Collection at Your Home

Household trash is collected twice a week by private haulers under contract to Anne Arundel County and transported for disposal to the Millersville Landfill and Resource Recovery Facility or another acceptable disposal facility in the region. Recyclables are collected once a week on one of your regular trash collection days by special trucks marked with a recycling logo. For trouble free recycling, put all paper, cardboard, cans, bottles and jars together in the same container(s). Yard waste should be bundled, bagged or put in containers marked with an "X."

To determine your holiday collection schedule, or your routine collection schedule, or your routine collection days visit MyAnneArundel.

General Guidelines For All Weekly Curbside Collections

• Containers must not weigh more than 40 pounds each. 
• Place containers at the curb by 6 a.m. on your collection day.
• Containers will be picked up anytime between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• Containers may be placed at the curb the night before. 
• To find out what day(s) collection occurs, ask a neighbor or call (410) 222-6100 for your collection schedule.
• Your material will be collected on your regularly scheduled collection days unless that day falls on New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, or Christmas Day. In the event your collection day falls on one of these six holidays or we experience inclement weather, your collection will not occur.
• Remember, you may also bring your recycling and trash to any Waste Management Convenience Center.
• There is no limit to the amount of recyclables or yard waste you can put out for collection. 
• Trash collectors will not remove dead animals. When such removal is required, please call Anne Arundel County Animal Control at (410) 222-8900.
• The following materials are not collected at your home because of special handling requirements. 
  • Explosives 
  • Ashes 
  • Poisons/acids/caustics 
  • Firearms 
  • Ammunition 
  • Compressed gas tanks such as propane tanks/helium tanks/oxygen tanks 
  • Liquids including paint 
  • Asbestos 
  • Drum containers/fuel tanks/oil tanks 
  • Tires
  • Building and construction materials
  • Sawdust 
• Residential medical waste including needles should be placed in heavy plastic containers, covered with lids and put in your trash.
• Bulky and hard-to-handle items will not be collected. However, the County does provide separate collection for bulky items. Please see section on Bulk Item Collection or consider donating items to Reduce and Reuse Charitable Organizations

Trouble-free Trash Collection Tips

• Use watertight containers equipped with handles and tight-fitting covers for trash. Plastic waste bags (not paper bags or boxes) are also acceptable. Do not use cardboard boxes since they are recyclable and will be collected on your recycling day.
• No more than four, 32-gallon containers of trash will be collected on your collection day.
• Emptied or dried out paint cans will be accepted in your trash. Oil-base paint is hazardous and is accepted at Hazardous Household Waste Drop-off Days. Latex paint is not hazardous, but leaves a sticky mess on employees, equipment, and your streets. If you can not dry it out, latex paint may be taken to any of the Convenience Centers. Please consolidate multiple cans of paint into one can.

>> Trouble-free Recycling guidelines

Requesting Collection For Your Home

New Residents in a Community Currently on Public Collection:

If you have moved into a community currently served by the curbside program, you do not need to contact the County to start service at your new residence. Place your trash and recyclable items at the curb on the same days as your neighbors and it will be collected. If for some reason you are not serviced, please call (410) 222-6100.

Communities not Served by Public Service but Located in a Public Collection Service Area

If you live in a community of single family units (attached or detached units) that are not served by public waste collection, but are within one hour of our collection service areas, you may petition for service. A majority of the residents must agree to accept curbside service. Residents who fully petition and receive curbside service will be charged an annual residential rate. For more information on the petition process and the curbside collection fee call (410) 222-6108.

Individual Properties Abutting a Collection Route

If your property directly abuts a collection route and you would like the curbside program extended to your property, please call (410) 222-6108 for assistance.

Apartment/Condo Recycling

While the County does not provide collection services, Condominium and Apartment residents are welcome to use any of the County's Convenience Centers for their recycling needs. 

Apartment buildings and condominiums make up 15% of the total housing units in Anne Arundel County. Currently, few property managers provide recycling services to their residents. The multi-family recycling program is designed to encourage property managers to include recycling as a component of their private trash collection programs for apartment and condominium residents.

Technical and practical assistance is available to property managers who would like to start a recycling program or need help expanding one. A recycling specialist will visit a work site to help start a program, as well as provide commercial recycling guides, information on local recycling companies, finding markets, and access to other types of resources. For more information, call the Recycling Division at (410) 222-7951