Edgemoor Citizens Association (2023)

Neighborhood Trash and Recycling Basics

Montgomery County has an extensive program of waste management, operated by the County's Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Solid Waste Services. Their website provides a wealth of information about how to dispose of household trash, including recycling. Please visit that site for any questions you might have about trash and recycling in our neighborhood. To go to their website,CLICK HERE.

In the meantime, here are some of the basics. By using the links provide in the sections below, you can visit appropriate sections in the County website to find out more detail about any issue.

Edgemoor Area Recycling Contact

If you are interested in learning more about local

local resources or activities, the local expert is

Ben Beach. Ben can be reached at 301-951-9643

or by emailingbenhbeach@gmail.com

Curbside Collection

Household waste for single family homes in our neighborhood is normally collected every Thursday morning. This includes three kinds of household waste: trash, recycling, and yard waste. Residents are required to place household waste, in appropriate containers, at the curbside no later than 7:00 AM on collection day morning (and no earlier than the previous day). The collection day may change (usually to Friday morning) if there is a holiday earlier that week, or if the collection schedule has been disrupted for some other reason (e.g., weather).

TIP: Get on the Division of Waste Services' email or text message list for delay notifications. Then you'll always know if there is a delay. You can also sign up for a weekly reminder email/text the day before each collection day. To do that, CLICK HERE.

In additional to the weekly collection of household waste, residents are also entitled to up to 5 bulk trash collections (see Bulk Trash Collection, below) and an unlimited number of scrap metal collections (see Scrap Metal Collection, below) per calendar year. .

For additional information, CLICK HERE.

Household Trash

Residents must provide their own trash containers, which should be rigid metal or plastic containers with tight-fitting lids and with a capacity of 15 to 45 gallons. You can use disposable plastic liners (bags), but they must be made of heavy, waterproof plastic and cannot exceed 45 gallons capacity. In addition, bags must be kept in approved containers when storing trash between collections. The County will not collect uncontained piles of trash, or overflowing containers.

Appropriate Trash Container

Household Recycling (Paper)

Almost any household paper product can be recycled by placing it the large blue Recycling Cart, which is provided by the county. To request a cart, repair a cart, or replace a cart, you must call 311. This cannot be done online, although there is additional information online about carts.CLICK HERE.

Rather than listing all of the paper items that can be recycled, it's easier to list the exceptions and caveats.

Paper that can't be recycled (which goes in regular trash):

3-ring binders (but please recycle any paper inside the binder)
carbon paper
foil gift wrap
leather-bound books
packing material such as Styrofoam or plastic
envelopes with plastic padding
paper or cardboard contaminated with paint, chemicals, food, or used kitty litter.
paper towels, napkins, or tissues
photographs/photographic paper, because of the coatings used on this type of paper.

For more complete information about paper recycling, CLICK HERE.

Paper Recycling Cart

Household Recycling (Except Paper)

Montgomery County recycles almost any plastic, glass or metal trash. Except for large items (see Bulk Trash, below), these go in the small blue recycling bins, provided to homeowners by the County. To request a new or additional bin, CLICK HERE.

Put the following materials together into your blue recycling bin for "commingled" curbside recycling pickup:

Aluminum foil products
Cans - aluminum, steel, bi-metal
Glass bottles and jars
Plastic bottles, containers, tubs, and lids

Just about any stiff plastic can be recycled except No. 6 plastics (polystyrene/Styrofoam). That goes in regular trash.

Note that you can also dispose of aerosol spray cans in these bins, provided they did not contain hazardous material.

Recycle Bin

Material that goes in Recycle Bin

Yard Trim

Yard trim is leaves, grass, brush or anything else that has grown naturally in your yard. You can put this material out for collection in a paper yard trim/leaf bag, in a reusable trash container with a "Yard Trim" decal on it, or bundled with twine. You cannot use plastic trash bags for yard trim. For additional information, CLICK HERE, where you can also find information about alternatives to curbside collection of yard trim through composting or grasscycling.

