Paper recycling: staples?

Whether it's a reminder of an upcoming holiday, or an weather-related collection service alert, I always receive replies from our subscribers when I send a notice to our "Holiday Reminder List" (or any of our other lists, for that matter). The Division's email lists have created this additional line of communication, and I am delighted when subscribers use it to ask questions or share comments or concerns which have been on their mind. Keep 'em coming! From my Independence Day Reminder Notice "Mailbag":

What is the proper way to recycle magazines and catalogs with and without staples?

Staples are not a problem for our paper recycling program. So, you do not need to worry about removing them.

Please recycle your magazines and catalogs right along with your other paper -- newspaper, newspaper inserts, unwanted mail, cereal and other boxes, and the like.

If you live in a single-family home and recently received one of the County's new paper recycling carts, you may simply toss all of your paper and cardboard in there.

If you do not have a cart, just bundle your paper with twine. Or, place it into a paper bag or small cardboard box. Then, set the bundles on top of or next to your blue bin on your recycling day.

What's wrong with this picture? - Part III

About Quiz Entry #2:
We do not accept yard trimmings in plastic bags. In fact, plastic bags are the most significant "contaminant" at our Composting Facility, where leaves and grass are turned into a product marketed as Leafgro. As the leaves and grass are processed, plastic bags are chopped into ever-smaller pieces. These pieces blow around the facility, littering the grounds, getting stuck in fences, and finding their way back into Leafgro that has already been screened in final preparation for bagging or bulk sale. Those pieces must then be collected by hand, a tedious and costly undertaking.

Leaves and grass should be set at the curb in reusable containers (such as trash cans with a "Yard Trim" decal on them -- write to us or call 240-777-6410 to have decals sent to you), or in paper yard trim bags. The paper yard trim bags break down along with the material in them, becoming part of the finished compost!

Quiz Entry #3:

July 4, 2005: Independence Day Holiday

Monday, July 4, 2005 ~ Independence Day ~ is a recycling and trash 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 at recycle@montgomerycountymd.gov 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 -- check with your hauler or community manager.

The Damascus and Poolesville Beauty Spots will be open on July 2 and 3, 2005. The Shady Grove Transfer Station will be closed on Monday, July 4, 2005.

Full holiday announcement

What's wrong with this picture? - Part II

In Part I, we had a paper recycling cart with a tag on it: the most common reason for this is that someone is so pleased with the cart's large capacity that he or she fills it with... trash. Because the carts are for paper only, this creates a problem. First, the wrong material is inside. Second, a full cart is heavy, and it is only the recycling trucks which are equipped with cart lifts. So, not only is the wrong material inside, but getting it out could be a challenge.

Today's "quiz entry":

What's wrong with this picture? - Part I

Most of the time, all goes well at the curb on collection day: you set your items out in the morning, and by day's end, the trucks have come by, leaving you with emptied containers ready for the next week's accumulation.

However, sometimes, to-be-collected items are left behind by the crew. You find these things sporting "day-glo" orange stickers. Our next series of entries will take a visual tour of "tagged" items.

Tags are supposed to be filled out with an explanation of what went wrong with preparation of the offending item. If you have questions about why something was tagged, let us know by email or by calling 240-777-6410

Hazardous Waste: new collection dates

The following two Household Hazardous Waste collection events have been announced. Both sites will operate from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 8, 2005, SILVER SPRING
Silver Spring International Middle School
313 Wayne Avenue (Dale Dr. & Wayne Ave.)

Saturday, November 12, 2005, BETHESDA
Westland Middle School
5511 Massachusetts Avenue, Bethesda MD 20816
(west of Little Falls Parkway)

Reminder: the Shady Grove Transfer Station now has a permanent HHW receiving area, open year-round: Thursday through Sunday, 9 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Newsletter Helper: Dangerous Disposal

The June 2005 Newsletter Helper from the Division of Solid Waste Services is now available. This month's featured topic is "Disposal Dangers." Most of the trash received by the Division of Solid Waste Services is run-of-the-mill material. But sometimes, dangerous surprises lurk within.

Examples of dangerous materials to keep out of the trash include: mercury and mercury-containing products like thermometers and thermostats, swimming pool chemicals, car fluids, fuel, herbicides and pesticides, paint thinners and solvents, and syringe needles.

Business Recycling: newly updated Handbook

Our comprehensive Business Recycling Regulation Handbook has just been updated! Be one of the first to read or download this new edition.

The Handbook is also available in Chinese and Spanish.

Congratulations, Great Recyclers!

