Please watch your weight... with your Transfer Station loads

Montgomery County residents are welcome to take trash from their homes to the Shady Grove Transfer Station. When you do this, please remember to watch your (load) weight. Residential trash loads must be under 500 pounds.

What if your trash load weighs more?

If your load exceeds this amount, we can accept it Monday through Saturday via the Truck Entrance on Shady Grove Road (it is closed on Sundays). This entrance has vehicle scales to measure your load weight. The fee schedule applies to loads 500 pounds and more, and is prorated for the actual weight of your trash.

Household Hazardous Waste collection in Bethesda - June 30, 2007

Our next Household Hazardous Waste community collection event is on Saturday, June 30, 2007, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Location:
Westland Middle School
5511 Massachusetts Avenue (west of Little Falls Parkway)
Bethesda MD 20816

We have a Household Hazardous Waste drop-off facility at the Shady Grove Transfer Station. It is open daily, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Depending on where you live within the County, however, traveling out to the Transfer Station for drop-offs may not be convenient. We offer our community collection events to make proper disposal of your household hazardous products easier.

Want to receive email notices about our Household Hazardous Waste community collection event schedule? Subscribe to our email list for this topic.

Free paper shredding - Germantown - June 23, 2007

Have personal documents to shred? Bring them to the Upcounty Regional Services Center this coming Saturday!

• Bring up to two medium-sized boxes
• This event is for personal and paper items only

Location

Upcounty Regional Services Center
12900 Middlebrook Rd
Germantown MD 20874

Time

Saturday, June 23, 2007, 10:00 a.m. to Noon

Sponsors

• Upcounty Regional Services Center
• Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection
• All-Shred, Inc.

How to dispose of leftover latex paint

In my last post, I hinted that latex paint from your home projects could be easily disposed of at home.

Ideally, you'll use up all of the paint from your project (with the possible exception of a small amount for touch-ups), or you'll be able to give the remainder away. When neither is an option...

Simply dry up the remaining latex paint, and then put the solidified paint into your regular household trash. Allow small amounts to dry in a well-ventilated area. For larger amounts, use paint hardener, or alternatives like mulch, kitty litter, or shredded paper. (Detailed latex paint disposal instructions)

If the paint can is metal, we'll recycle it for you! After trash is burned in our waste-to-energy facility, a magnet pulls ferrous metals out of the remaining ash. That collected metal is then recycled.

Remember, please do not bring latex paint to our Household Hazardous Waste Collections, because it is not a hazardous material. However, leftover oil-based paint should always be disposed of as hazardous waste.

Paint giveaway mentioned on Craigslist

This morning, someone posted an "offer" for the free paint we have at the Shady Grove Transfer Station to the "free items" section of Craigslist. Thanks for the publicity!

The paint comes from residents who bring it to our Household Hazardous Waste drop-off program. Instead of disposing of it, we are pleased to offer the full cans we receive back to you for reuse.

Latex/water-based paint is not a hazardous waste. In fact, it is very expensive for us to handle it as such. We found that paint disposal was taking a significant amount of money from our hazardous waste budget. The free paint program is one way for us to more cost-effectively handle the paint brought to us. That leaves more money available for processing the materials which truly do need special disposal.

It's easy to dispose of the leftovers from your latex painting projects at home. Details to follow in my next post...

May flower pots and trays be recycled?

You've put the plants into your garden. It's time to clean up... can you recycle the plastic flower pots and trays? It's tempting... they've got the recycling arrows on them. But... please don't add them to your recycling bin.

We are able to accept all plastic bottles with necks. What about those pots and trays, then? Gardeners are often happy to take these for use with their own seedlings. Otherwise, please put these items into your household trash.

However, if a plastic bottle has held hazardous contents -- that purple bottle in the photo is labeled "Wasp & Hornet Killer" -- then please put the empty bottle into your household trash as well.

How to dispose of compact fluorescent light bulbs

Updated information posted November 20, 2008

From our mailbag:

Do electric light bulbs and fluorescent tubes go into the
recycling bin?

Thanks for asking! No, the only glass we accept in our curbside blue bin recycling program is that used for bottles and jars.

To dispose of incandescent ("regular") light bulbs, please wrap them in paper, and place them into your regular household trash. (Why put otherwise recyclable paper into the trash? Recycling as much as possible is important, but your safety and the collection crew's safety is even more important. Wrapping the bulb in paper helps prevent injury by containing the glass shards if the bulb breaks.)

To dispose of your compact fluorescent light bulbs, please take them to our Household Hazardous Waste drop-off sites, if this is practical for you. (They contain a small amount of mercury.) If it is not practical, please wrap and put the compact fluorescent bulb into your regular household trash, as you would an incandescent bulb.

