Baltimore County residents who've jealously eyed Baltimore City's single stream recycling collection mark your calendars for Feb. 1. That's the day the county will begin its new single stream recycling collection for all single-family homes, town homes, apartments and condominiums that currently have recycling collection.
Residents will no longer be requred to sort their recycling. Instead, the new program will make recycling easier as both paper, bottles and can will be collected each week.That means that paper and bottles and cans can be combined in the same container and will be collected each week.
The new single stream processing also enables the county to expand the list of acceptable recycling items.
Now on the list are:
- Narrow-neck plastic bottles and jugs with a number from 1 to 7 in a recycling symbol
- Wide-mouth plastic containers (such as butter and yogurt containers)
- Rigid plastics (such as buckets, drinking cups, and flower pots)
- Empty aerosol cans
- Aluminum foil and pie pans
- Milk and juice cartons/boxes
The county will pick-up recyclables in a number of containers, including:
- Recycling containers up to 34-gallon capacity
- Trash containers up to 34-gallon capacity for recycling use only, marked with a large "X" or "Recycle"
- Small cardboard boxes (boxes collected with contents)
Plastic bags, however, of any type or color will no longer be accepted for curbside collection. Nor will residents who choose to bring their recyclables to one of the County's three trash and recycling drop-off centers be able to place plastic bags of any type or color in the recycling containers at these drop-off centers.
In order for residents to clearly designate their recycling containers, Baltimore County has also made stickers available that may be affixed to containers that are being used exclusively for recycling. The stickers, however, are not required to participate in the single stream recycling program. Stickers for recycling containers are available free of charge at the following locations: Baltimore County senior centers, Baltimore County public libraries, and the County's three trash and recycling drop-off centers in White Marsh, Cockeysville, and Halethorpe.
County residents who have not received an updated collection calendar can view, save, and/or print their collection schedules and program guide. Or, for more information about the transition to single stream recycling collection, residents may visit www.bcrecycles.com or call the Bureau of Solid Waste Management at 410-887-2000.
Source: Baltimore County
Writer: Walaika Haskins