During Holidays and Beyond; Sign Up for Electronic Holiday Collection
Schedule Reminders
Montgomery
County residents are reminded that they can help the County reach its new goal
to reduce waste and recycle 70 percent of the waste stream by 2020 by reducing
the amount of waste they individually generate and recycling everything
possible, starting with the upcoming holiday season.
The
Montgomery County Division of Solid Waste Services (DSWS), in the Department of
Environmental Protection, notes that although the winter holiday season
traditionally produces extra amounts of waste, there are many ways to reduce
what individual households might generate now and throughout the year.
Unwanted
Mail
Leading
up to the holidays, many households receive larger-than-usual quantities of
advertisements, sale flyers and catalogs. Before placing the unwanted ones into
the recycling bin, residents should take a moment to remove their names from
the company’s mailing list. Often, all that is needed to ensure removal is a
call to a toll-free number.
Another
way to help further reduce the volume of unwanted mail received any time of the
year is to register on a “Do Not Mail” list with any of a number of
organizations offering this type of service. DSWS is a community partner with
one such service, Catalog Choice, which can be accessed at http://montgomerymd.catalogchoice.org. Another
organization which provides a similar service is the Direct Marketing
Association (DMA). To register, visit www.DMAchoice.org. Or,
download the form from that site, complete and mail it to: DMA Choice, Direct
Marketing Association, PO Box 643, Carmel, NY 10512.
Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle
Throughout
the year, residents have opportunities to reduce the amount of waste they
generate, reuse things, and recycle a wide variety of items in order to
preserve valuable natural resources for the future. However, during the holiday
season when purchasing and wrapping gifts, and entertaining can increase, DSWS
offers the following tips:
Shopping:
• Take
along reusable shopping bags from home instead of paying for and using new
paper or plastic shopping bags. Reuse paper and plastic bags. If you have paper
or plastic bags that you no longer need, recycle them: plastic bags can be
recycled at most local grocery stores; paper bags can be recycled at home along
with other mixed paper.
•
Consolidate all purchases into one bag, rather than getting a new bag for each
item. Ask for a bag only if necessary.
• When
buying gifts to be mailed, select items that are easy to ship and don’t require
excess packaging.
• Shop for
gifts at antique stores or estate sales--one person’s cast away is another
person’s treasure. Donate unwanted gifts, along with last year’s gifts that the
children have outgrown or that you no longer need, to charitable organizations.
• Buy and
give reusable bags as gift items; many unique types, sizes and designs are
available, and will come in handy long after the holidays are over.
Wrapping:
• Items to
be shipped or mailed can be wrapped in reused brown paper bags from grocery or
other stores.
• Some
boxes are attractive enough that they don’t need wrapping. Simply add a bow or
reusable ribbon.
• Reusable
gift bags can save time when wrapping gifts and can be used again.
• For
oversized gifts like sporting equipment, artwork, or bicycles just tie a ribbon
and bow around them.
• Try
wrapping just the box top of items, rather than the entire box.
• Sunday
comics or outdated maps also make unique gift wraps.
• Use
reusable cloth bags to wrap items; the recipient will also be able to reuse
this bag all year long.
• Reuse
wrapping paper --have scissors handy when opening gifts so paper doesn’t get
damaged when tearing off tape.
• Make the
wrap a part of the gift: put goodies in ceramic pottery, or enfold jewelry in a
new scarf or pair of gloves.
• Reuse
packing cartons and shipping materials such as packaging peanuts, shredded
newspaper and bubble wrap. Donate excess packaging materials to local mailing
centers.
• Think of
giving gifts that don’t have to be wrapped at all: tickets to concerts,
museums, and/or sporting events, gift certificates or gift cards, and house
plants.
Entertaining:
• Don’t
throw out any leftovers. Put them in reusable containers for guests to take
home.
•
Holidaycooking can generate many types of containers that are acceptable for
recycling in the County’s expanded recycling program. But before recycling
them, consider if some of these containers could be reused for saving
leftovers. If so, send packed containers home with guests and store remaining
leftovers in the refrigerator or put them in the freezer.
• Rent
dishes, glassware, table cloths and cloth napkins instead of using disposable
items.
• Purchase
food items in bulk to reduce the amount of packaging.
• Have
children make creative decorations out of things around the house or yard, such
as pinecones, leaves, branches, etc.
Sign Up
for Electronic Holiday Collection Schedule Reminders
With
the holiday season approaching, Montgomery County residents who receive
County-provided collection of refuse or recyclable materials are reminded that
they can sign up to receive electronic reminders about holiday collection
schedules. Residents can join the DSWS email notification list by visiting www.montgomerycountymd.gov/recycling.
Residents
who have private contracts for trash collection, either individually or through
their community/homeowners’ associations, should check with their collectors or
associations about holiday schedules.
To
determine if they have County-provided or private collection service, residents
can use the online Collection Day Lookup Tool at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/solidwaste; click on
“Collection Services.” Or, call Montgomery County'sCustomer Service Centerat 311
(out-of-County: 240-777-0311, TTY: 301-251-4850).
Recycling
Beyond the Holiday Season
MontgomeryCounty
encourages residents of single-family homes, multi-family apartments and
condominiums, and employees at businesses and organizations located in the
county to recycle everything possible, year-round.
Residents
should be able to recycle the following expanded list of materials through
their recycling program, at home or at work:
Mixed
Paper:
Corrugated
cardboard boxes; newspaper and inserts; magazines and catalogs; white and
colored
office/printing/copier paper; unwanted mail; envelopes, including those with
windows; paperboard; shredded paper; telephone books; paperback and hardcover
books that cannot be donated or reused; frozen food boxes; wax-coated produce
boxes, milk/juice cartons; paper coffee and beverage cups; and juice and drink
boxes.
Aluminum
cans and aluminum foil products; bi-metal (steel/tin) cans; empty
non-hazardous
aerosol cans; glass bottles and jars; plastic bottles and caps; plastic
containers, jars, tubs, lids, pails, buckets, flower pots; plastic
durable/reusable containers and lids; #1 PET thermoform plastic packaging, including
plastic clamshell containers, trays, deli containers, lids, domes and cups.
Scrap
Metal Items:
Items that
are predominantly (50 percent or more) made of metal, including household
appliances; metal furniture; disassembled metal sheds; lawn mowers; and more.
To schedule a scrap metal recycling collection, call 311 (out-of-County: 240-777-0311,
TTY:301-251-4850),
or schedule a collection at http://www3.montgomerycountymd.gov/311.
Yard
Trim:
Leaves;
grass clippings; brush; and garden trimmings. Place these materials in paper
lawn bags or in reusable containers, or bundle brush with twine. Also try
composting –placing leaves into a compost bin or pile along with grass
clippings, flowers, and plant trimmings; and better yet, try grasscycling –
leaving grass clippings on the lawn after it is mowed.
