Washington County, MD Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

5 of the Solid Waste Collection Licensing Ordinance ties recycling directly to trash collection: a hauler who collects municipal solid waste in Washington County must also collect recyclables, or provide for their collection, kept separated from all other solid waste. 0 defines the materials the county designates for recycling as those reasonable to recycle given collection costs, processing costs, markets, and the benefits of reducing waste, and names 1 and 2 plastic bottles (HDPE/PET), newspapers, glass bottles and jars, food and beverage cans, office paper, and corrugated cardboard as the baseline list, with room for the county to add materials later.

1(6) folds this obligation into the licensing process itself: an applicant for a hauler's license must submit a plan for collecting and disposing of solid waste that at minimum accounts for commercial corrugated cardboard and office paper, plus residential newspapers, glass bottles and jars, food and beverage cans, and HDPE/PET plastic bottles. A hauler, generator, or purchaser of recyclables must also file annual reports with the county on the tonnage of recyclable materials hauled, generated, or purchased and its source and destination, information the county treats as confidential when a filer designates it as such, under State Government Article Section 10-617(d). Failing to file the required reports is itself a violation of the Ordinance and grounds to suspend, revoke, or deny a hauler's license.