Does Baltimore County have a recycling program for single family homes and town homes, and how does it work? Can I recycle if I live in an apartment or condominium?
Baltimore County operates a “One and One” program, which includes once a week recycling and once a week trash collection for all single family homes and town homes. Collection of paper and bottles & cans alternates each week. Separate collection of yard materials for recycling focuses on areas where yard materials tend to be most abundant.
If you live in an apartment or condominium, you can recycle. Baltimore County maintains drop-off facilities around the County for residents to take recyclable materials. In addition, you can encourage your landlord or property manager to contact our office and find out how your complex may be able to become a part of the County’s “One and One” recycling program.
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What is my recycling day? How can I receive a “One and One” trash/recycling collection schedule and program information?
Baltimore County residents on the “One and One” program can download a collection schedule and trash/recycling information guide online or call the Bureau of Solid Waste Management customer service line at 410-887-2000.
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What can be recycled in the “One and One” program, and how do I set out my materials for collection? Does Baltimore County provide recycling containers?
Baltimore County collects bottles & cans, mixed paper, and, for some, yard materials. There is also a Christmas tree recycling collection during designated periods in January, as shown on residents’ collection schedules. Please see our trash/recycling information guide (PDF) for important details on exactly what materials can be recycled.
Bottles & cans may be set out for collection in open-top bins (such as laundry baskets and storage bins) OR in see-through plastic bags (blue, clear, tan, white, etc.; no red/pink or yellow bags). Mixed paper can be set out for collection in paper bags, cardboard boxes, or tied with non-plastic string. The bags, boxes, or bundles may be placed out in open-top bins. Currently, Baltimore County does not provide recycling containers to residents.
All materials should be placed out the night before their scheduled collection day.
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What are “yard materials”? When do yard materials collections occur? How do I set out yard materials for collection?
Grass, leaves, and small brush are considered yard materials. Baltimore County encourages residents to benefit from their yard materials at home by grasscycling (PDF) and/or home composting, rather than placing yard materials out for collection.
Yard materials are collected separately for recycling from residents that have "Y" days on their collection schedules. For those residents, separate yard materials collections occur on “Y” days from April through December 15.
Residents who place yard materials out for collection, whether or not they have “Y” days on their collection schedule, must use paper or plastic bags weighing no more than 30 pounds when filled. Branches and limbs must be no larger than 3 inches in diameter, no longer than 3 feet, and tied in bundles.
All materials should be placed out the night before their scheduled collection day. Please see our yard materials collection page for additional important details.
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Why are trash and recycling collections cancelled on certain holidays? How are collections after such holidays affected?
On six major holidays, trash and recycling are not collected, and drop-off centers are closed, so that workers may spend this time with their families. Makeup collections for trash and yard materials, generally the next day, are shown on residents’ collection schedules. When these six holidays occur, paper and bottles & cans recycling collections are skipped for two weeks to allow collectors to focus on catching up on trash and yard materials collection.
During weeks with collection holidays there may be delays of a day or more in your scheduled pickups – please leave your materials out until collection occurs.
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Does Baltimore County have drop-off facilities for recyclables?
Yes, Baltimore County maintains drop-off facilities for residents around the County where certain materials can be taken for recycling: Eastern Sanitary Landfill Solid Waste Management Facility (White Marsh), Baltimore County Resource Recovery Facility (Cockeysville), and the Western Acceptance Facility (Halethorpe).
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Is there a place I can take my paint, lightbulbs, household batteries, and medicines? Is there a place I can take my Household Hazardous Wastes?
While paint, lightbulbs, household batteries, and medicines are not necessarily hazardous materials, they can be dropped off at the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection site at the Eastern Sanitary Landfill for recycling or proper disposal.
Household Hazardous Waste includes unwanted household chemicals, pesticides, mercury thermometers, ammunition, fireworks, and automotive fluids. These items can be taken to the HHW site at the Eastern Sanitary Landfill for recycling or proper disposal.
For further information, please call the County’s Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management (DEPRM) at 410-887-3745.
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Why doesn’t Baltimore County accept a wider range of plastics for recycling, not just #1 and #2 bottles and jugs?
There are two major reasons for the County’s focus on #1 and #2 plastic bottles and jugs. First, they are the most common and marketable plastics. Second, trying to sort out other number plastics (beyond #1 and #2) would sacrifice space needed for sorting other recyclables at the Baltimore County Resource Recovery Facility. Focusing on #1 and #2 plastics, which comprise the vast majority of recyclable plastic bottles and jugs, has helped to make the overall recycling program cost-effective.
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Is recycling really cost-effective? How does recycling improve the environment?
Yes, recycling is cost-effective. The paper and bottles & cans collected in Baltimore County’s residential recycling program are sorted at the County’s materials recovery facility in Cockeysville. The sale of recyclables (for remanufacture into new products) has yielded more than $2 million annually in fiscal years 2004-2007 (a record $3.3 million in FY 07), helping offset the overall costs of the County’s solid waste/recycling system. These costs include $37 per ton that County taxpayers pay when trash is sent outside the County.
Recycling improves the environment in many ways:
Baltimore County’s only landfill, Eastern Sanitary Landfill, is already half full. Recycling diverts materials from going in the landfill, thereby extending landfill life.
Recycling conserves natural resources, such as timber, water and mineral ores.
Methane is a major greenhouse gas generated in solid waste landfills. Recycling reduces the need for landfills.
Supplying recycled materials to an industry uses less energy than supplying virgin materials that incur extra extraction and transportation costs.
Manufacturing with recycled materials, with very few exceptions, produces less air and water pollution than manufacturing with virgin materials.
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What can businesses that are interested in recycling do?
Although the County does not offer recycling collection service to businesses, the Bureau offers advice and guidance to businesses interested in recycling. This includes making presentations about recycling and, in some cases, allowing businesses with advance permission to drop off recyclable bottles & cans and paper at the Baltimore County Resource Recovery Facility (BCRRF) in Cockeysville. Businesses interested in more information or assistance from the County can call the Bureau’s customer service line at 410-887-2000. Further information regarding commercial recycling is available at www.mdrecycles.org.
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Updated November 7, 2008
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