Recycling refrigerators: refrigerant removal not required

Refrigerators in Transfer Station's scrap metal drop-off area

Has your refrigerator stopped chilling? Your dehumidifier stopped removing humidity? Your air conditioner stopped keeping you cool?

We accept these large appliances -- and more -- as scrap metal for recycling.

If you receive recycling service from Montgomery County, you may request a curbside scrap metal collection for your no-longer-needed or no-longer-working appliances.

We also accept scrap metal directly at our Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station.

If your large appliances contain refrigerants, you do not need to remove the them before you set the appliances out for curbside collection or deliver them to us.We have a contractor who comes by to remove refrigerants.

When you bring refrigerant-containing items to us, here are two important tips from the Transfer Station staff:

1. Please take care in unloading them so that you avoid breaking open the cooling system. 
2. Drop them off in the first scrap metal bay (where you see refrigerators organized in an orderly line), and not in the bays where all of the metal is just in a pile

How to recycle your lawn mower in Montgomery County, Maryland

Lawn mower at the Transfer Station's scrap metal drop-off.

With Spring here - finally! - the grass is growing, and... we're hearing that some of your lawn mowers are no longer fit for service.

How can you recycle your old lawn mower?

If you receive Montgomery County-provided recycling service, recycling your mower is as simple as setting it out at the curb for a scrap metal pickup. Here are the steps:

1. Submit your scrap metal pickup request online or call 311 (or 240-777-0311; TTY: 301-251-4850).
2. Empty your mower of all fuel and oil fluids. 
3. Remove batteries (if applicable).
4. Set your mower out at the curb by 7 a.m. on your recycling collection day.

Have trimmers / weed whackers or other similar lawn and garden tools? Recycle them the same way as lawn mowers. Unfortunately, we cannot accept riding mowers in our curbside collection program.

To check whether you have County-provided recycling service, use our Collection Day Lookup.

Thanks to Transfer Station staffer Andy for the photo!

See more information about scrap metal recycling in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Check out our spring cleaning resources

Are you as ready to move on from this past winter as we are? Welcome, Spring!

Spring cleaning, on the other hand, may be less exciting. We have resources to ease the process for you. Here are some ideas for reusing, recycling, and discarding things you may no longer need.

Keep our "How to recycle/dispose..." tool bookmarked on your mobile device. Put keywords into this app-like feature to quickly find answers about what to put where.

Medications

The next Prescription Drug Take Back Day is scheduled for April 26, 2014. Area locations have not yet been announced, but you can already put a save-the-date note in your calendar now. We’ll be posting updates as we get them. Or, use our instructions for disposing of medicine in your trash.

Cleaners, pesticide, herbicides, and other home and garden chemicals

Our Household Hazardous Waste drop-off at the Shady Grove Transfer Station is open daily.

Wondering whether something needs hazardous waste disposal? Hazardous materials have these properties:

• reactive
• ignitable
• combustible
• toxic, and/or
• corrosive

Items in usable condition

Maybe you have unwanted or unneeded items that are still in usable condition. Hop over to our Use It Again Guide for referrals to organizations that would be happy to receive your clothing, household goods, furniture, and more.

To check an item's condition, ask yourself whether you'd give it to a friend.

Confidential papers

We are offering several community paper shredding events again this season.We will update our calendar as dates and locations are confirmed.

Large metal items

If you receive Montgomery County-provided recycling service, call on our curbside scrap metal collection program for pickups of large metal items, such as appliances, grills, lawnmowers, etc. Simply request the collection, and get your metal items out to the curb by 7 a.m. on your collection day. We'll take care of the rest.

Yard clean-ups

Our yard trim collections for leaves, grass, and brush are year-round. Bag or bundle those branches snapped off by ice and snow, and we'll turn them into mulch.
We also have instructions for handling oversize yard trim that's too large for our curbside collections.

Trash

If you receive County-provided trash service, you may request up to 5 bulk trash pickups from us per calendar year. If you place your request online, you can even clean right up until the last minute (well, up to midnight) before submitting it.

Have an item we didn't address? Ask us about it in the comments.

Happy Spring!

Scrap metal recycling collection: where's the refrigerator?

