Utilities and Services
Leaf Pickup
New and long-time residents alike are reminded of the Town contract for bulk leaf removal each autumn. The contractor, Green Earth, Inc., will make regular but unscheduled pickups of leaves raked or blown into windrows within six feet of any roadway or walkway, excluding Railroad Street, 2nd Ave., 3rd Ave., 4th Ave., 5th Ave., and Boundary Street. This service usually begin late October ends early January or as soon thereafter as we agree the work is complete. The contract includes return visits with the leaf vacuum in the spring. The last day for that is around April 1st.
The contractor will time pickups based on the availability of full truckloads for vacuuming. One or two spectacular fall weekends in November or early December usually have most of us raking at the same time. If you rake when most others are raking, the windrows will probably disappear relatively quickly. Please place your windrows within six feet of the road or walkway (keeping in mind car and pedestrian traffic).
- Please don’t include brush or limbs that foul the vacuum
- Leaves piled within six feet of the edge of a road or walkway are vacuumed up by a contractor.
- Winter Bulk Pickup (eight weeks, approximately the months of November and December)
- Spring Service Pickup (1-2 weeks; typically the last two weeks of March);
Our trash contractor will pick up your properly prepared yard waste. Brush trimmings, not to exceed three inches in diameter by four feet in length, must be securely tied in bundles not exceeding 30 inches in diameter. Grass clippings and leaves must be placed in open containers or brown paper bags. Grass clipping containers and bags must be marked as such. Our leaf removal contractor will vacuum up your properly placed leaf piles. Leaves piled within 6 feet of the edge of a road or a walkway are vacuumed in the fall and for a short period in the spring. Brush, trimmings or debris cannot be part of the leaf windrows. No pickup will occur on Railroad Street, 2nd Avenue, 3rd Avenue, 4th Avenue, and 5th Avenue.
Green Earth will make regular but unscheduled pickups of leaves raked or blown into windrows within six feet of any walkway or roadway, excluding Railroad Street, 2nd Ave., 3rd Ave., 4th Ave., 5th Ave., and Boundary Street. This service begins November 1 and ends January 1, or as soon thereafter as we agree that the work is complete. This is your opportunity to have leaves removed without the additional work and expense of bagging.
Weather frequently affects this process, as rain can restrict movement of large trucks on the avenues. Also, one or two spectacular fall weekends in November or early December usually see most of us raking at the same time. As the contractor will time pickups based on the availability of full truckloads for vacuuming, if you rake when most other people rake the windrows will probably disappear relatively quickly. If you feel that a particular pile has been ignored for an inordinate amount of time, please call the Town Office at 301-926-2256 or email the office at [email protected].
Please place your windrows with an eye towards traffic visibility and flow, and don’t include brush or limbs that foul the vacuum. Happy raking! It’s the rite of autumn, particularly in a town graced by so many beautiful deciduous trees.
Snow Removal
Removal of snow on Town roads is performed by a Town contractor.
Trash Disposal and Recycling
Regular household trash, co-mingled recyclables, and recyclable yard waste are picked up every Thursday. All materials must be put roadside and may be collected any time after 7:00 a.m. Recyclable materials include mixed paper; clear, green and brown glass containers; aluminum, bi-metal, and steel cans; clear or colored plastic bottles with and without necks and other plastic containers such as yogurt and cottage cheese. Paper should be left separate from other materials to be recycled.
Trash Pickup
Please empty and rinse all containers. Tops/lids may be recycled as well. Recycling containers are available by calling the Town Office at 301-926-2256. Mixed paper includes newspaper, magazines, cardboard, telephone books, office paper and unwanted mail. Mixed paper may be combined together and placed in paper bags and/or small cardboard boxes. Newspapers may be bundled and tied and empty cardboard boxes should be flattened and tied. The Town has occasional special collections a year for pick up of furniture, appliances and other bulk items. Notice of these pickups will appear in the Town Bulletin and on the website.
Recycling
Recycle pickup is every THURSDAY with trash.
Please put all recyclables including mixed paper and recyclable yard waste by the road on Thursdays by 7 a.m. For missed pickups call the Town Clerk at 301-926-2256 or email [email protected].
- The use of reusable containers with the County sticker is limited to grass clippings and leaves.
- Yard waste is NOT collected during December, January and February.
Recyclables
See the Recycling in Washington Grove flyer (PDF) for information about what can be recycled.
PLEASE EMPTY AND RINSE ALL CONTAINERS. DISCARD CAPS. FLATTEN ALL EMPTY BOXES. Once boxes are flat they should be tied with twine in a bundle not larger than three feet by three feet and not thicker than six inches in height for each bundle. Acceptable materials can be combined together and placed in paper bags and/or small cardboard boxes.
Do not place packaging with metallic foil in the recycling bin!
Unacceptable Items
See the Recycling in Washington Grove flyer (PDF) for information about what CANNOT be recycled.
Related Resources from Montgomery County
- Recycling home page
- Shady Grove materials recycling facility and transfer station
- How to recycle/dispose of materials, A to Z
Yard Waste
No dumping: Dumping yard waste, including any grass clippings, leaves, small tree limbs or brush, onto Town land, including the East and West Woods, is prohibited. Burning yard waste anywhere in Town is also not permitted.
The contractor for our weekly trash pickup will accept:
- small bundles of tied brush, and
- brush, sticks, leaves and grass clippings that have been cut up and placed either in:
- brown bags, or
- a recyclable bin/can marked “yard waste”.
In addition, the Town contracts for bulk leaf removal each autumn. The contractor that performs this service makes regular but unscheduled pickups from each October to early January of any leaves raked or blown into windrows within six feet of any roadway or walkway, excluding Railroad Street, 2nd Ave., 3rd Ave., 4th Ave., 5th Ave., and Boundary Street. See the Leaf Pickup section above for more detailed information.
Large amounts of brush, trimmings and other yard debris should be taken to the Route 355 entrance of the County’s Transfer Station/Recycling Center (this is the entrance to be used by homeowners; commercial contractors who collect and haul these materials should use the Shady Grove Road entrance). The County does not charge a fee for disposal for truckloads of less than 500 pounds.
Please… If you use a lawn service or landscape contractor, please make sure that they understand that removal of large amounts of yard waste is their responsibility.