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For what it's worth, here's the council's response to my message to them about the removal of the trash cans. It looks like a form letter response so perhaps you've already seen it. If so, my apologies.
- Sara

Dear Ms. Bonthuis:

As the newly elected Council President, I want to thank you for writing to me regarding Park and Planning’s new Carry-In/Carry-Out program for County parks. As you may be aware, the Carry-In/Carry-Out program encourages park users to share in the responsibility of keeping our parks clean and litter free.

Montgomery County is not the first to implement a Carry-In/Carry-Out program. Federal, State, and local park systems throughout the country have used Carry-In/Carry-Out to improve the appearance of parks for many years. Indeed, each year thousands of County residents enjoy existing Carry-In/Carry-Out parks including the C&O Canal (run by the Federal Government), Seneca Creek State Park, and several Rockville City parks.

While it may seem counter-intuitive that removing trash cans can improve the appearance of parks, the experience of other communities demonstrates that Carry-In/Carry-Out reduces the amount of waste and litter in parks and frees up needed resources to perform other important park maintenance activities.

Experience of other jurisdictions has shown there is some increase in littering immediately after implementation of Carry-In/Carry-Out. However, within six to twelve months, the program takes root in the community and the amount of trash and litter is reduced significantly. The Council asks parks users to be patient during the transition period. Our goal is to try to maintain and improve the level of cleanliness that residents have come to expect from County parks.

Recognizing that this will be a significant change for our park users, Park and Planning will undertake a public education campaign to make the transition as smooth as possible. The Council will continue to monitor the effect of the Carry-In/Carry-Out program as well as all other efforts to keep our parks safe, clean, and pleasant to use.

Thank you for sharing your concerns with the Council on this important issue.

Sincerely,

Steven A. Silverman
Council President

Sara's Letter:

I run the Sligo trail and pick up litter as I go. This past Sunday the trash can closest to Forest Glen Road was overflowing and had at the base of it SIX bags of dog poop. I put the bags in a larger bag and left it at the can. I can see carrying food waste out of the park, but do we really think people are going to carry out dog poop? I understand the cost issue and can see removing the cans that are hardest for the county to pick up, but can't you leave cans in the parking areas and near major roads?

Sara Bonthuis