Freon appliances in Montgomery County, MD — unofficial (scrap-metal pad, not HHW)

Hours, fees, and gates change. Confirm on the official page the morning you go. This page is unofficial and not the county. Not a hauler. Holiday names and holiday clock hours: not stated. Scrap-metal pad clock: not stated.

Which kind is it?

1. 1

   Fridge, freezer, window AC, dehumidifier, or other refrigerant appliance from home?

   Scrap Metal Drop-off · Recycling Area

   Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station. Hand the unit to a drop-off attendant. County: all refrigerants brought to Scrap Metal Drop-Off are evacuated on site and reused or recycled. How Do I: from your home. Facility clock: Mon–Sat 7 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sun 9 a.m.–5 p.m. commercial entrance only. Separate scrap-metal-pad clock: not stated.

2. 2

   Same items, and you have County-provided recycling and want pickup?

   On-call curbside scrap metal

   Unlimited scrap-metal pickups per calendar year. Schedule ahead. Fridge/freezer: empty all contents; secure the doors shut or remove them. No fee (recycling service details). Set out by 7 a.m. on recycling day. Not the blue bin. Not bulk trash. Municipalities: check the town.

3. 3

   Other item that is 51% or more metal, larger than a trash can?

   Same scrap-metal program

   Curbside: up to 8 feet long. Transfer Station: any size, including screws, pots, hangers, small household metal. Washer, dryer, stove, dishwasher, microwave: large household appliances on the scrap-metal list. ≥51% metal is scrap, not bulk trash.

4. 4

   Riding mower or zero-turn?

   Transfer Station only

   Not accepted curbside. Drop off at Shady Grove scrap-metal recycling, drained of oil and gas. No charge for delivering scrap metal items.

5. 5

   Walk-behind lawn mower, curbside?

   Curbside scrap metal · prepped

   How Do I: empty all fuel and oil; remove batteries if applicable. Pick-up request page also says spark plugs must be removed (How Do I does not). Those two prep lines are unreconciled. Confirm the morning you go.

6. 6

   Propane, oxygen, or other pressurized tank?

   Not scrap metal

   Refused in all scrap-metal programs. Propane How Do I: hand to an attendant on the upper lot near electronics. Not HHW. Not the blue bin. Not bulk trash. Not this pad.

7. 7

   Vehicle, or auto parts over 60 lb?

   Not county scrap metal

   How Do I: not accepted in any scrap-metal program. Generally accepted by automobile parts recyclers or wrecking/salvage businesses. Curbside auto parts under 60 lb: metal or steel tire rims only — no engines, mufflers, hoods, fenders, chassis.

8. 8

   Business / commercial metal appliance?

   Fees page vs “from your home”

   Fees page: metal appliances and other large scrap metal accepted from residents and non-residential/commercial at recyclable drop-off, no charge except as noted. Refrigerants How Do I: “from your home.” Cite both. Do not assume commercial Freon is free beyond that fees-page line.

9. 9

   Thinking HHW for a fridge or AC?

   Wrong pad

   Refrigerants How Do I sends home units to Scrap Metal Drop-off. HHW accepted list does not include refrigerators, freezers, or air conditioners. HHW refuse list does not name Freon appliances. Same campus, Recycling Area — different pad.

Where to go

HHW is on the same campus, not a third street address. Refrigerants How Do I does not send Freon units there. Last-checked 31 Aug 2026.

Poolesville Beauty Spot (19200 Jerusalem Road, Saturdays 8 a.m.–4 p.m.) accepts bulk trash up to 499 lb and does not accept scrap metal. Last-checked 31 Aug 2026.

Unreconciled Sunday: refrigerants/scrap-metal How Do I put drop-off in the Recycling Area; facility/hours pages say Sunday use the Commercial and Truck entrance only (16055 Shady Grove Road, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.). Recycling service details says curb materials are also “accepted daily” at Shady Grove. This page does not pick a winner. Confirm the morning you go. Last-checked 31 Aug 2026.

