FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Payments:
You may pay-online at www.ambersdisposal.com with a Visa, MC, American Express, or Discover card, or by debit card. There is no fee for this payment method. You may also make one-time payments on the website, send a check through the mail, or use the bill pay method with your bank.
Yes, to Amber’s Disposal, PO Box 9, Aquasco, MD. 20608. Please write your account number on your check.
Yes, but there is a $4.00 fee for over the phone payments. (301) 888-9649.
Yes, we offer an "AUTO PAY" option that is available for you to set up on our website. Simply click the "AUTO PAY" option after entering your credit or debit card information on the payment screen and hit "SUBMIT". There is no additional fee for this option.
Yes. If you choose to have your invoice sent to you through the USPS, they are mailed approximately two (2) weeks prior to the due date. We also offer email delivery. Please call our office to have your account set up for email delivery of your invoice. Residential invoices are due on the 1st day of the quarter. Commercial invoices are due on the 20th day of the month.
If the account becomes twenty-five (25) days in arrears, your account will be placed in “STOP SERVICE” status. You MUST call our office (301-888-9649) to re-activate your account and pay any balance due at that time. There are no credits issued during the time your account is on “STOP SERVICE”. Once payment has been made and your account is current, all trash that has accumulated during this time will be removed on your next scheduled day. If you are once a week pickup, your next pickup will be the following week. If you are twice a week pickup, your pickup will be on your next scheduled day.
If you pay your account and it is current, then we will return your trash can. The fee to have your trash can returned is $35.00 which covers our cost to re-activate your account and return your trash can.
YES! If you live in a development, neighborhood, or simply have friends or neighbors that are looking for trash removal service, please have them give us a call. Ask them to mention your name and, for every new customer we acquire from your referral, we will credit $10 to your existing account, with many thanks for referring us. We can also supply you with flyers for your development, neighborhood, or friends where, again, if they mention your name, your account will receive a $10 credit for each referral.
Service:
You MUST call our office (301-888-9649) to cancel your service. if you are being offered a lower price, please give us the opportunity to match the price. If this occurs, your price will be matched AND GUARANTEED for one (1) year from the start of your “new” price. We do NOT accept or honor third party cancellations from another company (a letter from your “new” company stating you wish to cancel our service). If you cancel your service within the first year, there is a $20 cancellation fee.
We start collecting trash at 6:00am. We urge you to put your trash out the night before, so you don’t miss us. Your pick-up times may vary from week to week so please put your trash out the night before.
Place your trash can where it is visible and accessible to the crew. Place the trash can where it is apparent to the crew that the trash can belongs to your location. (Example: by your mailbox or at the end of your driveway.)
We observe only six (6) holidays per year. New Year’s, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. We operate “on schedule” for all other Holidays. WE DO NOT RUN ON ANY LOCAL OR FEDERAL HOLIDAY SCHEDULE. Please see our Holiday Schedule online.
If a holiday falls on a Monday, every collection day for the week is behind by one day. Example: Monday’s trash goes to Tuesday, Tuesday’s trash to Wednesday, Wednesday’s trash to Thursday, Thursday’s trash to Friday and Friday’s trash to Saturday. Another example: Thanksgiving will ALWAYS be on Thursday. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday service days will remain the same. However, Thursday trash will move to Friday and Friday trash will be on Saturday. Trash service will resume to the regular schedule on the following Monday. Please see our Holiday Schedule online.
We will make every attempt to pick up trash even in inclement weather, but should the landfill close or conditions become unsafe, we will suspend service. Safety is Paramount in all we do! We will pick up your trash the next day that we operate. Example-If we suspend collection on a Friday, your next pick up day would be Saturday.
No, our rates are based on volume not the number of pickups per month. Therefore, when we pick up your trash on the next scheduled pick up date we are taking double the volume and being charged for it at the time of disposal by the landfill.
Charles County Residents: In most areas we pickup twice a week. You can put your trash out on the 2nd pick up day. If you are only a one day a week customer please call our office (301) 888-9649, so that we may alert the driver of an unscheduled pick up. All other Counties: We service ONLY one day per week and we ask that you wait until your next scheduled pick up day.
On occasion “misses” do happen, particularly if there is a driver in training or route changes. We appreciate your patience and ask that you wait for your next scheduled route day if you are a twice a week customer. If you are once a week, we will make every effort to collect your trash the next day if possible, depending on when we are alerted by you that a “miss” has occurred. Call our office if your trash has been missed the day of the “miss” prior to 5PM or leave a voice mail message so we will know early the next day. This will allow us to check our route sheets for comments and work out a solution.
Please call us to place your account on hold during that time. No truck will come to your house during that time and our crews will not know that you are on vacation, only that trash service has been suspended. We do not issue credits for vacation weeks.
(Snowbirds) No problem! Simply call us to place your account on hold until you return. We will not charge you again until you return. To place your account on hold you must call us or your bill will be due for the months you were gone.
