County to recycle additional types of plastics

Expanded program could mean Montgomery reaches goal of diverting half of its waste from landfill

When County Executive Isiah Leggett cosponsored a bill in the late 1980s to create the center, the goal was to recycle half the county’s waste, Leggett said.

About 43 percent of county’s waste now is recycled and by expanding what can go into the blue recycling bins the county should achieve its goal by 2010, he said.

‘‘While our recycling program has been among the tops in the country, we’ve found a way to make it even better,” Leggett said.

New markets in recyclable plastics have opened up that allow for the county to expand what it accepts at the recycling center, said Dan Locke, division chief of the county’s Division of Solid Waste Services.

In the past, plastic recyclers only wanted certain plastics that melt at the same temperatures, so they accepted only limited types of plastic bottles. Now that the market has changed, the county will be able accept more types of plastic containers. Some plastics, such as wrap, Styrofoam, clear plastic clamshell packaging marked with a 1 or a 6, and plastic bags still cannot be recycled, he said.

Leggett and County Councilwoman Nancy M. Floreen (D-At large) of Garrett Park toured the recycling center where 41 workers with contractor Maryland Environmental Service sort through the recycled glass and plastic bottles.

The county sells the recycled materials on the market, generating about $3.5 million from plastic bottles, $1.1 million from compost, $1 million in scrap metal and about $24 million from the sale of electricity from the county’s trash incinerator, Locke said.

County officials said they had no idea how much revenue will be generated by the expansion of the plastic recyclables because the program had just begun and the market for the materials is new.

The county spends about $18.5 million annually to collect recyclables from single-family homes, operate the recycling center and education of the public on recycling, said Eileen Kao, chief of the Waste Reduction and Recycling section for the Montgomery County Division of Solid Waste Services.

‘‘This is going to get us closer to a real green Montgomery County,” said Floreen, chairwoman of the council’s Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee.

The county provides 210,000 single-family homes in Montgomery County with blue recycling bins.

Leggett and Floreen say if the expansion of the recyclable materials fills the bins up, they’ll provide more for residents.

‘‘That would be a nice problem to have,” Floreen said.

Apartment and condominium complexes that also send their recyclable materials to the county’s center also will be able to participate in adding more materials to their recycling containers.

New recycling list

Montgomery County has expanded the recycling program to include more plastic containers. Call 240-777-6400 or go to www.montgomerycountymd.gov⁄recycling for more information or additional blue recycling bins.

Previously acceptable types of plastics for recycling: narrow-neck plastic bottles that contained milk, juice, soda, water, salad dressing, cooking oil, shampoo or hair conditioner, and cleaning and detergent bottles

Additions to the recycling program: butter and margarine tubs; yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, whipped topping containers; mayonnaise, peanut butter jars; prescription bottles; deli containers and trays; ice cream buckets; plastic beverage cups; laundry detergent tubs and buckets; kitty litter tubs; paint buckets up to 5 gallon in size; plastic lids and flower pots.

Unacceptable types of plastics for recycling: containers that had held motor oil, antifreeze or pesticides; plastic bags; plastic wrap; Styrofoam⁄polystyrene cops, trays or packaging; clamshell plastic packaging marked #1 or #6; microwavable trays; toys; children’s swimming pools; plastic flower tray packs marked #6; other large plastic items.