The St. Mary’s County Recycling Program was established in 1992 to collect and recycle plastic, glass bottles, tin / steel / and aluminum cans at no charge to the residents. Commercial haulers may also bring recyclables to the convenience centers at no charge. Since that time the program has been expanded to also accept; newspapers, magazines, cardboard, used oil and anti-freeze, household appliances, scrap metal, clothing and textiles. Over 750,000 visits are made to our convenience centers every year. The County is required under the Maryland Recycling Act to meet a State mandated 15% recycling goal, and in 2003, achieved 23%, with an overall diversion rate of 24%.  Click Here to view information on our services and the St. Mary's County and Recycling Guide.

Aerosol Can Recycling Program

"Pop, drop and recycle". In the fall of 1999, the U.S. EPA Environmental Technology Program approved and certified the first aerosol recovery system --Aerosolv. The Department of Public Works has purchased the Aerosolv system to streamline the regulatory requirements that we would otherwise have to deal with when disposing of aerosol cans. A pilot test was performed during our last Household Hazardous Waste Day event and proved to be a very safe and clean operation. "We now have the ability to recycle steel from aerosol cans that would otherwise have been compacted and shipped to a landfill as hazardous waste, costing the County money".

The Department plans to begin a full-time program at the St. Andrews Convenience Center in the future.

How The System Works

The system consists of four (4) distinct components: the puncturing unit, a liquid collection drum; a coalescing filter and flexible hose; and a filter indicator. The operator removes the spray nozzle from the can, which is placed upside down into the top of the unit. A puncture pin allows the waste contents to drain into a 55-gallon drum through the filter, a process that takes anywhere from 30 seconds to two minutes. A carbon canister with an indicator shows when the filter needs to be changed (ie. has reached saturation). Each unit can process about 187 waste aerosol paint cans before the operator needs to change the filter. The empty container is then ready to be properly recycled. The EPA’s certification remains valid for three (3) years and is limited to treating aerosol cans containing paints or hydrocarbon lubricants (degreasers) and cleaners, provided the ingredients do not contain chlorinated solvents, freon or other halogenated propellants.

Bargain Barn/Habit for Humanity/ReStore

In October 2007, as a part of our "Good to Go" program initiatives, an additional partnership is being established with the Patuxent Habitat for Humanity in an effort to recycle building materials, provide affordable home furnishings and building materials for homeowners, divert reusable building materials from landfills and save/reduce tipping fees. For a complete listing of items accepted by this Lexington Park based facility, located in the old Bay District Fire House at 21768 South Coral Drive, please visit the ReStore website at http://www.patuxenthabitat.org/restore/index.php.   

Battery Recycling

Each year billions of used batteries are disposed of into solid waste facilities in the United States. Each facility that makes the decision to implement battery recycling programs will help protect the environment and insure their compliance with environmental laws. On July 1, 2001, a formal program, "Operation Recharge", for battery recycling was established at the County’s six (6) convenience centers and at the St. Andrews Landfill.  Rechargeable batteries such as Nickel Cadmuim (Ni-Cd), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-Mh), Lithium Ion (Li-ion) and Small Sealed Lead (Pb) are eligible for the “Operation Recharge” program. Once collected, the batteries are bulk shipped to RBRC for recycling credit. To date, the program also includes the collection of lead acid batteries from cars, motorcycles, pick-up trucks, lawn mowers, R/V’s and boats. Once collected, these batteries are either provided to a recycler or included as a part of our Drop N' Swap program.  The batteries accepted may be full, drained, steel or glass cased. How do you start a battery recycling program?

Blue Rhino

Effective May 17, 2001, the St. Andrews landfill began accepting camping stove propane tanks, oxygen tanks, acetylene bottles, carbon dioxide cylinders and freon tanks from residential and commercial customers. Acceptable container sizes are 10, 20, 30, 40 and 100 pound cylinders. Click Here for additional information on propane safety.

This program allows the citizens of St. Mary’s County to safely and properly dispose of full or partially expended containers free of charge and will help reduce the costs associated with our Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day events. Blue Rhino Services will remove the collected materials from St. Andrews every other Thursday. All weights will be credited toward the State’s mandated recycling goals.

Electronic Recycling

The Department of Public Works and Transportation, Recycling Program, in conjunction with Capitol Recycling, Inc., is pleased to announce the initiation of Electronic Equipment Recycling at the six (6) Convenience Centers.  The program began in November 2005 and  is intended to provide residents of St. Mary’s County the ability to dispose of the following items, free of charge, which will be sorted accordingly:  

• Computer Monitors
• Computers (a.k.a. Central Processing Unit or CPU)
• Support Devices: Printers, Keyboards, Mouse and/or Wire(s)
• Televisions, Copiers, VCR’s, DVD Players, Two Way Radios, or other miscellaneous small electronics.  Console televisions must be disposed of at the St. Andrews Landfill for fee.
•  Fluorescent lamps/Bulbs & Ballasts

In addition, citizens can continue to drop-off and recycle Cell Phones and Rechargeable Batteries.  Automotive batteries must continue to be dropped off at the St. Andrews Landfill.  Please look for the gray storage container labeled “Electronic Recycling”. 

