MANDATORY TRASH AND RECYCLING REQUIREMENTS

+ Recycling Programs

The Resource Recovery Division provides curbside recycling collection for over 172,000 County residents and citizens. As a County homeowner, you pay a fee for recycling and other waste management programs through the Solid Waste Charge that appears on your property tax bill.

Recycling is your opportunity to keep Prince George's County a clean and healthy place to live. It's easy, saves energy and is good for the environment. By placing your recycling bin and/or cart at the curb once a week on your regularly scheduled collection day, you can help reduce the amou nt of trash that is disposed of at the landfill. Just follow these tips:

Do:

• Place all recyclable items in the same container.
• Use any box or receptacle as a recycling collection container, as long as it is marked with an “X” or the word “Recycling.” (Remember that corrugated cardboard boxes will be collected with their contents.)
• Place recycling container or cart at curb by 6 am with the arrow on the lid and the lift bar facing the street, and nothing immediately in front or beside.
• Report a missed collection or register a complaint about your residential recycling collection by submitting a service request by dialing 3-1-1.

Don’t:

• Worry about sorting or separating your recyclables. Equipment at the Materials Recycling Facility sorts the materials (view video of the facility).
• Forget to view our Inclement Weather Policy for information on delays or suspension due to road or weather-related conditions.

Condo and Apartment Recycling Program

Multifamily rental facilities and condominiums are required to provide tenants an opportunity to voluntarily recycle designated materials in the same manner as solid waste disposal, including convenient and accessible location with signage.

Some of the same items listed under the Residential Recycling Program are acceptable through the Multifamily Recycling Program. For a specific list of acceptable items contact your management company. For more information on starting a recycling program, dial 3-1-1 or 301-883-4748.

Christmas Lights Recycling Program

The DoE is pleased to offer residents a place to recycle old Christmas lights. Residents may take old lights to Brown Station Road Landfill, Household Hazardous Waste Acceptance Site at 11611 Whitehouse Road, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774. Lights may be dropped off throughout the months of December and January, during regular business hours, Thursday thru Saturday from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm, excluding holidays. The lights are shredded into tiny bits, which are then sorted into various components that make up the lights such as copper, glass, and PVC. The individual components are then recycled.

Business Recycling Programs

Approximately one-half of the County's solid waste stream is produced by the business sector. Businesses also account for two-thirds of the County's current recycling rate. All businesses can recycle. The Department of the Environment Recycling Section will assist your business in implementing a successful recycling program.

With single-stream recycling, all recyclable materials are placed in the same container. Single-stream recycling makes recycling with your businesses easier by saving you money on recycling and disposal fees, using only one container for commercial property owners' recyclables–no sorting required. Contact your recycling vendor and processor to determine what materials generated by your business can be collected single-stream.

Call 3-1-1 from within Prince George's County; call 301-883-4748 from outside the County.

+ Trash Collection Programs

Do:

• Be sure your trash containers are either Permanent-type, standard metal with bottoms intact and no excessive rust, securely tied, heavy-duty plastic bags, or watertight, heavy-duty plastic containers with handles and tight-fitting lids.
• Use the trash collection program to dispose of food waste, some plastics, ashes, bamboo (prepared like yard waste no longer than 4 feet and tied in bundles placed out to be collected with the trash), and unwanted trash containers (old rigid plastic and metal trash can/carts/containers must be placed at curbside on regularly scheduled trash and recycling collection day turned upside down).
• Contact PGC311 by dialing 3-1-1 if there is an issue with your trash collection, or you have a question regarding trash collection.

Don’t:

• Use a container over 60 pounds. There is no limit to the number of regulation containers you may use.
• Throw any material in your trash that can be recycled or disposed of with our yard waste collection service.

+ Collection Tips

Consider these tips to reduce wind-blown trash and recycling:

• Secure your recycling and trash bins and wheeled carts to prevent litter and possible damage to the containers.
• Place lighter materials at the bottom of your wheeled cart and heavier items on top to prevent the lighter items from blowing out.
• If your wheeled cart is only half-full, consider waiting until your next collection to place it at the curb.
• Turn your container so that the side is parallel to the curb and the wind is directed at the back of the bin.
• Bag all your trash before placing it in the wheeled container. This is especially important for small, lightweight items.
• Compact the trash – if you have loose items, place bagged trash on top of them to prevent them from blowing out of the cart.
• Be sure your lid can close. Trash and recycling items are more susceptible to blowing out of the cart when the lid is not completely shut.
• Bring your cart in as soon as possible after collection to reduce the risk of your cart blowing down the street.
• If you are home, keep an eye on neighborhood carts. Secure them if it looks like the cart or items from it are blowing away.

+ Bulky Trash Collection

Residents receiving County-provided trash and recycling services can put out UP TO two (2) standard bulky items, next to your regular trash on your scheduled collection day without an appointment!

Prince George’s County is proud to announce a faster and improved curbside bulky trash pickup that will allow residents receiving County-contracted trash and recycling collection services to set out two (2) bulky items or two (2) tightly secured bags with small household items per week NEXT to their trash can on their regular collection days. The best part -- NO APPOINTMENTS ARE NEEDED*!* Residents who only pay for bulky trash services will continue to schedule through PGC311.

