Here at Riderwood there are lots of way to recycle!
Recycle to Other Uses
For useful items that can be reused, consider giving them away:
- Treasure Chest Store – Donations of household goods and jewelry support the Benevolent Care Fund.
- Chatterwood – Send an email describing the item to give away to another resident.
- Riderwood Lions Club – Collects used clothing.
- Value Village, Planet Aid, ReStore Store, Interfaith Works – Local organizations collect clothes, linens, household goods, and furniture. Check the websites for locations and details of what they accept.
- PhoenixComputers.info and Lazarus.org – Repurpose recent model computers, printers, and accessories for non-profit uses.
Riderwood Weekly Collections
General Services Housekeeping collects recyclables twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Clean plastic containers and metal cans are recycled using the blue BINS; paper is recycled using the blue BAGS. Check out the latest Recycle Flyer and Recycle/Trash Collection Handout.
Currently GLASS is not collected because it is incompatible with Riderwood’s contractor’s separation processes. But our local Target has bins for recycle near the front doors, one of which is for glass containers.
The other locations for recycling glass are on the University of Maryland College Park campus. There are purple containers located near each of the three purple icons on this campus map (behind Annapolis Hall, near Gate E of Maryland Stadium across from Ellicott Hall, and in the Golf Club parking lot).
STYROFOAM is also not recyclable here at Riderwood, but there is a drop-off facility in Crofton, Maryland.
Riderwood Recycle Rooms
There are containers in the Cart Rooms in each neighborhood.
Large containers for
- Paper and cardboard
- Plastic containers and metal cans
- Plastic bags and other plastic film
- Scrap metal (tools, utensils, pots & pans, small kitchen appliances, lamps, vacuum cleaners)
- Sensitive documents to be shredded
- Batteries
Small hanging bins for
- Inkjet cartridges
- fluorescent light bulbs
- Sharps (needles, lancets, syringes)
Expired and Unused Medicines
Arbor Ridge collects medicines once a month, on the first Wednesday of the month. View the details here.
There is a Drug Disposal Box, accessible 24/7, at the local Montgomery County District 3 Police Station, located near the intersection of Route 29 and New Hampshire Avenue.
Electronics Collection
The Recycling Committee and Riderwood General Services are now sponsoring Electronics Collection Days – the first was held on November 3, 2022. A collection truck from A Better Way Recycling parked near the VSQ main entrance and accepted an assortment of used electronic equipment for recycling. 1959 pounds of electronic equipment was collected! A second collection day was held in April, 2023, and the next will be in the Fall of 2023. In the meantime, if you have electronics you need to recycle, check out the RiderwoodLife E-Cycle page.