Announcements
Jack Perry Award
City Tribute to Dr. King Event Survey
Free Summer Parking Returns!
City Offices Closed for Fourth of July
Business Recognition Program
Food Scrap Drop-Off Program
Items Available for Purchase at DPW
Jack Perry Award - Nominations End July 15!
In February 2013, the College Park City Council established an award in recognition of Councilman John Edward “Jack” Perry.
Councilman Perry served on the College Park City Council from 1979 to 1983 and from 1989 to 2011, for a total of 26 years. From the time he moved to College Park’s Berwyn neighborhood in 1969, until his death in 2012, Jack was deeply committed to serving his community, which he demonstrated by spending many hours working to improve the quality of life for all who lived and worked in College Park. Through the years, he volunteered on numerous associations, boards, coalitions, task forces and committees at the neighborhood, city, county and state levels. This Award will recognize a member of the community who emulates Councilman Jack Perry’s legacy of public service.
Eligibility: To be eligible for the award, a person must be at least 18 years of age and a registered voter or legal resident of College Park.
Criteria: The Jack Perry award will recognize a College Park resident who has participated to an extraordinary degree in neighborhood, civic, or municipal affairs within the City in a manner that improves public spaces, fosters community cohesion, eradicates blight, informs discussion of public issues, provides leadership, and/or furthers the best interests of the City as a whole.
Nominations: From May 15 to July 15 each year, any resident, neighborhood association or organization in the City may submit a nomination for the Jack Perry Award. Nominations may be submitted in writing to: City of College Park, City Clerk, 4500 Knox Road, College Park, MD, 20740, or by e-mail to jsmiller@collegeparkmd.gov. All nominations will be reviewed by a Committee that includes a member of the Perry family. This non-monetary award will be presented by the City Council in the Fall.
City Tribute to Dr. King Event Survey
Have you gone (or thought of going) to the City's Tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King event? Have ideas to improve it? Take this survey about the event and tell us what you think! Survey closes on July 12, 2019.
Free Summer Parking Returns!
Once again, parking in the Downtown Garage and City Hall lot on weekday nights and weekends will be free for the summer. Beginning May 25 through August 18, 2019, the Downtown Garage and City Hall lot will have free parking after 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and all-day on weekends. Be sure check out a restaurant or local business during this summer!
City Offices Closed for Independence Day
All City offices will be closed on Thursday, July 4, 2019 in observation of Independence Day. There are no changes to the regular refuse and recycling schedule that week except that special and brush collections will only occur on Friday, July 5. Always call the Department of Public Works for an appointment before putting your items to the curb.
Business of the Year Recognition Program
College Park’s growing and vibrant business community is full of unsung heroes who provide well-paying jobs for our residents, develop creative solutions to everyday problems, and take care of the community that they call home.
To show our appreciation for these outstanding businesses and their positive impacts on our community, the City has recently developed a Business of the Year recognition program. The program is designed to highlight the contributions of one particularly outstanding business each year.
Residents and business owners are encouraged to nominate their favorite businesses for the reward. The winning business will be announced in October and will receive a plaque to place in their establishment.
Nominations are accepted via the online web form on our website now through August 31, 2019. For details or to nominate a business, visit www.collegeparkmd.gov/econdev.
Food Scrap Drop-Off Program
The City's new Food Scrap Drop-off Program is off to a great start! Since April 1, we have diverted more than 1.3 tons of food scraps from the landfill!
Collecting food scraps and food soiled paper products is easy. When preparing meals, separate food scraps from other garbage to divert this organic material from the landfill to a composting facility.
Drop off your collected food scraps at the City's Department of Public Works or at the Hollywood and Downtown Farmers Markets (Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and Sundays 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. respectively).
For more information about how to collect or drop-off food scraps, please visit collegeparkmd.gov/foodscraps or check out the video below for a how-to and details.
Keep Grass Clippings off the Street!
As you take care of your lawn this season, do not sweep or blow grass and leaves into the street. Lawn clippings and debris left on the street can clog storm drains and storm sewers and may lead to flooding. That same debris is also transported through local waterways and eventually to the Chesapeake Bay, threatening aquatic life and drinking water quality.
Leave grass clippings on the lawn to recycle the nutrients or start a compost pile in your backyard (click here for a brochure from the Maryland Department of Agriculture). Or you can place clippings in paper bags or reusable containers for weekly curbside pickup (same day as your trash and recycling collection).
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.
Want to Plant a Tree?
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.
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. Delivery is available for a fee. Material may also be picked up 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.