This refrigerator was scheduled for a scrap metal pick up:

When the scrap metal crew arrived, they were confused! They spotted this refrigerator, but it was tucked against a fence, and partially hidden by shrubbery. It didn't look ready for collection. Was that the item for which the resident had requested pickup? They had a refrigerator on their pickup list for this address, but this one was not at the curb.

Help keep our collection crews cool by getting all your items properly prepared and at the curb by 7 a.m. To signal that they are for a trash or recycling pickup, place the items within 10 feet of the curb. Will you be away on your collection day? Ask someone to get your items into position for you.

What happened to this refrigerator? I was able to contact the resident by phone. She confirmed that the refrigerator by the fence was indeed the one on the scrap metal pickup list. The scrap metal crew then removed the refrigerator, relieved to know that they had loaded the correct item onto their truck.

-- Jessica Fusillo, Collections Communications

Scrap Metal Scavenging

Scrap metal scavenging hit the news big-time this week when someone was caught on surveillance cameras removing thousands of pounds of copper wire from a Pepco facility in Upper Marlboro. Why? It’s lucrative!

Such large operations are not so common. However, we know that scrap metal scavengers are working Montgomery County streets every day.

A local cable show will address this issue for County residents in an upcoming episode of “Legal or Not”. We taped segments on Monday. Here, videographer Mike Springirth films metal that has been set out for residential scrap metal collection at a home.

Mike also recorded a resident wondering about whether or not it is okay to remove the metal items from the curb.

So, what's the answer? Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, as the suspense builds, check out our scrap metal recycling program.

“Legal or Not” is produced by Cathy Grubman and airs on County Cable Montgomery.

--Jessica Fusillo, Collections Communications

Can a gas lawnmower be put out for a special pick up?

Photo credit: G. A. Corrick

From our mailbag:

Can a gas lawnmower be put out for a special pick up?

Thanks for your question, J.!

Yes, we accept gas (and other) lawnmowers in our scrap metal recycling program. To request a curbside collection, just call us at 240-777-6410. We must receive your call by 11 a.m. on the business day before your recycling day. The pickups are made on your recycling day.

To prepare your mower for collection, remove all gas and oil from it. If the mower has a battery, take it out. Then, set the mower at your curb by 7 a.m. on your recycling day. (We accept batteries in our Household Hazardous Waste Program.)

Have a riding mower to recycle? We cannot accept it as curbside scrap metal. However, we do accept riding mowers at the Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station scrap metal drop-off area.

So, that takes care of lawnmowers. But, take a closer look at the lawnmower photo above. What do you spot in the blue bin? See any issues? We'll revisit this in the next blog post!

What happens to bikes you recycle?

What happens to the bicycles you set out for curbside scrap metal recycling, or add to the scrap metal pile at the Shady Grove Transfer Station?

Our staff sorts through the bikes, setting aside those which are in good condition. We partner with Bikes for the World, a sponsored project of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, to put as many bikes as possible back into use. Bikes in damaged or rusty condition are recycled as scrap metal.

And what is the next step for bikes collected by Bikes for the World? Through selected non-profit agencies near and far, they become transportation for people who use them to get to work or school.

In honor of the International Day of Climate Action, Bikes for the World has set a goal of collecting and shipping 350 bikes at its collection events this weekend. Two of its events will be in Montgomery County:

• Saturday, October 24, 2009, 9 am – 12 noon
  St. Paul’s Catholic Community,
  at the Community Gazebo, corner Rt. 108 and Rt. 124,
  Damascus MD 20872
• Sunday, October 25, 2009, 10 am – 2 pm
  Congregation Beth El,
  8215 Old Georgetown Road,
  Bethesda MD 20814

In addition to bicycles, Bikes for the World also accepts bike-related items, sewing machines, and cell phones.

• Bike donation guidelines
• Full schedule of Bikes for the World collection events and drop-off locations

Recycling Center Tips: Only metal cans and foil products in your blue bins, please

Another installment of learnings from my trip to our Recycling Center...

Remember that metal conduit? Unfortunately, it is often in the company of other metal items that poke and prod the equipment at our Recycling Center. Here are some examples:

A metal roasting pan and metal piece with sharp edges (the round item at the top left is a tea kettle, also in the "thanks, but no" category for blue bin curbside collection)

Here is a piece of what looked like part of a metal frame (plus that tea kettle again!)"

