residential refuse and recyclable materials collection service areas. We partitioned Montgomery County into 13 areas to manage the collection of residential trash, recycling, and yard trim materials.

Each area is serviced by a company whose business it is to provide collection services. These companies are under contract with Montgomery County and are known as our Collection Contractors.

How do you know if a collection vehicle is a Montgomery County contractor? Look for the big blue vehicles running on Compressed Natural Gas.

The Division of Solid Waste Services assigns a Collections Inspector to each area. These County employees are on the street every collection day to make sure pickups are performed safely, efficiently, and completely.

Think your material was not collected as it should be? Our Collections staff is just a 311 phone call away. (From out-of-County, dial 240-777-0311; TTY: 301-251-4850)

Come back next Monday to learn why the Service Areas are shaped like they are.

--Angie Braun

Collectors and Inspectors on the Move!

 

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The use of maps helps our collectors and inspectors traverse the many roads in Montgomery County. We also embrace new technology, like GPS units and aerial photos, to find our way around the maze.

Collection route boundaries are designed to balance workloads. Collection routes within each boundary are designed for safety and efficiency. Did you know that solid waste trucks only make right turns? (unless it’s not possible).

Clearly marked streets and properties are essential not only for Solid Waste services, but for public safety as well. Could we find your house in an emergency?

--Angie Braun

Monday Map: Where Does the Solid Waste Go?

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Most people are probably not aware of what happens to the trash, recycling, and yard trim material after it’s picked up from the curb. In addition to Collections, the Division of Solid Waste Services has a state-of-the-art operation for the transfer and disposal or recycling of the collected material.

This map shows our 3 major facilities and the functions that they provide:

• Compost Facility
• Recycling Center
• Resource Recovery Facility

Many people call the Transfer Station a “dump”. As its name says, it is actually a transfer point for the material it receives. The “tipping floor”, onto which collection trucks empty their loads, is cleared out every night.

Please remember that there are no active landfills in Montgomery County!

--Angie Braun

Monday Map: Montgomery County, MD Municipal Solid Waste Collection Subdistricts

Today, we're introducing a new feature to "Talkin' Trash": the Monday Map.

Our weekly recycling, trash, and yard trim collection services, and our facility operations, are two very visible aspects of the work we do in the Montgomery County Division of Solid Waste Services.  Other critical aspects, though, are less obvious.

Data maintenance and mapping are two of those lesser-known Division elements.  We -- that is, GIS Specialist (and whiz) Angie -- actively maintain a database of addresses, determining which addresses receive which services, and on which routes.

Angie will share more of her work and map products in future posts.  Read on for today's Monday Map...

--Susanne Wiggins

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Montgomery County provides both refuse collection and recycling collection services to some homes in the County and recycling collection service only to others. These two areas are known as Subdistrict A and Subdistrict B.

The County provides Yard Waste collection to both Subdistricts.

Montgomery County does not provide any collection services to houses within an incorporated municipality or in Leisure World. These homes are not considered within a County Subdistrict.

This map displays the County’s two Subdistricts and the areas where the County does not provide any collection service.

Our trash collection page has more information about determining whether or not your trash service is County- or privately-provided.  For communities interested in switching to County-provided service, we have detailed information about the process.

How much do you pay for your County-provided collections?  Visit our Solid Waste Charge page for fee details.

Do you have other questions about the recycling and trash collection services you receive in Montgomery County?  Depending on where you live, and the service about which you'd like more information, you may contact:

• your municipality
• your homeowner’s association
• Montgomery County's MC311 Customer Service Center

-- Angie Braun