What if a bulb breaks? The US EPA website has clean-up instructions for broken compact fluorescent light bulbs.

To help your household be prepared, I've updated our "How to Recycle/Dispose of: Fluorescent light bulbs and tubes" page with this information.

Will your collection day be affected by a holiday?

How do you know whether or not a holiday will affect your recycling and trash collection service?
Subscribe to our email announcement list or news feed to get the inside scoop on holiday service changes.

We generally send out our holiday reminder emails and update our news feed about one week prior to a holiday. We use the same channels to update subscribers about service changes due to snow, ice, and storms.

Confused by holiday collection information you've seen or read in the media? Sometimes it's incorrect. When you have questions, please ask! (Our website may have the answer to your question, too.)

Outstanding recyclers honored during Recycling Awareness Week

Today, our Recycling Awareness Week activity was a celebration!

We recognized 50 businesses, organizations and individuals, and 20 multi-family properties, property managers and individuals in the following categories:

* excellence in recycling for businesses and multi-family properties recycling more than 50 percent of their waste in 2006

* outstanding achievement for those businesses, employees, property owners/managers, and multi-family properties and individuals for their contributions to successful recycling, waste reduction, buying recycled and educational efforts.

Congratulations to all!

Recycling Section Chief Eileen Kao presents remarks at the ceremony.

Awardees enjoy lunch together at the Awards Ceremony.

Recycling tips were shared at information displays.

Poster content winners honored during Recycling Awareness Week

This evening, we presented awards to winners of Montgomery County Public School’s annual recycling poster contest “Our Earth is a Gift, Give it a Lift, Recycle!”

Up to five winners from each of six grade levels and up to five winners from each of two special categories were recognized at the awards reception.

The ceremony was hosted by the Division of Solid Waste Services.

We're celebrating Recycling Awareness Week from May 21 to 25, 2007

This week is National Public Works Week, relevant to us because we are in the Montgomery County Department of Public Works and Transportation.

We in the Division of Solid Waste Service have additional cause for celebration this week, as we honor Recycling Awareness Week from May 21 to 25, 2007. Hats off to the outstanding recyclers and contest winners we're naming over the coming days!

Free mulch available in Silver Spring

UPDATE, April 3, 2013:
The Silver Spring Mulch Preserve is closed.  We continue to offer mulch in Derwood and Poolesville.  Visit our Neighborhood Mulch Preserve page for details.

Our "Neighborhood Mulch Preserve" in Silver Spring [link removed] is (re)opened for business! We had closed it for a few weeks while figuring out some restocking issues. Consider taking some of this mulch for your next project. And, did I mention that it's available at no charge? Come early and often; bring your own containers and shovels/pitchforks!

I heard the mulch is green... What you're offering looks pretty brown to me...

You're right: it is brown in color. It's called "green" because it's freshly-ground mulch. That's fine for applications like covering pathways. However, don't use it around your prized petunias until it's aged for at least a few months. Why not? Fresh mulch uses nitrogen as it decomposes. If spread around tender plants, the mulch would compete with them for that nitrogen, and chances are that the plants wouldn't fare so well.

What is the mulch made of?

The ingredients are simple: the brush Montgomery County residents set out for curbside pickup, and the brush delivered directly to the Shady Grove Transfer Station.

Where do I get your mulch?

Here are the details for the Silver Spring location. 


 

Visit Cloverly Day for yet another paper shredding opportunity

You "Talkin' Trash" readers are training me well! Because of your keen interest in paper shredding opportunities in our area, my eyes now perk up when I spy news of such events.

When I saw the announcement for Cloverly Day, and read that free paper shredding was one of the featured activities, I knew I had to find out more.

Here's the scoop on the details:
Cloverly Day
Saturday, April 28, 2007
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Cloverly Towne Center (corner of Briggs Chaney Rd and New Hampshire Ave), Silver Spring

The paper shredding will be done by Shred-It, and is sponsored by BB&T Bank.

Related posts:

• how to prepare shredded paper for curbside collection in Montgomery County
  
• composting your shredded paper

National Public Works Week photo contest

A neighborhood street on which each driveway has blue bins and paper carts standing sentry at the driveway... a container brimming with colorful recyclables... a collection crew working in smooth rhythm, emptying bins as it goes along... These are some of the daily images on which we Division of Solid Waste Services folks feast our eyes!

What recycling and trash scenes and images capture your interest? Snap a photo, and enter it in the National Public Works Week photo contest, sponsored by the Montgomery County Department of Public Works! The prizes are: first place - $100 U.S. Savings bond, second place - $75 bond, and third place - $50 bond.

From the press release:
"The theme for this year's content is “Public Works: Moving Life Forward,” and includes any public works operation such as road work, Ride On bus service, trash or recycling collections, or pedestrian safety improvements."

