Recycle food and beverage cartons - #12daysofrecycling

Mmm... eggnog, cream, soups, juices... Are your holiday treats and ingredients packaged in cartons or aseptic packaging?

Simply rinse the empty cartons, and add them to your paper recycling!

See more details about recycling paper and cardboard items in Montgomery County.

Thanks for joining our #12daysofrecycling!

Recycle cardboard boxes - #12daysofrecycling

The next material in our #12daysofrecycling is... cardboard boxes!

We accept unflattened boxes for recycling - simply set your boxes out next to your blue bin for collection. You do not need to remove the tape. 

However, consider flattening and folding boxes from big-ticket items to avoid advertising your new things to would-be thieves.

See more details about the paper Montgomery County accepts for recycling.

Recycle paper gift wrap - #12daysofrecycling

Once your gift wrap has done its job, reuse or recycle it! 

If it's paper, remove the ribbons and bows, and add it to your paper recycling. You can leave any tape. 

(If the wrap is foil-coated, put it into the trash.)

 See more details about the paper Montgomery County accepts for recycling:  http://m.montgomerycountymd.gov/sws/how/paper.html

Recycle your election lawn signs after voting is over

Today is Election Day!  Visit the Montgomery County, Maryland, Board of Elections for voting details, and to view election returns.

Recycling your sample ballot, newsprint voting guides, and brochures and postcards you might have received from candidates and organizations is simple: just add them to your other paper recyclables.

However, what about any lawn signs you might have?  Here is a little guide to disposing of those:

Wire sign frames and holders
Bring sign frames and holders to the scrap metal drop-off area at the Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station.  Sorry, we do not accept wire items in our curbside blue bin recycling program.

Corrugated plastic signs
We do not accept corrugated plastic signs in our recycling programs.  Perhaps you might be able to reuse them.  For example, I recently used a scrap piece of corrugated plastic to make a rigid bottom for a cloth shopping bag.  If you do not have other uses for this sign material, please put it into your regular trash.

Film plastic signs
Film plastic signs look a lot like plastic bags.  However, please do not add them to plastic bag recycling bins, as they may be made of different resins than bags!  As with rigid corrugated plastic signs, please reuse film plastic signs, or place them into your regular household trash.

Cardboard signs
Please add cardboard signs without a plastic coating to your other paper recyclables. However, if the signs are coated with plastic film, please place them into your regular trash.

What other election support materials would you like to dispose?  Let us know, and we'll share the answers back here.

Tree crushes recycling cart, but not our recycling spirit!

Although we try and collect all recycling left at the curb, sometimes we just can’t get to the containers.

Field Staffer Ron snapped these shots of a paper recycling cart trapped by a fallen tree after a recent storm.

No worries! To get a replacement, just contact Montgomery County's Customer Service Center at 311 (out-of-County: 240-777-0311, TTY:301-251-4850).

--Jessica Fusillo, Collections Communications

How much paper may you set out?

Recently I was out in the field, when two residents looked up desperately and asked me:

"Can we put out this much paper?"

ANSWER: Yes!

There is no limit on the amount of paper you can set out for collection. However, please bundle or use a box with a tight fitting lid for paper that doesn’t fit in the paper cart.

As you can see, loose paper is difficult to load:

Have more questions about recycling and collections? Call 311 or visit our Division of Solid Waste Services website.

Remember to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle before you place items in the trash!

--Jessica Fusillo, Collections Communications

How to make simple newspaper pots... and reuse!

It’s true -- some of my household’s newspaper never makes it to the curb for collection.

This Spring, our newspapers are serving double-duty when we reuse them as biodegradable plant pots.

To make the pots, you can use wooden paper pot makers. Or... you can simply make pots with the help of another reused item. Spice jars are the ideal size for forming pots for your your initial seed starts. So are tomato paste cans.

I begin my pot making with a page of newspaper.

I crease the page lengthwise, and tear it in half.

I fold each page-half lengthwise again to form a strip.

Then, I tear each strip in half.

Depending on the size of your pot “form”, and the desired height of your pots, you may need to adjust your fold. I like to have a folded edge as the top of my pots, as the fold makes the pot opening sturdier. The bottom of the pot can be a single layer; it will be strong enough. For these pots, I adjusted the fold to cover approximately one-third of my paper piece.

Roll the paper around your form to create your pot. Leave enough paper at one end of your form to make the pot bottom.

Tuck in the paper edge at the end to close off your pot and make the bottom.

Press your finished pot down against your working surface to flatten the bottom even more.

Slip the pot off of your form... and admire your work!

If your pot bottom unfolds a little, causing your pot to tip over, don’t worry.

In previous years, I have used tape to hold the bottom together. With these tiny pots, I have found that tape is unneeded. When the pot is filled with soil, it stands well on its own. As moisture from the soil soaks into the paper, the bottom will hold together even better.

