Recycling, Food Scraps, & Special Trash Collections
Recycling
Recycling is an easy way to make a positive impact! For more recycling tips and information, visit www.collegeparkmd.gov/recycling.
Drop off your Food Scraps!
The City of College Park encourages all residents to take part in the food scrap drop off program.
Instead of putting food scraps in the trash, City residents can drop them off for FREE at the following locations:
- Public Works, 9217 51st Avenue, College Park available 24/7
- Old Town Playground/Community Garden (7504 Columbia Ave.) – available 24/7.
The new drop-off location is in the southern part of the City, near the corner of Norwich Road and Columbia Avenue, just north of the Old Town Playground. Five-gallon food scrap buckets are still available at Public Works. Pick up during regular business hours (Mon-Fri 7:30 am to 4:00 pm). The buckets are useful to transport collected food scraps to the drop off location.
Over 39 tons of food scraps have been diverted from the landfill since the start of the drop-off program in April 2019. 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 regular household trash that is disposed at the landfill. Food scraps that are collected separately are taken to the Prince George’s County Organics Compost facility for processing into a product that can be used for gardening projects.
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.
“The following comes from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (www.ilsr.org), a national nonprofit organization working to strengthen local economies, and redirect waste into local recycling, composting, and reuse industries. It is reprinted here with permission.”
Electronics Drop-Off Location
City of College Park residents can bring electronics for recycling to the drop off box near the entrance of the front doors to Davis Hall. No more than 3 items can be disposed of at no cost.
- Acceptable: TVs, monitors, mouse pointers, keyboards, microwaves, gaming systems, computers, hard drives, cell phones, printers, laptops, surge protectors, copiers, fax machines, telephone systems, cable, circuit boards, and toner cartridges.
- Unacceptable: Light bulbs (CFL or Tubes) or batteries of any kind.
Bulk & Special Trash Collection
The City collects four different types of special trash on Thursdays and Fridays, by appointment. Each source separated collection is performed by a different crew and truck.
- 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 *$20 charge for all appliances, televisions, and monitors (see Ordinance 20-O-01)
You may see a truck on your street and wonder why they did not stop to pick-up your items; it may be that they are collecting a different type of item. These different types of items should be separated to facilitate collection. Do not place items at the curb until you have scheduled an appointment. Call early in the week to assure a collection, since appointments are scheduled on a first call-first-serve basis. Contact the Department of Public Works at publicworks@collegeparkmd.gov or 240-487-3590 to schedule a collection. Have your items at the curb by 7:00 a.m. on your scheduled day. For more information, visit www.collegeparkmd.gov/specialcollections.