The new service began Monday, February 14, and is one of the County's Clear the Curb Waste Collection programs designed to help keep Prince George's County clean, healthy, and sustainable. All collection services are provided to residents receiving County-contracted services or who pay a fee for bulky trash removal. These services include regular trash, recycling, food scraps composting (organics), yard trim, and the improved bulky trash collection program.

Some items, such as refrigerators, air conditioners, washers, dryers, and scrap tires will still need to be scheduled for pickup through PGC311. To help us prepare for the exciting changes, all scheduled bulky trash collections made online or through PGC311 will end January 21 (all scheduled collections up until that date will be honored). For more information, visit http://mypgc.us/clearthecurb or contact PGC311 by dialing 3-1-1 or 301-883-4748..

NOTE: Effective February 1, 2019, for the health and safety of staff, Prince George's County residents are required to completely cover mattresses and box springs in a protective plastic covering. Plastic zippered mattress covers are available at many local retail stores for a nominal fee.​​

Mattresses and box springs delivered to the landfill by residents will not be required to be covered in protective encasement.

If the county fails to make the scheduled collection date due to inclement weather or other conditions not the fault of the homeowner, we will reschedule the collection for the next day.

If the homeowner fails to place items at the curb by 6 am on the scheduled collection day and the items are not picked up, the homeowner will have to reschedule for the next available date.

Collection Notes:

• Bulky Trash Collection DOES NOT pick up household trash or materials from evictions, foreclosures, unoccupied properties, commercial properties, apartment complexes, home renovations, remodeling projects or clean lot enforcement. The disposal of materials from these sites is the responsibility of the homeowner/landlord, contractor or business owner.
• Once you have been given an appointment date, there can be NO changes/additions to the pickup.
• Please ensure there is nothing blocking access to the items requiring pickup. Blocked items will not be able to be picked up.

+ Trash and Recycling Policy, Requests and Scheduling

Trash and Recycling Cart Replacements

Effective immediately, the following policy is in effect for households receiving County-contracted Waste Collection Services:

• The County will issue ONE recycling wheeled cart and ONE trash wheeled cart to household residences that receive County-contracted collection services.
• If you are moving into a new home, you should call 3-1-1 to request delivery of each type of cart. New residents that move into an existing house where the previous owner may have taken the carts should call 311 to request a recycling and or trash cart.
• The Resource Recovery Division (RRD) will require for verification purposes through the tax assessor’s file, that the resident purchased the property/house within the past 12 months. This policy will be strictly enforced. All wheeled recycling and trash carts are the property of Prince George’s County and should remain at the address which it was delivered.
• The County does not replace stolen trash and recycling carts. New or replacement wheeled carts are available for purchase from hardware, big box, and other retail stores. Residents who replace a County-issued cart or purchase additional carts should mark those trash carts with the word Trash, recycling carts with the word Recycle or a large X, and yard trim carts/cans should be marked Yard/Organic. It is recommended that residents write their home address on each cart.

Collection for Senior Citizens & the Disabled

The County provides on premise collection of recyclables and trash for senior citizens over 65 years of age and for disabled persons. To qualify, no one living in the home can be under 65 years of age or be physically able to carry the collection containers to the curb. To make arrangements for on-premise collection, contact PGC311 by dialing 3-1-1 or 301-883-4748.**

Holiday Collection Schedule

Trash, recycling and yard trim collection services are NOT provided on the following holidays:

• New Year's Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

If the holiday falls on a weekday, trash and recycling collection will shift to the next day, through Saturday, with no collections on Sunday. There are NO makeup days for yard trim collection. View a full holiday schedule for trash, recycling and yard trim collection.

For Collection Status Updates

Check the Prince George's County and the Department of the Environment websites for collection updates on trash, recycling and yard trim. Information updates will be posted on the main page of each site. Check out DoE's Facebook or Twitter pages. Sign up for email or text message updates about holiday and weather-related collection status. Contact PGC311 or call 3-1-1. Outside the County, call 301-883-4748.

+ Mandatory Business Recycling Requirements

County Legislation (CB-12-2018) states that all Prince George’s County business owners, tenants, or operators of commercial and industrial properties, including but not limited to offices, stores, hotels, motels, gas stations, restaurants, factories, processing plants, and manufacturing enterprises, shall provide at least equally sized and equally convenient recycling containers to accompany each trash container on the interior and exterior of the property, including along storefronts.

Click here to view a list of the County’s acceptable recycling materials. And click here to review a copy of the legislation. For more information, contact the Department of the Environment, Recycling Section, Inspection Unit at 301-883-3635.

If you don't already have one, establish a recycling program at your business or multi-tenant facility. Setting up a program is easy and we can help! If you already have a recycling program, submit a copy of your Maryland Recycling Act (MRA) Recycling Tonnage Report to the Department of the Environment Recycling Section. Your recycling hauler may also submit the report on your behalf with your business/property name and address listed on the report.