This year, I’m pre-starting my seeds in napkins before putting them into soil. I put one to two seedlings into each pot.

In my fennel and chard department, there is even more reuse going on. This rusty muffin tin is long past its baking days. However, it’s the perfect holder for paper pots formed around pint-sized canning jars.

Happy reusing and gardening!

-- Susanne Wiggins

Some of our newspaper isn't recycled

Shh... here's an environmental secret about my household: Some of our recyclables never make it to the curb. Come back to our "Talkin' Trash" blog on Friday to see what happens to newspaper which escapes our paper recycling cart.

-- Susanne Wiggins

Paper in blue bins - Photo of the week

Every day over 1,400 tons of recyclable material are delivered to Montgomery County’s Recycling Center. Ours is a “dual stream” recycling system. That means that we collect the paper and cardboard items separately from the cans, bottles, jars, containers, lids and foil. So what’s wrong with the photo? Paper and cardboard should be contained in the blue recycling cart, not in the blue recycling bin. The blue bin is for cans, bottles, jars, containers, lids, and foil.

Need a bin or cart? Dial 311 or order online – we deliver!

If you don’t have a recycling cart, you can place your paper and cardboard for recycling in a paper bag, cardboard box, or tie it in a bundle, and place the bag, box or bundle on top of, underneath or next to your blue recycling bin.

Read more information about paper recycling in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Thanks for your help so that we can reach our goal to recycle 70 percent in Montgomery County!

How do you say "recycle"?

How do you say "recycle"?  Our new doorhanger, "Recycling Guidelines for Single-Family Households", gives it to you in 10 ways:

• English
• Chinese
• Spanish
• Korean
• French
• Vietnamese
• Russian
• Farsi
• Amharic
• Portuguese

Simple text, plus many color photos, make this a handy reference in any language.

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

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!

Save the dates: Paper shredding and household goods donation events scheduled for November 2011

Shred, recycle, and donate at our next paper shredding and household goods donation events!

We've scheduled them for Saturday, November 19, 2011 at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, and Sunday, November 20, 2011 at Takoma Park Middle School in Silver Spring.

Both events will be part of our celebration of America Recycles Day!

Visit our paper shredding and donation web page for details on the locations and times, and information about accepted materials and items. We'll keep updating that page and @TalkinTrashMC as we finalize remaining details.

What happens when your paper recyclables get wet?

It's been a tough week in terms of rain! What happens when your recyclables get caught in a downpour?

If your paper or cardboard items get wet because of rain, snow, or ice, we will still pick them up on your recycling day.

Even when the outside of paper bundles is wet, the material inside is usually dry. (The sustained heavy rain we've had in recent days has surely created exceptions to this!) If you know that wet weather is in the forecast for your collection day, you may like to hold your paper items for the following week’s collection.

Dry paper and cardboard are best. The easiest way to keep these items dry is by collecting them and setting them at the curb in a wheeled paper recycling cart. Do not put your paper or cardboard into plastic bags to keep it dry. We do not accept recyclables in plastic bags.

We cannot accept mildewed paper or cardboard.

See full details on our paper and cardboard recycling program.

Have end-of-the-school-year books and papers to recycle?

The end of the school year comes with cleaning out of files, shelves, desks and more.

It's easy to drop your loose papers into the next paper recycling container.

But, what about books? If you receive Montgomery County-provided curbside recycling collection, these book types can all go into your paper bundles or wheeled paper recycling carts:

• spiral-bound books
• hardback books
• softcover/paperback books

The exception is leather-bound books: leather bindings cannot be recycled with paper. If it's possible to remove the book's pages, you could add those to your paper recycling, and then dispose of the binding as trash. Otherwise, please put the entire leather-bound book into the trash or put it to creative reuse.

Read more paper recycling do's and don'ts

For confidential papers and spring cleanups, we've got one more paper shredding and household good donation event on our Spring 2011 schedule. See time and location details on our paper shredding page.

Can we recycle salted nut canisters?

From our mailbag:

Can we recycle salted nut canisters (cylindrical paper with metal bottom and metal top rim)?

Thanks for your question, D. Another resident asked us a very similar question a short while later. And, it's one we faced in my own household last month with a coffee can of similar construction -- we stood there in the kitchen, debating the pros and cons of the various disposal and recycling options... So, the topic is ripe for a blog entry!

Our recycling program cannot accept containers made of more than one type of material; so the nut (and coffee and similar) canisters would be a "no" since the metal rim and foil paper would be a contaminant of the mixed paper recycling process.

On the bright side, the plastic lid is accepted in our recycling program!

So, the bottom line is this:
if you don't have a reuse for it, please

• put the canister into your trash
• put the plastic lid into your blue recycling bin.

Update, 1/15/2010:

This post generated several reader responses – thanks!

