Composting and Resource Recovery Facility win awards!

Our Resource Recovery Facility received the Solid Waste Association of North America's 2005 Gold Excellence Award in the Waste-to-Energy Division.

Our Composting Facility received a 2005 Silver Excellence Award in the Waste Reduction, Recycling and Composting Division.

This awards program recognizes technically and economically-sound municipal solid waste management programs that are protective of public health and the environment.

Damascus Beauty Spot closed Oct. 29-30

The Damascus Beauty Spot will be closed this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, October 29 and 30, 2005.

The Poolesville Beauty Spot will be OPEN for its normal weekend hours.

Announcing... the new Use It Again Guide

Our printed "Use It Again" guide to reuse, repair, and rental opportunities in Montgomery County has been popular since its very first printing.

About 4 years ago, we had a tech-savvy high school student intern who coded an online version of Use It Again for us. When you have a resource you love, and use it often, your wishes for it start to grow... and grow...

So, we revamped the online Use It Again from the ground up, building in a number of new features for both the end-user and the administrative side. Please enjoy the new version, launched this afternoon, and let us know what you think.

Lids: why not plastic?

What's the matter with putting plastic lids into our recycling bins?

Reasons why we cannot accept plastic lids include these:

• These lids and caps are made from a different molding process than the plastic bottles and jars which we do accept.
• The lids and caps are often "sandwiches" of several plastic resins. For example, the lid itself might be one resin, and contain a thin liner made from another resin. We need to be able to sort items into categories of a single resin.
  

Can I recycle lids?

Last week, I received a phone message from a resident:

I'm confused about recycling! Your website has some information about lids, but I still have questions!

I have updated our "how to" webpages with additional details about caps and lids from plastic bottles, glass bottles and jars, and metal cans. In short, we cannot accept any plastic lids or caps; we do take metal lids.

TRRAC: Property Manager's Guide

Our "Property Manager's Guide to Recycling" is now online. This handbook is published by TRRAC, our recycling program for apartments and condominiums. Whether developing a new recycling program or maintaining an existing one, this publication is a comprehensive resource for property managers.

Oct. 10, 2005: Columbus Day holiday - normal schedule

Monday, October 10, 2005 ~ Columbus Day ~ is a regular recycling and trash collection day. All County-provided recycling and trash collections will be made on their normal schedule.

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.