Solid Waste Charge for Multi-Family Properties

These rates do not apply to townhouses; a townhouse is a single-family dwelling.

Disposal Fees

• ZERO - generally not applicable to multi-family properties.

• If the property's private sector refuse collector uses the County's transfer station, a tipping fee of $70.00/ton is paid there based on the amount of waste delivered. This fee may be passed on to the property owner by the private refuse collector.

Base Systems Benefit Charge

• $7.09 per dwelling unit - paid by property owners via the tax bill

• Designed to cover, together with tipping fees, the County’s costs of developing and maintaining the basic programs and facilities necessary to fulfill the County's legal obligation to provide for the management of solid waste generated by multi-family properties within the County. These charges provide for:

  • overall solid waste program administration (including solid waste enforcement activities, Dickerson Facilities Master Plan and general program development, Division management personnel, and general engineering/technical support, etc.)
  • waste reduction programs, and
  • debt service.

Incremental Systems Benefit Charge

• $12.03 per dwelling unit - paid by all property owners via the tax bill

• This fee covers the County’s cost of assisting in the development of recycling systems for multi-family properties, including the review of program designs and educational materials, and county outreach, education and enforcement activities.

• The recycling rate in multi-family buildings has been consistently lower than those of the single-family or non-residential sectors. The County employs substantial outreach and enforcements efforts to improve this. It is the law that all multi-family buildings must have prescribed recycling programs, and it is the responsibility of building management as well as residents to recycle.

Refuse Collection Charge

• ZERO - not applicable to multi-family properties (buildings comprised of more than 6 dwellings). The County does not currently provide refuse collection services to any multi-family properties in buildings of more than 6 dwellings.

Leaf Vacuuming Charge

• $4.61 per dwelling unit - assessed to owners of multi-family properties in the Leaf Vacuuming Service Area.

• With respect to the Leaf Vacuuming Charges, the phrase "multi-family" refers to non-townhouse buildings comprised of 3 or more dwellings per building, and the 7-or-more criteria does not apply.

• Designed to cover the cost of the street leaf vacuuming service provided in the fall by the Department of Transportation's Highway Services.

  Map of and details about leaf vacuuming area

• The fee is calculated by dividing the cost of leaf vacuuming program by the number   of households that receive the benefit of the service. For FY25, it is assumed that multi-family households continue to account for 2.76% of leaves vacuumed. That 2.76% figure resulted from an application of the County’s Geographic Information System (GIS) that calculated the deciduous tree canopy and property boundary data. Therefore, the charge was calculated by dividing 2.76% of the Leaf Vacuuming Program cost by the number of multi-family homes located in the Leaf Vacuuming Program. Based on tree canopy data, townhouse developments had the same tree coverage. Therefore, townhouses are charged the same rate as other multi-family residents. For more information, call Montgomery County's Customer Service Center at 311 (out-of-County: 240-777-0311, TTY: 301-251-4850).

• Homes that are not in the areas receiving this service are not charged the fee. Executive Regulation 6-99AM provides for subdivisions to "opt in or out" of the service. For more information about how a subdivision may opt in or out of the Leaf Vacuuming Program, call Montgomery County's Customer Service Center at 311 (out-of-County: 240-777-0311, TTY: 301-251-4850).

Appeal of the Dwelling Unit Count

The fee simple owner of a multi-family property is billed, on a single tax bill, for all the multi-family dwelling units on the property as reported by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT). That number of dwelling units, used to calculate the total solid waste charge, appears on the bill under the heading "units".

Owners of multi-family properties may send written request for reconsideration of that dwelling unit count, including supporting documentation upon which the County can rely (e.g. current rental licensing documents, or municipal inspection reports) to

Director, Department of Environmental Protection
Attention: Ermias Kifle, Billing Manager
2425 Reedie Drive, 4th Floor
Wheaton, MD 20902
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (240) 777-6441