You asked whether we still accept milk and juice cartons - which may have plastic spouts and lids - or juice and drink boxes. Yes, we do! Please continue to add these to your paper recycling.

The beverage cartons and boxes are recycled using a process called hydropulping. This process is able to separate plastics, such as the plastic spout or lid, from the coated paper fibers. On the other hand, the paper-type canisters can have layers of wrapping and metal which is difficult for paper recyclers to remove. While these containers may look similar, the processes for handling them do vary. Therefore, the canisters are not recyclable in our program.

Some of you suggested creative ways to make the most of your canisters:

• “I often have containers that have metal tops and bottoms and a cardboard body. I tend to take pliers to them and rip off the top and bottom and put them in our "metal" bin which we occasionally take to the Transfer Station metal area.” – submitted by M.
• “We use these nut containers to pour grease into, then let it harden or refrigerate it and put it into the trash. Keep grease from going down your drain.” – submitted by B.

Lots of shredding (and donating) going on!

Our celebration of America Recycles Day is in full swing this weekend! We had two paper shredding and household donation events today. If you missed them, we've got two more for you tomorrow in Bethesda and Silver Spring.

Here are a few images from today's event in Germantown. The weather was overcast -- and thankfully, precipation was limited to the occasional light drizzle. Our staff and volunteers were in great spirits as they greeted event participants, with a friendly competition between sites to see which one had the most number of cars, paper shredded, and donations received!

A steady stream of cars came through (thank you all for coming out!). With many hands on deck for unloading, there was essentially no wait time. Participants were in and out in minutes.

Volunteers welcomed participants, handed out information, and answered questions about recycling.

Donations rolled in a trunkload at a time, with the collective results filling up the truck.

If you miss this weekend's events, remember that we accept paper you shred at home yourself in our weekly mixed paper recycling collection. (Please bundle the shreds -- that prevents them from blowing out of your container as they await collection, and as crews empty your container.) Your donations are welcomed year-round by local charities and organizations; consult our Use It Again Guide at Use It Again Guide for suggestions, if you don't already have a favorite donation spot.

Four paper shredding and clothing/household donation events on November 14 + 15, 2009

We are celebrating America Recycles Day four times: in four locations over two days!

Join us in Germantown and Silver Spring on November 14, 2009, and in Bethesda and Silver Spring on November 15, 2009. Each site will feature a community paper shred and clothing/household goods donation drop-off.

Paper shredding and recycling is available at no charge to Montgomery County residents only, with a 5 bag/small box limit. Your materials will be shredded on-site.

The usable clothing/household item donation drop-off will benefit four local charities. Accepted items will include clean clothing, miscellaneous household goods, small electronics, books, furniture, and much more. Receipts available upon request.

• Download our America Recycles Day flyer (313 kb)
• See detailed time, location, and shredding/donation information

Have you received our expanded recycling program mailer or seen our ad?

To help you learn about our expanded recycling program, we sent out mailers -- has this handy reference arrived in your mailbox already? We have put the mailer online (PDF, 1.63 MB):

We're running this newspaper ad (PDF, 839 kb) as well:

We encourage you to share these links and documents with others!

Are rectangular milk and juice cartons recyclable?

Update, 12/7/2009: We now accept milk and juice cartons in our Montgomery County, Maryland, recycling program. Please remove the plastic caps from the cartons. Then, add them to your wheeled mixed paper recycling cart, place into a small paper bag or a small cardboard box with a secure lid, or bundle.

From our mailbag:

Are the 1/2 gallon rectangular shaped cartons that milk and orange juice come in recyclable? I just want to do the correct thing.

Thanks for your question, R.! Sorry, our recycling program does not accept milk and juice cartons because they are coated with a thin plastic film. In order to recover the paper fibers, they would need to be separated from this film layer. That's a step most paper recycling processes are not set up to handle. So, please put these cartons into the trash.

What kinds of wrapping paper are recyclable?

From our mailbag:

What kinds of wrapping paper are recyclable? I specifically wonder about the shiny, metallic paper that my wife likes.

Thanks for your timely question, M.! Metallic and foil papers do create a fine-looking gift presentation! But, as much as I hate to introduce any domestic discontent, please tell your wife (gently!) that we cannot accept foil- or plastic-coated papers for recycling. We accept all other types of gift wrap paper (minus the bows and ribbons!).
In a related question, B. asked:

Can you tell me what can be done with tissue paper?

Sure! That can go into your wheeled cart or paper recycling bundle, right along with the rest of your recyclable paper.

A note about the photo: that roll of gift wrap is labeled "polywrap". It looks like foil paper but... it's actually a thin plastic film. If you have or receive any of this type of wrap, please dispose of it as trash once you are finished using (and reusing) it; we cannot accept plastic films in our recycling program.