August 2008 Newsletter Helper - Division of Solid Waste Services

[Howard Hartman]

Montgomery County Division of Solid Waste Services
August 2008 Newsletter Helper

In this announcement:

• Holiday news
• Plastics recycling - our program expanded!
• Electronics recycling - community collection events
• How to manage Fall leaves, nuts, fruits, and more
• Update your bookmarks and links to us

Holiday Reminders:

Labor Day:

Monday, September 1, 2008 - Labor Day - is a recycling and trash collection holiday. There will be no County-provided recycling or trash collections on September 1; all collections this week shift by one day.

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

Shady Grove Solid Waste Transfer Station

• Monday, September 1, 2008: closed
• Tuesday, September 2, 2008: will reopen with normal hours
• Transfer Station location, hours and other details

Damascus and Poolesville Beauty Spots

• Saturday and Sunday, August 30 and 31, 2008: closed
• Beauty Spot locations, hours and other details

Plastics recycling - our program expanded!

Do you know that we now accept plastic bottles, containers, tubs, and lids?
Plastics recycling details, with downloadable reference brochure

Electronics recycling - community collection events

To help you recycle your electronic items (including televisions!) as easily as possible, we scheduled electronics drop-off events at local Park-N-Ride Lots. Upcoming dates and locations are:

• Sunday, September 21, 2008: Damascus Park-N-Ride, Noon to 4 p.m.
• Sunday, October 19, 2008: Montgomery Blair High School, Noon to 4 p.m.

We also accept electronics daily at our Solid Waste Transfer Station.

Electronics recycling details, with location maps: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/hazardouswaste

How to manage Fall leaves, nuts, fruits, and more

How can you manage your Fall leaves, acorns, other nuts, and fruits? Set them out with your yard trim for recycling collection! This applies to pumpkins, corn stalks, and hay bales, too, after these have served their decorative purpose.

Prepare these items for pickup by putting them into paper yard trim bags or a reusable can (trash can) labeled with “Yard Trim”. The weight limit per bag or can is 45 pounds. Be careful: bags or cans might meet this limit before being completely filled. You may set out as many yard trim bags or cans as you wish. The collected items are composted at the Montgomery County’s Yard Trim Composting Facility. The end product is marketed as Leafgro.

Leaf vacuuming is provided in certain parts of Montgomery County, and is done by the Department of Transportation's Highway Maintenance Section.

“Yard Trim” decals are available at no charge at Montgomery County libraries, Regional Service Centers, in our "web store" , or by calling the Division of Solid Waste Services Customer Service Line at 240-777-6410. Set bags and labeled cans at the curb by 7 a.m. on your recycling day. Please be sure that the "Yard Trim" decal faces the street.

The Fall season is a great time to begin or continue composting. We offer compost bins to County residents and businesses at no charge. For a list of bin locations, please visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/solidwaste > Store or call us at 240-777-6410.

For tips on composting: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dep.

For more information waste reduction, recycling, and trash disposal in Montgomery County: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/solidwaste; recycle@montgomerycountymd.gov; 240-777-6410; TTY: 240-777-6442

Update your bookmarks and links to us

Have you bookmarked pages on our Division of Solid Waste Services website? Does your community or homeowners' association website link to ours?

We became part of the Department of the Environmental Protection on July 1, 2008. Our addresses and phone numbers remain the same, but our website moved. Please check your bookmarks and links -- our homepage is now http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/dep/solidwaste/ , and we have this easier-to-remember shortcut: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/solidwaste .

If you (or your association webmaster) have questions, please contact me at susanne.wiggins@montgomerycountymd.gov .

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Blurbs good for use anytime:

For collection issues, scheduling scrap metal pickups, decals, and new blue bins, contact the Division of Solid Waste Services Customer Service Line at 240-777-6410.

Recycling Reminder: Thank you for setting your blue bin out at your curb by 7 a.m. on your recycling day.

To order Division of Solid Waste Services' blue bins, decals, and literature online:
www.montgomerycountymd.gov/solidwaste > Store

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How-to-recycle information

"Talkin' Trash" - the Division of Solid Waste Services blog

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Comments? Suggestions? -- We welcome your input so that these notices are as useful as possible for you.

Susanne Brunhart Wiggins
susanne.wiggins@montgomerycountymd.gov
Montgomery County, MD, Division of Solid Waste Services

If you have any questions or comments, contact us by email or postal mail:Montgomery County Government, Office of Public Information, 101 Monroe Street, 4th Floor, Rockville, MD 20850.