Yard Trim Decal

Bulk Trash/Scrap Metal Collections

Residents are entitled to 5 bulk trash collections per calendar year for large items that won't fit in a regular trash can or trash bag, and an unlimited number of scrap metal collections. You must schedule bulk trash or scrap metal collections in advance with the County, either by filling out a form (CLICK HERE) or by calling 311. Requests must be submitted by 11:59 PM the day before the regularly scheduled County pickup day. and the material will be collected on the regular collection day. All items must be placed at the curb by 7:00 AM on the day of collection. For complete information about these special collections, click on the following items:

Bulk Trash Collection

Scrap Metal Collection

Bikes for the World

Do you have a bike you no longer need?

Bikes for the World accepts old bikes and ships them to

Africa, Central America, and other places where

they are in great demand. BFW requests a

$10 donation per bike to defray shipping costs.

Please contact Ben Beach, 301-951-9643 or

benhbeach@gmail.comto make arrangements.

You'll be able to drop the bike(s) off at 7207 Denton Rd.

For more info:http://www.bikesfortheworld.org/

Recycling Tips and Tricks

Cardboard Boxes. You don't have to cut, tie, or flatten them for collection, although flattened boxes make collection easier maximize space in your cart. Just set boxes out next to your blue bin for collection.
Plastic Grocery Bags. Do not put them in trash or recycling. They can be recycled at the Giant or Safeway and at some other grocery stores.
Mixed Paper/Plastic/Glass. Do not mix paper items with glass/plastic/metal. Someone at the recycling center will have to manually separate them.
Paper Towels/Napkins/Tissues. These do not go in the paper recycling. Put them in regular trash.
Polystyrene/Styrofoam.Most plastic items can go into your recycling bin—but not polystyrene/Styrofoam (No 6. Plastic).
Waxed Cardboard.Items like milk or juice cartons should be placed in the Paper recycling bin.
Pizza boxes.These can go into recycling—if there is very little or no pizza residue. If there is residue, the best thing to do is rip off that part & put it in the trash. Then the rest of the box can be recycled.
Light Bulbs. Older style incandescent bulbs and halogen bulbs go in regular trash - not in recycling. Compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), light emitting diode (LED), and liquid crystal display (LCD) bulbs, and florescent tubes and ballasts all contain hazardous chemicals, so they cannot disposed of in regular trash or recycling. They should be treated as Household Hazardous Waste. CLICK HERE for disposal instructions. You can also drop those items off for proper disposal at Home Depot, IKEA, Zimmerman's Home Center (Burtonsville), and Amicus Green Building Center (Kensington).
Batteries. Due to the risk of fires, all batteries are treated as Household Hazardous Waste and must be disposed of at the Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station located at 16101/16105 Frederick Road, in Derwood MD. CLICK HERE for additional instructions. This includesdry cell and alkaline batteries (i.e., common household batteries); and rechargeable ones (lithium batteries, lithium-ion batteries; nickel-cadmium batteries; lead acid (vehicle) batteries; uninterruptable power supplies (personal & network), and tool batteries). Do not dispose of batteries in household waste.The safest way to transportbatteries is to protect the terminals by placing each battery individually into a plastic bag, or by taping the ends with masking tape or another non-metallic tape. [Updated August 2020]

Composting

If you're interested in composting, there are many resources available through Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, including workshops, videos, and online information, starting HERE.They also provide free compost bins for homeowners. There are plenty of other sources available online on home composting basics, for example HERE.

There are also several local services that will do most of the work by collecting compostable waste from your home and turning it into high-nutrient compost for your garden. Just search on the web for "composting services." At least one local company, which was started by two Whitman HS grads,COMPOST CREW, will give Edgemoor area residents a 40% discount on monthly or yearly residential plans if you subscribe to their service with a neighborhood address.