Recycling Programs

The St. Mary’s County Recycling Program was established in 1992 to collect and recycle plastic, glass bottles, tin / steel / and aluminum cans at no charge to the residents. Commercial haulers may also bring recyclables to the convenience centers at no charge. Since that time, the program has been expanded to also accept; newspapers, mixed paper, magazines, cardboard, mixed paper, magazines, phone books, cardboard, used oil, used oil filters, anti-freeze, used cooking oil, household appliances, scrap metal, automotive and rechargeable batteries, clothing and textiles, used cooking oil, electronics, fluorescent light bulbs, scrap tires, yard waste and propane / gas cylinders.

Approximately, 900,000 visits are made to our convenience centers every year. The County was required under the Maryland Recycling Act to meet a State mandated 15% recycling goal, which was subsequently raised to 20% on October 12 2012 (HB 929). Since the Program began in 1992, the recycling rate has increased form 6% to over 44% in 2014, which includes credit from source reduction efforts. Lastly, SINGLE STREAM RECYCLING has been available since December 2006 for your convenience. Newspaper, magazines, mixed paper, phone books, plastic and glass containers, tin / steel / aluminum cans may all be "mixed together" and no longer need to be sorted. Although acceptable since November 10, 2008, bagged plastic film such as grocery bags, shrink wrap and stretch film are now (January 2016) no longer acceptable.

To view information on our services and the St. Mary's County Recycling Guide.

Click on the following links to view more information on:

• Source Reduction (Businesses)
• Source Reduction (Residential)
• Home Composting