The thing is that our sorting process and machinery are set up for accepting metal only in the form of cans and foil products. Oversize items can jam up the works. And, those sharp edges and pointy bits can damage the machinery (more on that later...).

Tip: We provide curbside scrap metal collection for large items at no charge. And, we set up a handy shortcut for details about this popular service: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/scrapmetal. If you have smaller amounts of scrap metal, or prefer to transport the metal yourself, use the scrap metal recycling area at our Solid Waste Transfer Station, also at no charge.

Recycling Center Tips: flexible metal conduit is not a blue bin material

Another installment of learnings from my trip to our Recycling Center...

We accept metal cans, tins, and foil products in our weekly curbside recycling program.

Sometimes, people expand that, thinking "if it's metal, it must be ok." And, they drop their metal item into their blue bin.

But, it's not ok. For example, flexible metal conduit bends and pokes when it is intact. And when it unravels, as it inevitably does, it bends, pokes, and wraps around bits of the Recycling Center's sorting machinery all the more. It would make great "hair" for a wild Halloween costume, or for a sculpture. However, please keep it out of blue bins.

Tip: Please recycle flexible metal conduit (and the rigid type, too) by taking it to the scrap metal recycling area at our Solid Waste Transfer Station.

Old refrigerators doors from Montgomery County become art at the National Building Museum

When the folks planning the U.S. Department of Energy’s ENERGY STAR^® Recycle My Old Fridge Campaign Art Exhibition needed refrigerator doors earlier this summer, they came to us. Specifically, they turned to our Solid Waste Transfer Station, the facility which receives refrigerators for recycling. And, our Transfer Station staff was happy to assist with their request.

The refrigerator door art has been created, and the show, titled "The Art of Recycling: The Coolest Show in Town", opens this coming Monday! It runs from August 25 through September 2, 2008, at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.

Calculate the amount of energy used by your refrigerator, learn about ENERGY STAR^® models, and more at the Recycle My Old Fridge Campaign. If you decide it's time to replace your refrigerator, remember that we provide curbside pickups at no charge through our scrap metal recycling program.

How may you recycle a riding mower?

From our mailbag:

Would you please inform me of the options for disposing of a riding mower.

Sure! We accept riding mowers at the Shady Grove Transfer Station. However, you must transport the mower there yourself.

Drain any remaining oil and fuel from the mower. Then, bring it to the scrap metal recycling area at the Transfer Station.

More details about our Scrap Metal program

Why a bulk trash pickup didn't include the bedframe

From our electronic mailbag:

"I left an old mattress, boxspring, and bedframe (separated into 2 pieces) out on my regular collection day. The mattress and boxspring were taken but the frame was left. Aren't these items supposed to be picked up as well?"

Sorry, the bedframe was probably left behind intentionally when your bulk trash collection was made. Why?!

Here are two potential answers:

1. Did you schedule a scrap metal recycling pickup for the bedframe? The mattress and boxspring are trash. But, the bedframe is metal, and will therefore not be taken by the trash crew. Scrap metal collections are made on your regular collection day. But, the truck only comes to you by request.
2. Did you include the bedframe on your itemized list when you requested the pickup? We want to help make sure that crews pick up only what you want them to take. So, we ask that they carefully follow the list of items you provide when you schedule the collection. If it's not on the list, it won't be included.

Request a scrap metal recycling collection through our website: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/scrapmetal

Scrap metal collection = curbside convenience

Need to get rid of an appliance, swing set, bicycle, metal shed, or other large metal item? What you *don't* need to do is worry about how to load it into a vehicle and get it to the Shady Grove Transfer Station. Of course, we will be happy to accept your metal items there. But,...

We'll come to *you* to pick up your scrap metal items! Simply request a scrap metal recycling collection, and then set the item(s) at your curb on the scheduled day.

For details about our scrap metal recycling program, and to request a collection:
www.montgomerycountymd.gov/scrapmetal

Scrap Metal: Give bikes a new purpose in life

Collecting bikes for the scrap metal value beats putting them into the trash. Putting them back into service as a means of transportation is even better.

Bikes for the World, a sponsored project of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, offers collection events and drop-off sites all over our area. This program then delivers bicycles and spare parts to selected non-profits overseas, where the bikes provide affordable transportation to workers, students, farmers, and small businesspeople.