Residential Recycling

The Resource Recovery Division provides curbside recycling collection for over 175,000 County residents and citizens. As a county homeowner, you pay a fee for recycling and other waste management programs through the Sold Waste Charge that appears on your property tax bill. Recycling is your opportunity to keep Prince George's County a clean and healthy place to live. It's easy, saves energy and is good for the environment. By placing your recycling bin and/or cart at the curb once a week on your regularly scheduled collection day, you can help reduce the amount of trash that is disposed of at the landfill. Just follow these tips:

  • All recyclable items are placed in the same container
  • Recyclables are collected without the need to sort or separate
  • Equipment at the Materials Recycling Facility sorts the materials (view video of the facility)
  • A box or any receptacle (other than the county issued trash can) marked with an "X" or the word "Recycling" may be used as a recycling collection container
  • Corrugated cardboard boxes will be collected with their contents
     

Line

Collections

  • Place recycling container or cart at curb by 6 a.m.
  • Place the cart at curbside for collection with the arrow on the lid and the lift bar facing the street.
  • When placing the cart at the curb, nothing should be in front of or immediately beside the cart
  • Collections begin as early as 6 a.m. and continue until 8 p.m.
  • To report a missed collection or register a complaint about your residential recycling collection, please submit a service request by dialing PGC 311.
  • All material collected is transported and sorted at the materials Recycling Facility.
  • View the Inclement Weather Policy for information on delays or suspension due to road or weather-related conditions.

 

Line

Trash, Recycling and Organics (Food Scraps Composting/Yard Trim) Collection Carts

Effective immediately, the following policy is in effect for households receiving County-contracted Waste Collection Services.

The County will issue ONE recycling wheeled cart, ONE trash wheeled and ONE organics wheeled cart to household residences that receive County-contracted collection services. Residents moving into a new home should contact PGC311 to request delivery of each type of cart. New residents that move into an existing house where the previous owner may have taken the carts should call PGC311 to request a collection cart. The Resource Recovery Division (RRD) will require for verification purposes through the tax assessor’s file, that the resident purchased the property/house within the past 12 months. This policy will be strictly enforced. All wheeled collection carts are the property of Prince George’s County and should remain at the address which it was delivered.

The County does not replace stolen collection carts. New or replacement wheeled carts are available for purchase from hardware, big box, and other retail stores. Residents who replace a County-issued cart or purchase additional carts should mark those trash carts with the word Trash; recycling carts with the word Recycle or a large X, and yard trim carts/cans should be marked Yard/Organic. It is recommended that residents write their home address on each cart.

 

Line

Collections for Senior Citizens & the Disabled

The county provides on premise collection of recyclables for senior citizens over 65 years of age and for disabled persons. To qualify, no one living in the home can be under 65 years of age or be physically able to carry the collection containers to the curb. To make arrangements for on premise collection, call 3-1-1.

 

Line

Holiday Schedule

Trash, recycling and yard trim collection services are NOT provided on the following holidays:

New Year's Day Memorial Day Independence Day
Labor Day Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day

If the holiday falls on a week day, trash and recycling collection will shift to the next day, through Saturday, with no collections on Sunday. There are NO makeup days for yard trim collection.

View a full holiday schedule for trash, recycling and yard trim collection.

 

Holiday Lights Recycling Program

DoE is pleased to offer residents a place to recycle Christmas lights from December 26th to the first week in February. During facility operating hours, residents can take old and broken lights to the Household Hazardous Waste Acceptance Site, located in the Brown Station Road Landfill, and the Brown Station Road Convenience Center in Upper Marlboro.

Residents can also check with local hardware stores to recycle string lights. The lights are shredded into tiny bits and the bits are sorted into various components that make up the lights such as copper, glass, and PVC. The individual components are then recycled.

 

Contact Us

Call for Collection Information

Phone: 3-1-1 (301-883-4748)
Hours: Monday - Friday
7 a.m. - 7 p.m.