Utilities and Services
On this page, you will find information about:
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
Snow removal is performed by the Town Maintenance Staff. We have a backup contract in place in the event that service cannot be done by our crew.
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.
Learn more at the Montgomery County Solid Waste Program website.
Yard Waste
- Bag It. Place leaves, grass, brush, and other yard trimmings in large paper bags – available at most area grocery and hardware stores, and home improvement and garden centers.
- Can It. Save money and use REUSABLE CONTAINERS, such as trash cans. Cans must be marked “Recycling” to ensure proper collection. Use the free RECYCLE YARD TRIMMINGS decals available from the Town Office or Maintenance Shop.
- Bundle It. Brush can also be tied into bundles with string: bundles should not exceed 30 inches in diameter, four feet in length, and should be less than four inches in diameter per piece.
Recyclable Yard Waste
Brush trimmings, not to exceed 3 inches in diameter by 4 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 bear the County sticker.
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. This service is typically suspended late November through early March. Town maintenance will continue to collect your reasonably-sized brush piles during this period.
As a courtesy to Town residents, the Town maintenance staff has always picked up brush piles, reasonable in size, when placed “curbside”. So, what’s reasonable in size mean? Piles that are the size of a small pickup truck would be considered unreasonable in size. Recyclable yard waste is a service that we pay for in our Refuse/Recycling Contractor contract.
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.