Commercial Recycling, Not Residential Recycling, Fueled Surge According to data released by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) in October 2008, Baltimore County residents, businesses, and institutions recycled 1,213,330 tons of material in 2007, more than any other jurisdiction in the state. As a result, the County attained a 62 percent recycling rate – by far the highest in the history of the County’s recycling program and also number 1 in the State in 2007. (MDE will not have sufficient data to calculate recycling rates for 2008 until later in 2009). Baltimore County’s waste diversion rate of 66 percent in 2007 also represents an all-time County record and another all-time Statewide record. The waste diversion rate is defined as a jurisdiction’s recycling rate plus a credit of up to 5 percent determined by MDE for engaging in specified waste prevention activities. In 2007, MDE accorded the County a 4 percent credit for waste prevention activities such as Reuse Directory distributions, a residential waste prevention survey, and a compost bin sale (835 bins sold in April 2007). Although Baltimore County is number 1 overall in recycling, and that is reason to celebrate, this does not mean that County residents can afford to be complacent. Following is a discussion of what the County’s 62 percent recycling rate means, and perhaps more importantly what it does not mean. What the County’s 62 Percent Recycling Rate Means - First and foremost, the 62 percent recycling rate proves that many businesses and institutions in Baltimore County really “get it” when it comes to the importance of recycling.
- More than two-thirds of commercial recycling tonnages in the County in 2007 came from the steelmaking facility in Sparrows Point (formerly Bethlehem Steel), currently owned and operated by Severstal Steel.
The Bureau of Solid Waste Management thanks those businesses and institutions that reported recycling tonnages in 2007, and made the County’s number 1 status in recycling possible.
What the County’s 62 Percent Recycling Rate Does Not Mean
The County’s 62 percent recycling rate does not mean that residents can afford to be complacent regarding participation in the residential recycling program. Half or more of the paper and bottles & cans passing through residents’ homes could be recycled. Of the recyclable paper and bottles & cans generated in Baltimore County households, residents are only recycling about one in four pounds of what they could! This means there is lots of room for improvement. Updated February 20, 2009
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