Solid waste

St. Mary's encourages recycling

Thursday, March 26, 2009

The convenience centers are located in Charlotte Hall at Routes 5 and 6, Oakville off Route 235 and North Sandgates Road, Clements off Route 234 and Horseshoe Road, St. Andrew's off St. Andrew's Church Road, Valley Lee off Happyland Road and Ridge off Route 5.

The convenience centers are open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, year round. The convenience centers are closed for the following holidays — New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Loads in excess of the four 35-gallon containers or bulky material must be disposed of at the St. Andrew's Landfill located off of St. Andrew's Church Road. The charge for dumping at the landfill is $10 per pickup truck or $65 per ton for loads greater than standard pickup truck.

Solid waste originating from commercial activities is not permitted at the convenience centers nor the St. Andrew's Landfill and must be taken to the Appeal Transfer Station located in Calvert County.

The St. Andrew's Landfill is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday. In addition, the landfill is closed in observance of the following holidays: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

To dump solid waste at the convenience centers or the landfill, a vehicle sticker is required. Stickers can be obtained at the previously mentioned locations at no charge; however, proof of county residency must be provided during application. A sticker is not required when dumping recyclable materials at the convenience centers or landfill.

The six convenience centers accept household rubbish and recyclables. The recyclables include single-stream recycling (newspapers, magazines, mixed paper, phone books, old corrugated cardboard, commingled containers such as clear, green and brown glass, aluminum, tin, steel and plastics coded 1 and 2 and narrow neck containers coded 3 through 7 mixed together); textiles, used motor oil, filters and antifreeze, rechargeable batteries, electronics, used cooking oil/grease and Christmas trees (from Dec. 26 through January).

The following items will be accepted at the St. Andrew's Landfill: household rubbish, construction and demolition debris, clean brick, block, concrete and asphalt, yard waste, scrap metal, appliances, old propane cylinders, automotive and rechargeable batteries and scrap tires.

Appliances such as refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, washing machines, clothes dryers, air conditioning units and heat pumps will be accepted at the landfill free of charge.

In addition, up to five scrap tires will be accepted free of charge; loads in excess of five tires or large agricultural tires will be charged a fee of $158 per ton.

To find out more, call the St. Mary's County Department of Public Works and Transportation at 301-863-8400 or visit www.stmarysmd.com.