Three Ways We Handle Solid Waste
1. Recycle
Recycling is cost effective and beneficial for the environment. With single stream recycling, residents may place all recyclable bottles, cans, and paper into the same container for collection. Currently, recycling collected in Baltimore County is taken to the Waste Management Recycle America sorting facility in Elkridge, Maryland. At this facility, recyclables are sorted, baled, and marketed to be made into new products.
2. Incinerate
Wheelabrator Baltimore is a waste-to-energy plant in downtown Baltimore that uses trash as a fuel to make electricity and steam. Incoming trucks dump waste into a large pit. The trash is then recycled into energy. A high pressure steam is recovered in the process and it is used for heating or summer cooling (using chillers) in downtown Baltimore. This process reduces the volume of incoming garbage by 90 percent.
3. Landfill
Do you know the difference between a sanitary landfill and a dump? You may think they are the same, but there is a big difference between the two. Dumps, much more common many years ago, are uncovered, unlined areas where people "dump" their trash. Dumps gave off a smelly odor, attracted many unwanted bugs and animals, and polluted the environment. Today's sanitary landfills are designed to protect our environment and people. Years of preparation go into building a landfill. It is a very complex operation. ESL is located on Days Cove Road in the White Marsh area.
This is a bathtub model used to show how a sanitary landfill works.
Revised August 9, 2010
