More information on pillow recycling

Earlier this month, I wrote about pillow disposal. Today, I received this note from C., one of our readers:

I suspect that the person's local veterinarian or animal shelter might be glad
to get the pillows to use as bedding for needy or sick animals. Go ahead and
ask--they might be delighted.

Thanks, C., for this tip! In the solid waste management hierarchy, reuse ranks higher than recycling. And, of course, the possibility of giving old pillows a new lease on life is preferable to throwing them into the trash.

Celebrate America Recycles Day with us!

Today is America Recycles Day! It's a day for recognizing the importance of recycling and buying products made with recycled materials.

We're celebrating America Recycles Day on Saturday, as an event in Montgomery County's Save the Planet series. Please join our staff and volunteers for a day of exhibits, demonstrations, and crafts!

Date and time:
Saturday, November 17, 2007
11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Location:
Rockville Library (Get directions to the Rockville Library)
21 Maryland Ave.
Rockville, MD 20850

Our America Recycles Day event details

What's this about mercury in compact fluorescent bulbs?

It's true: those energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs harbor a small amount of mercury within them. Because of the mercury, it's best to dispose of burned-out compact fluorescent bulbs as hazardous waste, and to clean up carefully if one breaks.

Rick Dimont, our Hazardous Waste and Waste Reduction Program Manager, was interviewed in last night's WUSA9 TV news segment, titled "CFLs: Handle with Care."

Montgomery County leaf vacuuming begins today

Leaf vacuuming in Montgomery County kicks off today.

While we - the Division of Solid Waste Services - provide weekly curbside yard trim collection, the leaf vacuuming is provided by a sister agency, the County's Highway Maintenance.

Whether or not you have leaf vacuuming service in your neighborhood...
Autumn is a great time to start composting, with fallen leaves as a key ingredient. And, we offer compost bins at no charge to help get you started!

Montgomery County leaf vacuuming begins today

Leaf vacuuming in Montgomery County kicks off today.

While we - the Division of Solid Waste Services - provide weekly curbside yard trim collection, the leaf vacuuming is provided by a sister agency, the County's Highway Maintenance Section.

Whether or not you have leaf vacuuming service in your neighborhood...

Autumn is a great time to start composting, with fallen leaves as a key ingredient. And, we offer compost bins at no charge to help get you started!

Oops! No yard trim in plastic orange pumpkin bags, please!

Those large plastic orange bags which look like pumpkins do add a festive touch to Halloween and fall decorations in your yard.

However, our field staff reports that they are seeing "pumpkin bags" set out at the curb, filled with leaves for yard trim collection.

Oops! We'll gladly pick up your bagged leaves... as long as the bag is paper.

What's wrong with plastic bags? The leaves we collect go to our Montgomery County Compost Facility. As machinery turns the compost piles, it grinds up material, including the plastic bags. The resulting plastic snippets are a tremendous problem. Not only do they blow around the facility, but they also need to be fished out of the finished compost.

So, if you use "pumpkin bags" to contain items for collection, please use them for your trash rather than for your leaves.

Transfer Station Construction Update

Pardon our dust as we stir up a little more than usual!

Our Solid Waste Transfer Station expansion project is humming along. We are adding a new wing to our tipping floor (that's where the trucks, well, tip out their contents). The addition is on the side of the building facing Frederick Road.

Here are some photos of the project's progress:

The east side of the new wing

The inside...

The west side of the new wing

Our Fall TRRAC and Civic Loop newsletters are available

Our staff has been busy publishing its Fall newsletters! Here are two more, "hot off the presses"!

TRRAC is our program for recycling and waste reduction at apartment and condominium properties.
The November 2007 issue covers:

* the upcoming recycling seminar on November 6
* tips on reducing the amount of cardboard in the trash
* a summary of recent enforcement activity
* a success story from The Waterford Condominium in Kensington

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

This new issue of the Civic Loop features:

* America Recycles Day
* The holiday recycling collection calendars for the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day holidays
* Mixed paper recycling tips
* Buying recycled

Yes, we have a Civic Loop archive, too!

Happy reading!

And, if you have questions about our programs or events after looking through our newsletters, let us know.

Can I recycle pillows?

From our mailbag:

I have a bunch of bed pillows that have seen better days. I don't want to Freecycle, but was wondering where to recycle them. They are not terrible but, not hygienic enough to pass along

Thanks for your question, P.!

I put the question to the manager of our clothing and textile recycling program. We are able to accept only pillows which are new, and in a bag. So, please dispose of your used pillows in your household trash.

Do you know of other options for used pillows? Please let me know about them!

Our Fall 2007 SORRT Newsletter is available

The Fall 2007 issue of our SORRT Network Newsletter is available on our website.

Our Non-Residential Recycling Program publishes this quarterly newsletter.

Interested in reading back issues? Visit our SORRT Network Newsletter Archive.

Food for thought on products and packaging

One of the first things about which I caution our Behind the Scenes course participants each year is that they may complete the course with more questions than when they began. No, that’s not a typo – not only might the number of questions increase, but the answers may vary depending on the angle of approach.

Revisiting the paper versus plastic question, for example… Going sans bag, or bringing your own reusable one, comes out on top. But, what if you accept a paper bag at the checkout, and then use that bag to bundle your paper recyclables for collection? Or, what if you need plastic bags to line your trash can, or to clean up after your pet? Could it actually be advisable to take a plastic bag at the store, knowing that you’ll reuse it?

What about single-serving containers? What if the multi-serving size of a product uses less packaging overall? Is that a better option? But, what if you were considering the single-serving package because you’d use it all while it was fresh, versus possibly having some of the product in the larger package spoil before you used it?