Yes, but it is your responsibility to keep your road safe and passable. This would include, but not limited to, plowing snow and ice, sanding or salting when icy, keeping your road graded and free of pot holes, and keeping your road passable from overgrown trees. We rely on our “seasoned” drivers to access the situation and determine if service can be performed safely.
On windy days we will placed your trash can on its side to help deter it being blown away or “wandering down your street”.
No, it’s is not required that you use an Amber’s trash can. However, it does help us promote our company and helps with the unification of your neighborhood. We will not pick up loose bags therefore your trash must be in a trash can, rather yours or ours.
Have an HOA representative give us a call so they we can meet with them to discuss your HOA and their trash service needs. We will provide them with a discounted rate for the entire HOA depending on the needs and requirements for YOUR association.
With the assistance of a “resident liaison”, we can determine your development size (number of single family homes or townhomes) and, with between 75 and 80 percent of the development, we will supply a discounted rate for trash service based on your development’s need and requirements.
Trash Cans & Bins
Amber’s Disposal owns the trash can. It is an asset to us and if you should end your service it will be collected. If it is not returned you will be charged $75.00 for the price of the trash can.
Yes, with stick on numbers only (like you put on your mailbox). This is very helpful in townhome communities where multiple trash cans of the same company might be together. We ask that you put the stick-on numbers on the front above the hook bar. Do NOT use permanent marker or spray paint anywhere on the trash can. There will be a $35 cleaning fee to remove anything other than stick on numbers. It is also helpful to write down your trash can’s serial number in case the container is lost or stolen.
Saturate a rag with ammonia and place it near the trash can. When the animals detect the nitrogen in the ammonia, they will think the cans have been “marked” by another animal and go away. Bleach and/or perfume poured on the trash inside the container will also deter animals.
Please keep your trash can safe from damage and theft. You are responsible for it and will be charged a replacement fee of $75.00. Please search your neighborhood before calling us. It may be that your neighbor mistook your container for theirs, or, in the case of high winds or storms, it may have “wandered off”.
Bulk, Recycling & Disposal of Hazardous Items
YES! Ambers Disposal recycles all our refuse. The refuse is taken to the Covanta Energy incinerator in Alexandria, Virginia and is recycled to create electricity. Simply place all of your household waste into our 96-gallon toter that is provided at no charge to our Ambers Disposal customers.
PLEASE, PLEASE NEVER PUT BULK ITEMS IN YOUR TOTER!! THE TOTER IS DESIGNED FOR HOUSEHOLD TRASH ONLY!
If you are in an HOA (Homeowner’s Association) there are specified days for bulk pickup. Please check with the HOA to see when your days are. If you are NOT in an HOA, any bulk items you need to put out for pickup on your scheduled day MUST fit into a 2’X2’X2’ area and, if possible, please notify us at least 24 hours prior to your scheduled day to allow us to give the crew a ticket to alert them that it is alright to take these items and to confirm that these items can, in fact, be taken on the weekly trash truck. Please see the “Unacceptable Items List” located on the website. If you are in an HOA but simply cannot wait until your specified scheduled bulk pickup day, you can contact us to see when we can schedule your pickup and what, if any, charges will be assessed to you, the resident, for removal.
If you are not in an HOA and have bulk items for removal, please check the “Unacceptable Items List” on the website to make sure the items you have to remove are acceptable. Please contact our office with a list of the items you would like removed prior to your pickup day to allow us to access any possible charges for the pickup, schedule the pickup for you, and alert the crew that there will be bulk to be removed at your address.
Trash that’s generated from your kitchen or bath.
Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s Counties have drop off locations for these types of hazardous waste. Please check with the county that you live in for dates and locations.
UNACCEPTABLE ITEMS
Construction and Demolition Trash – Property owners performing construction or demolition work are required to contact a Trash Disposal Company that provide trash bins, roll-off and drop-off body service to dispose of construction materials.
The following materials are not collected at your home because of special handling requirements.
- Explosive, Ashes, Ammunition, and or Firearms
- Poisons/acids/caustics
- Compressed gas tanks such as propane tanks, helium tanks, or oxygen tanks
- Liquids including paints, NO empty paint Cans!
- Asbestos
- Drum containers/fuel tanks/oil tanks, gas or oil containers of any kind
- Tires
- Building and construction materials, plywood, shingles, sheet rock, ceramic tile, carpet, flooring, fluorescent tubes or light fixtures
- Furniture -Please call our office for pick-up (301-888-9649).
- Sawdust or dirt
- Computers, printers, or ink cartridges
- Batteries, including NI-CAD batteries
- Brush and/or tree trimmings, leaves, yard waste, trees, Christmas Trees, lumber
- Dead Animals or animal waste unless placed in a plastic bag and tied securely
- Appliances – Please call “Hawk” 301-848-2939. He is a scrap metal hauler.
These words identify Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)
Caution, Toxic, Danger, Flammable, Warning, Explosive, Reactive, Combustible, Poisonous, Hazardous, Corrosive.
Unacceptable Materials
Latex Paint (watered base), infectious waste, medical waste, unidentified waste, or radioactive waste.