Bring this

• Proof of residency (residential drop-off): Maryland license or photo ID with a Montgomery County address; a current utility bill with a physical MoCo address and your name; or a mortgage statement / lease in your name for a physical MoCo address. Out-of-county plates still need one of those. Proof of County Residency.
• Drop-off: hand the refrigerant appliance to a drop-off attendant in the Recycling drop-off area. You do not evacuate Freon yourself. Drop-off empty-and-doors rule: not stated on the refrigerants How Do I page (that prep is posted for curbside).
• Curbside fridge/freezer: empty all contents; secure the doors shut or remove them. Itemized list of large metal items for 311 / the request form.
• Walk-behind mower curbside: empty fuel and oil; remove batteries if applicable. Spark plugs: pick-request page says remove them; How Do I does not. Unreconciled.
• Riding / zero-turn mower: Transfer Station only; drained of oil and gas.
• Covered load if you self-haul (hours page). PPE (high-vis vest, hard hat, closed-toe shoes) is required on the main tipping floor, not described as required for the Recycling Area scrap-metal pad.

Not here

• HHW compound for a fridge, freezer, or AC (refrigerants How Do I → scrap metal). HHW refuse list does not name Freon appliances; accepted list does not include them either.
• Poolesville Beauty Spot — does not accept scrap metal.
• Bulk trash for items 51% or more metal that will not fit in a trash bag or can (bulk How Do I sends those to scrap metal).
• Oxygen or propane tanks, or other containers under pressure — all scrap-metal programs refuse them. Propane How Do I: upper lot near electronics, hand to attendant.
• Vehicles or automotive parts weighing more than 60 pounds. Large auto parts also cannot be disposed of at the Transfer Station (bulk How Do I).
• Latex or oil-based paint cans (scrap-metal refuse). Paint is a different page.
• TVs and computers — electronics pad, not scrap metal. HHW will not take TVs or computers.
• Scrap metal in the blue bin.
• Retailer haul-away (Best Buy and similar) is not a county program on this page. Not invented here.

What they take (scrap-metal How Do I lists)

Copied from the official How Do I page. Rule of thumb: 51% or more metal. If an item is not on the list, How Do I says call 311.

• Curbside large household appliances: air conditioners (including air-handling units and compressors), clothes dryers, clothes washers, dehumidifiers, dishwashers, freezers, microwave ovens, refrigerators, stoves, wall ovens.
• Also curbside: bicycles; metal cabinets; metal doors; exercise machines (treadmills, weight benches); chain-link and wire fencing (rolled); metal file cabinets; grills; iron furniture and railings; lawnmowers (prepped); metal sheds (disassembled); shower stalls; metal lawn chairs; sewing machines; metal swing sets (disassembled, concrete off legs); automotive parts under 60 lb — metal or steel tire rims only.
• Transfer Station extra: all of the above; metal items of any size (screws, nails, hardware, pots and pans, wire clothes hangers, other small household metal); riding mowers for residential yards and zero-turn mowers, drained of oil and gas; items oversized for curbside.

Dehumidifiers are on this scrap-metal large-appliance list. They also appear on the electronics How Do I accept list. This page does not pick a pad for a dehumidifier. Confirm the morning you go. Last-checked 31 Aug 2026.

County line on refrigerants: “all refrigerants brought to the Scrap Metal Drop-Off area at the Transfer Station are evacuated from the appliance and either reused or recycled according to applicable environmental standards.” Last-checked 31 Aug 2026.

Official sources

• How Do I — refrigerants
• How Do I — scrap metal items (large)
• Scrap Metal Pick-Up Request
• Recycling service details (appliances / no fee)
• How Do I — household hazardous waste (not the Freon path; TVs/computers/propane refused)
• How Do I — bulk trash (≥51% metal is scrap, not bulk)
• How Do I — small tanks and cylinders of compressed gases
• Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station
• Trash and Recycling Drop-Off Hours and Events
• User Fees
• Proof of County Residency
• Poolesville Beauty Spot (no scrap metal)