Fluorescent Bulb and Ballast Recycling Program

The "Bulb & Ballast Recycling" Program, was begun in calendar year 2005 and is designed to collect used fluorescent lamps, high intensity discharge (HID) bulbs, neon lamp tubing of all shapes and sizes, ballasts, boxes for lamps and drums for ballasts, then picked up bi-weekly by a certified recycler (Capitol Recycling). There is no additional cost for this service at the convenience centers since the program is part of our Electronics Recycling initiative.

The primary purpose of the program is to reduce the amount of mercury entering the environment; the various bulbs and lamps collected each contain measurable amounts of this element. The secondary purpose is to properly dispose of the PCB's contained in some older ballasts, and to recycle the copper and other materials contained in all ballasts.

This program has been implemented at all six (6) of the County’s Convenience Centers, at the Building Services Division for maintenance of all County buildings and facilities, and is also being implemented by the Board of Education. Complete compliance with the law does not allow handlers to throw fluorescent lamps or ballast into a landfill, but required them to assure they are either being recycled or disposed of in a permitted hazardous waste landfill.

By recycling the fluorescent lamps and ballasts we are assuring no future liability and that we are in complete compliance with the State of Maryland Laws and Regulations.

What does the law say?

RCRA regulations prohibit the disposal of waste lamps and light bulbs in sanitary landfills if they contain levels of heavy metals (i.e., mercury) that exceed hazardous waste limits. The EPA has prepared a fact sheet(PDF, 130K) to reduce the generation of mercury and properly manage mercury-containing lamps.

Generators of spent hazardous bulbs can choose to manage their bulbs as either hazardous waste or universal waste. The Universal Waste Standards (40 CFR Part 273) are management standards that are less stringent than hazardous waste requirements for large quantity generators - those producing more than 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms) in any calendar month. Small quantity generators - those producing between 200 pounds and 2,200 pounds (100-1,000 kilograms) of hazardous waste per month may also find it advantageous to manage their waste as universal waste. Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generators - those producing less than 220 pounds (100 kilograms) of hazardous waste per month may prefer to manage it as hazardous waste due to the minimal requirements associated with the smaller waste volumes. For specific RCRA generator requirements, refer to 40 CFR 261, 262 and 273.

• STEP 1:  Selecting a location – You don’t need much space for this project, an area as small as 6’ by 6’ is plenty.  If you plan to compost in the winter, choose a sunny spot, otherwise a location with some shade will help to keep the compost moist during the summer months. 

• STEP 2:  Bin design – You can purchase a ready made bin or build one yourself out of basic material(s).  The simplest enclosure made of 3’ wide, 1” wire mesh, formed into a 3’ diameter circle, securing the ends to one another using wooden stakes for support.  Another easy enclosure is by reusing four old shipping pallets, secured side to side, making a square box.

• STEP 3:  Filling the bin – All organic matter, things that were once alive or come from living things is compostable.  This includes yard waste such as leaves and grass clippings, kitchen wastes such as fruit and vegetable leavings, coffee grounds, tea leaves, egg shells, etc.  DO NOT compost animal products such as meat, bones, fat, grease or pet feces.

• STEP 4:  Efficient composting – Any combination of organic materials will eventually degrade.  For a higher quality product, use a mixture of compatible material.  Rule-of-thumb, mix equal parts of BROWN (dry leaves, straw, sawdust, etc.) with GREEN (grass clippings, garden weeks, kitchen scraps) ingredients and shred or cut larger materials for quick composting.  Keep kitchen scraps on the inside of the pile to decompose faster.

• STEP 5:  Let’s get started – When combining your BROWN and GREEN ingredients, you should add a shovel or two of soil, this will add microbes into the mix to facilitate the decomposing process.  Also, add a small amount of water, you want the compost to be slightly moist, the microbes work better in this environment.

• STEP 6:  Heat – After a week, check to see if the pile is heating up.  This is part of the composting process.  The center may get as hot as 150 degrees F.  If the center isn’t warmer than the outside of the pile, you may need to add more GREEN materials to get the process started.

• STEP 7:  Turn the pile – Composting works best under oxygen-rich conditions.  The pile should be turned at least once a week with a shovel or pitchfork.  This will ensure that all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed and will become completely broken down.

• STEP 8:  Troubleshooting – Odors stem from two possible problems: too much GREEN, or not enough oxygen.  In either case, immediately turn the pile to introduce more oxygen.  If the problem is too much GREEN, add more BROWN material(s).  An overly wet pile may also cause bad odors, if so, use less water.

• STEP 9:  Compost – After three to ten weeks and many turnings, your compost should be dark, moist, crumbly and ready to use.

• STEP 10:  Using your compost – Technically, compost is not a fertilizer,  it is an excellent soil amendment that improves the structure and quality of your soil.  Use your compost in garden beds to increase soil porosity and aeration, around shrubs to keep weeds at a minimum and help retain moisture.

Recycling Programs continued on page 2 - Click Here