This contest is actually a two-fer: Entries in the National Public Works Week competition will automatically be entered in the Keep Montgomery County Beautiful Task Force photography contest, too.

Fire up your cameras! I look forward to seeing your entries!

Download National Public Works Week photo contest nomination form

Don't your paper shreds fly out of your compost pile?

So, if you add shredded paper to your compost pile, don't the shreds fly around?

Great question! Yes, they could. If the bin isn't full to the top, I've found that the shreds tend to stay inside. Sprinkling a little water on top of the shreds [using water from your rain barrel, of course :-) ] helps to keep fly-away shreds in place as well.

Composting = another way to recycle shredded paper

We've covered taking your personal papers to a Community Shred event and how to prepare documents you shred at home for curbside recycling collection. Now, let's take that even closer to home: your backyard!

What is paper but another carbon source for the bacteria and other decomposer-critters in your compost pile? Let paper shreds be another part of their well-rounded diet!

Once the shreds decompose, your personal information -- be it your Social Security number, your bank or brokerage account numbers, your name, address, and phone number and more -- will all be indistinguishable from the rich, dark compost.

The shreds are a nice balance to the "greens" (nitrogen-rich material) you put into your compost pile, like the winter weeds you may be pulling on these warm Spring days. And, there's a certain satisfaction in knowing that bills, financial statements, and the like will find additional use in nurturing the soil in your garden.

Celebrate Earth Day with us on April 21, 2007

Celebrate Earth Day with us in Rockville, Maryland!

The fine print:
April 21, 2007
11:00 am to 3:00 pm, rain or shine!
850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville, Maryland
(on the parking lot at the intersection of Route 355 and Mannakee Street)

Planned activities for the day include opportunities to:

• Take a tour of the Recycling Center
  • Tour buses will arrive/depart 850 Hungerford Drive every 15 minutes
• See energy-efficient vehicles
• Great family entertainment
• Make earth-friendly crafts
• Refreshments available
• Learn more about:
  • Recycling
  • Waste reduction
  • Buying recycled products
  • Environmentally-friendly homes & landscaping

Typically, the Recycling Center is open only on weekdays. So, grab this rare weekend opportunity to see how your blue bin items are separated by material before being sent out to processors.

Download Earth Day flier (PDF, 164 kb)

May I recycle cardboard soda can cases?

From our mailbag:

Should plastic coated cardboard (ex.: cases for soda cans) be placed in the blue bins?

Thanks for asking, R.M.! What looks like a plastic coating on those soda can cases is probably a thin clay coating. (Clay?! Yes, it is helpful in creating higher-quality printing.)

Yes, please do recycle your soda can cases in Montgomery County's paper recycling collection. If you use a wheeled cart for your paper, just toss in the cases with your other recyclable paper items -- no bundling or tying required! If you don't use a cart, add the cases to your bundled paper, and then set the bundle(s) on top of or next to your blue bins or blue can.

The cardboard cases -- and all other paper -- must be bundled or tied before you place them into a blue bin or blue can. Why? Our collection and sorting processes handle paper separately from the cans, bottles, and jars you recycle in your blue bins and cans. When your paper is bundled or tied, the collection crew is able to grab it easily, and to toss it into the paper compartment of the truck.

How to recycle shredded paper at home

Community Shred events and the services offered by document destruction companies are but one tool for handling your sensitive documents.

Many of us now have shredders at home. (We also know that some households have, ahem, manual shredding services -- often accidental -- in the form of the youngest family members... ) Those shreds are accepted in Montgomery County's curbside paper recycling program.

The challenge for you -- and for us -- is to keep the shreds from becoming confetti in your neighborhood as your paper awaits pickup at the curb, and as it's loaded into the truck.

One easy way to contain shredded paper is to put it into a paper bag or cardboard box.

If you use one of our wheeled paper recycling carts, simply "sandwich" your shreds between non-shredded paper so that these are neither at the very bottom nor at the very top of your cart.

There's one more entry to come in this mini-series on shredded paper... Stay tuned!

Safe & Secure Community Shred in Gaithersburg on March 31, 2007

I know many of you blog visitors are interested in finding paper shredding, or document destruction, opportunities...

The next NBC4 Safe & Secure Community Shred event will be held on Saturday, March 31, 2007, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. in two locations: Gaithersburg, MD and Chantilly, VA.

This free event will accept up to 5 boxes of your personal papers -- no business or commercial items, please. Details about accepted material and the Community Shred program

Here's the Gaithersburg information:

Gaithersburg Mercantile Potomac Bank
702 Russell Avenue
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
map for this location

Next in this series:

• how to prepare shredded paper for curbside collection
• composting your shredded paper