If you have a choice of plastic tubs or metal cans, which is better? The metal can would be accepted in our program, while the plastic tub would not. But, what if the product in the metal can is more expensive? Would you still purchase it?

Does one type of packaging weigh more than the other? How does that affect the transportation costs of the product?

What factors make up your personal criteria for making product and packaging decision - raw material sourcing? energy usage? water usage? transportation costs? disposal and/or recyclability? potential for reuse? others?

Just some food for thought…

(Posted as our contribution to Blog Action Day)

We're participating in Blog Action Day

Next Monday, October 15, 2007 is Blog Action Day.

Action for what? The environment! Watch for our blog entry next week.

We now recycle televisions at the Transfer Station

Here's something I enjoyed doing on our website:

Montgomery County does not recycle televisions.

That's right - our recycling program has just expanded! Montgomery County has a brand-new television recycling program at our Solid Waste Transfer Station.

The television recycling containers are located next to the fenced computer recycling area:

After just a few days of operation, many boxes have already been filled with televisions! The attendants at the Transfer Station are doing a great job of notifying residents of our new program when they spot televisions in the material those folks are unloading.

What do you choose when the clerk asks "Paper or plastic?"

When you are at the store checkout, and the clerk asks whether you want a paper or a plastic bag for your purchase, what's the best answer?

The "More Than Meets the Eye" feature in today's Washington Post looks at this question in detail. For each material, it examines and compares consumption, production, pollution, recycling, and biodegradability.

As solutions, it suggests

• going without a bag when feasible,
• buying reusable bags and crates, and
• creative ways to reuse paper and plastic bags.

To take waste prevention yet another step further, don't buy any new cloth bags until you have first checked at home. Chances are good that you -- or a friend or relative -- already have a bag (or two or three) that would be a great shopping bag.

Book reuse drop-off at our Solid Waste Transfer Station

What's better than recycling books? Reusing them!

We accept books in our curbside recycling program, and in our mixed paper recycling container at our Solid Waste Transfer Station. The books we receive are recycled.

Now, we have two blue cans next to the Transfer Station's mixed paper recycling container. They are labeled "Books to Donate". When you put your paperback and hardback books into these cans, they are reused as books, rather than as paper fiber in our recycling program. The books are picked up by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation. This is a pilot program for us.

For other local book reuse opportunities, check our Use It Again database.

Temporary traffic flow changes at our Solid Waste Transfer Station

If you've been to the Solid Waste Transfer Station lately, you noticed our big construction project!

Because of this construction, we temporarily moved our scrap metal section. If you enter from the Frederick Road (Route 355) entrance, drive through the recycling drop-off area towards the bulk wood (yard trim) section. At the 3-way intersection, turn left towards the Transfer Station building. The new scrap metal section is in the lower parking lot, next to the Department of Transportation "shed."

Here's a photo of the bulk wood section...

and this is your new (and temporary) scrap metal destination. The Department of Transportation "shed" is the structure on the right side.

Monday, September 3, 2007 - Labor Day - modified schedule

Montgomery County-provided recycling and trash collections

Monday, September 3, 2007 - Labor Day - is a recycling and trash collection holiday. After the holiday, all County-provided recycling and trash collections will be one day later than normal.

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, these schedule announcements may not apply to your trash service -- check with your hauler or community manager.

Shady Grove Transfer Station

• closed: Monday, September 3, 2007
• reopens: Tuesday, September 4, 2007
• Transfer Station hours and other details

Damascus and Poolesville Beauty Spots

• closed: Saturday and Sunday, September 1 + 2, 2007
• Beauty Spot hours and other details

Household Hazardous Waste collection dates announced for Fall 2007

What are your options when the Household Hazardous Waste dropoff at the Shady Grove Transfer Station is too far away? See whether one of our community collection events is more conveniently located for you!

Our community collection schedule for Fall 2007 has just been announced. The dates and locations are:

• Saturday, October 20, 2007
  
  Silver Spring International Middle School
  313 Wayne Ave, Silver Spring
  (Dale Dr. & Wayne Ave.)
  
  
• Saturday, November 17, 2007
  
  Westland Middle School
  5511 Massachusetts Avenue, Bethesda
  (west of Little Falls Parkway)

Want reminders about these dates as they get closer, as well as updates about future collection events? I'm glad you asked! Subscribe to our Household Hazardous Waste newsletter.

Details about our Household Hazardous Waste program

How you do turn your compost pile?

How do you turn your compost pile? A pitchfork works splendidly for backyard composting. But, when you have 77,000 tons of leaves and grass to process, you need a tool that is a bit more robust.

The folks at our Yard Trim Composting Facility in Dickerson, MD, are delighted with their new tool, this bright blue Backhus compost turner. Compared to the turner it replaced, the Backhus is easier to maintain, because it has fewer moving parts. It is also more energy-efficient. And, it cost less money.

Not only does the new machine use less fuel, but it runs on biodiesel.

Newest version of our "Trash Collection Regulations" available

Our newest hot-off-the-press publication is our "Trash Collection Regulations" brochure. Or, if you prefer, our "Regulaciones para la Coleccion de Basura".

This bilingual brochure may not be the next bestseller, but we think it's a pretty handy read. Topics covered include:

• weekly curbside trash collection
• bulk trash collection
• scrap metal recycling collection
• unacceptable materials
• Shady Grove Transfer Station hours of operation
• claims for loss or damages
• a new section on latex paint disposal

Want print copies of this brochure for your neighborhood, homeowners' association, or other group? Just ask, and we'll be happy to supply them.

The fine print: these trash regulations apply to Montgomery County-provided trash service. If you have privately-provided service, please check with your hauler or community manager for your service details. Not sure about who provides your service? Use our Collection Day Lookup to find out, or call our Customer Service staff at 240-777-6410.