During our recent Recycling Awareness Week, we gave awards for "Excellence in Recycling" and Outstanding Achievement in Recycling". Receipients included businesses and organizations, apartment and condominium properties, and single-family residents. Congratulations to all!

Zip to Hazardous Waste information

This week, it got easier to get to the hazardous waste program information on our website. Simply use this shortcut: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/hazardouswaste.

That will zip you on over to details about our Household Hazardous Waste collections, our Ecowise program for businesses that are small-quantity generators, and our "Clean Ways to do Dirty Jobs" poster.

Have some trash with your comics

This week, Washington Post columnist John Kelly examines trash and recycling. He writes:

It all has to go somewhere. And that is the crux of the issue: Because matter cannot be created nor destroyed, where does it all go? That's the question I'll be trying to answer all this week.

Travel along with him as he hits the streets to address this question. In the weekday print version of the Washington Post, John's column is found in the Comics section.

Memorial Day Holiday -- no County collections on May 30

Monday, May 30, 2005 ~ Memorial Day ~ is a recycling and trash holiday. There are no County-provided recycling or trash collections that day. All County-provided recycling and trash collections that week will be one day later than normal.

Memorial Day Holiday -- facility schedules

Over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, the Beauty Spots and Transfer Station will have the following schedules:

DAMASCUS and POOLESVILLE BEAUTY SPOTS

• Saturday, May 28, 2005: normal hours


• open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.


• Sunday, May 29, 2005: closed

SHADY GROVE TRANSFER STATION

• Sat & Sun, May 28 & 29, 2005: normal weekend hours




• Car Entrance:




• Saturday: 7:30 am - 5:00 pm


• Sunday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm




• Truck Entrance:




• Saturday: 7:00 am - 5:00 pm






• Monday, May 30, 2005: closed

All good things come to an end

The Spring 2005 session of our Behind the Scenes course ended last night. We met for 6 consecutive 2-hour Wednesday evening classes. We also took a Saturday field trip to tour two of the more outlying facilities.

Despite so many hours together, we still parted ways with questions left unexplored! One participant remarked, "I surprised me to learn that I could learn such interesting things about trash!"

In the coming weeks, I'll use some of those questions as fodder for blog entries. And, if you have burning questions of your own about recycling and solid waste, click on the link below to tell me about them. Better yet, see you in class the next time it's offered!

Blue Bins: Where's my new one?

New and replacement recycling bins are delivered to you by our field staff and our dedicated "blue bin delivery guy." These deliveries are not made by your recycling collection crews. So, they may coincidentally be made on your recycling day, but more often than not, the your bin will arrive on another day.

Newsletter Helper: Plastic recycling

We just posted our "Newsletter Helper" for May. This month's featured topic is plastic recycling. Montgomery County accepts all plastic bottles with necks. Many people mistakenly think we are still limited to certain resin numbers. The color of the bottle, and the resin number stamped on it in the "recycling triangle" don't matter. Newsletter Helper content is intended for convenient reuse in your own community publications. Sample some issues for yourself!

Recycling Center wins award

The Montgomery County Recycling Center has won the Solid Waste Processing Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers 2005 Facility Recognition Award in the Material Recovery Category.

Award criteria included the facility’s success in reaching its goals; innovative and technical contributions to solid waste processing; facility economics; environmental performance and safety; and, the facility’s role in integrated waste management. ASME’s award recognizes the Recycling Center’s contribution to the field of solid waste processing. We will receive the award on May 23, 2005.

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.

Scrap metal: Is it on the list?

Is the bike supposed to be picked up as scrap metal... or not?

Is that bike part of the requested collection, or did Junior forget it on the lawn?

We recently started asking you to provide an itemized list when you request a scrap metal collection (or a bulk trash collection). This does require a little more work up-front.

The benefits of this list can be invaluable. When collection crews arrive for a pick up, it is not always clear what they are to take with them. Under our improved procedure, the collection crew has your list in hand when they come to your home. And, they have instructions to pick up only what is on that list. This helps them check off to make sure they take everything you wanted them to take, and to leave the rest behind.

Blue Carts: Hold the bin

What to do with a now-surplus recycling bin?

Back in the day, you requested a second blue bin from us to hold your paper bundles. With that paper now going into your wheeled blue cart, your second bin may no longer be needed.

We are happy to take the bin back. Just call us (240-777-6410) or write to us to let us know. (Please remember to give us your address.) Then, leave the bin outside your house in a place where our Bin Picker-Upper will see it when he comes.