Announcements
December City Holidays
Vacation Premise Checks
#MGWMonth
Holiday Light Recycling
Food Scrap Drop-Off Program
Water Main Breaks
Bulk & Special Trash Collections
Want to Plant a Tree?
Items Available for Purchase at DPW
December City Holidays
All City Offices will be closed on Wednesday, December 25, 2019 for the Christmas holiday as well as on Wednesday, January 1, 2019 for the New Year.
Wednesday's refuse & recycling collections will be collected on Thursday and requests for special collections will only be scheduled for Friday.
Vacation Premise Check Request
Going on vacation? Request a vacation premise check by Prince George's County Police!
City residents can make the request by filling out this form, and submitting it to publicservices@collegeparkmd.gov.
Holiday Light Recycling
Holiday string lights, working or non-working, are accepted for recycling at MOM’s Organic Market (9801 Rhode Island Avenue, College Park). The string lights are collected for recycling in December and the beginning of January.
Please remove lights from bags/packaging and place in designated holiday lights recycling bin located in the lobby when you enter MOM’s Organic Market.
What happens to the waste? Collected lights are broken down through smelting or shredding to recover raw commodities. These raw commodities are then used to create roofing and construction materials, piping, car batteries, other electronics, lead wheel weights, flatware, jewelry, and more!
#MGWMonth
Did you see the #MGWMonth on some of our Facebook and Twitter posts this past month? November was Municipial Government Works Month (or MGWMonth for short), where cities all across Maryland showcase how municipalities (or local governments) work for their communities.
Whether it's distributing Turkey Baskets to College Park families in need for Thanksgiving (thanks Friends Community School!), composting food scraps, helping College Park families in need during the holiday season through our One Warm Coat Drive, or picking up leaves that fall in our neighborhoods the City of College Park works very hard to better our community for all our residents!
Food Scrap Drop-Off Program
Five-gallon food scrap buckets are still available at the Department of Public Works during regular business hours. The buckets are useful to transport collected food scraps to the drop off location. Free compostable bags are available at the Department.
Acceptable items: fruit and vegetable scraps; coffee grounds and tea leaves; dry goods - breads, pasta, nuts, rice and grains; dairy products, eggs and egg shells; meat, fish, poultry and bones – cooked or uncooked; food soiled paper products – napkins, paper towels, coffee filters, and tea bags.
Please DO NOT include plastic products of any kind, pet or human waste, diapers, clam or oyster shells, grease or fats, or ash from wood or charcoal.
Bring your food scraps to the Department of Public Works any time – 24/7, transfer into our designated yellow food scrap cart located in the public parking area. Empty contents loosely into the cart, or you can deposit the compostable bag full of food scraps. No plastic bags.
You can also drop off your scraps at the Hollywood Farmers Market (through November 23; 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.).
For more information about how to collect or drop-off food scraps, please visit collegeparkmd.gov/foodscraps.
Water Main Breaks
Water main breaks should be reported to Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) at 301-206-4002. Please have the physical address of the water main break available when you call.
Bulk and Special Trash Collections
The City collects four different types of special or bulk trash on Thursdays and Fridays by appointment:
- Bulk trash (furniture, mattresses wrapped in plastic, large bulky items, etc.)
- White goods & metals (washers, dryers, mowers, bikes, metal file cabinets, etc.)
- Electronics for recycling (TVs, computers, printers, etc.)
- Brush and Logs
See a truck on your street that didn't pickup your collection? The trucks pick up one type of item at a time, so make sure that your special trash is separated by source/type.
Don’t place items at the curb until you have scheduled an appointment. Call or email the Department of Public Works at 240-487-3590 or publicworks@collegeparkmd.gov to schedule. Have your items at the curb by 7:00 a.m. on your scheduled day.
Tree Planting Programs
Trees provide many benefits such as reduction of cooling and heating costs, interception of rain water, increasing property values and improving air quality. The City offers a few ways to help you plant trees in your surrounding area.
- REQUESTS FOR STREET TREES The City has a program that provides for street tree planting in the right-of-way area, which includes the grass strip between the curb and sidewalk. Residents interested in requesting a tree can contact Brenda Alexander at 240-487-3590 or balexander@collegeparkmd.gov. The location will be inspected to determine if it is suitable.
- TREE CANOPY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM (TCEP) City property owners can apply for reimbursement of up to $150.00 annually, for approved tree(s) planted on their residential lot. The completed application should be sent to balexander@collegeparkmd.gov for review and approval. Click here for a link to the guidelines and application.
Tree Maintenance
The City is responsible for tree maintenance in the rights-of-way, city maintained buildings and parks, and on public property. Trees on private property are the responsibility of the property owner.
Items Available for Purchase at the Department of Public Works
Rain Barrels $72.00
Rain barrels are a great way to keep runoff from leaving your home. Outdoor watering accounts for a large percentage of water consumption. By having a rain barrel and storing rainfall, you’ll have water for outdoor irrigation. Size is 50-gallon.
Once installed, Prince George’s County residents can apply for a Rain Check Rebate, off-setting most of the cost!
Rain barrels come with lid, overflow cap, pre-installed screen and ring, flex overflow hose, ball valve - spigot, re-usable zip ties, hose clamp and rubber washer. Diverter kit is not included.
Backyard Compost Bin $20 City residents/$40 non-residents
Composting is a great way to dispose of your household food waste and yard waste diverting them from the landfill.
Size: 33” high x 31” wide, large capacity – 11 cubic feet with convenient 12”x16” offset, front access door.
Yard Waste Carts $25 for City residents
The beige yard waste cart can be used for either “soft yard waste” or “woody yard waste.” The two products are collected on separate days and processed into different products.
This sturdy cart has wheels and a lift-bar for easy collection. Using the yard waste cart can save time and money – single use paper lawn bags become expensive over time and can tear or fall apart when wet.
SMARTLEAF® Compost & Wood Mulch
SMARTLEAF® compost is $28.00 per cubic yard, and wood mulch is $12.00 per cubic yard. Material is available for pickup only at the Department of Public Works.
Bring your open-bed pickup truck or trailer and material can be loaded in your vehicle for you. Trucks with a 4’ bed can hold ½ a cubic yard, a 6’ bed can hold 1 cubic yard, and an 8’ bed can hold 2 cubic yards.
Don't have a truck? Bring a shovel and your own containers (bins, buckets, bags, etc.) and be prepared to load your containers yourself. We sell in 1/4 cubic yard increments.
- ½ cubic yard is approximately 20 five-gallon buckets
- ¼ cubic yard is approximately 10 five-gallon buckets; or 3 paper yard waste bags filled half full
For more information click here to visit our web page, or call us at 240-487-3590 or email publicworks@collegeparkmd.gov.