The Resource

The Resource provides the latest news about County trash, recycling and waste prevention initiatives, services and resources.

Baltimore County 2022 Sustainability Challenge

December 31, 2022 8:08 PM

BY THE BUREAU OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Climate change affects communities and habitats all over the globe, and Baltimore County is no exception. More frequent severe weather events, flooding and extreme temperatures are just a few of the effects of climate change that affect our community. Everyone—residents, businesses and all our county’s institutions and organizations—must do their part to mitigate climate change, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and create a more sustainable county for future generations.

As one of the largest employers operating in the county, Baltimore County Government employs more than 6,600 people, many of whom can count themselves among the county’s more than 860,000 residents. As public officials, county employees have the opportunity to lead by example in the fight against climate change by taking actions to lessen their environmental footprint and help others do the same. Baltimore County’s Green @ Work team created the Baltimore County Sustainability Challenge to increase climate change awareness and foster behavior change among county employees and their families and friends.

For this year’s challenge, the Green@Work team has broken the competition down into four weekly challenges.

Week 1 focuses on energy actions, such as weatherizing the home, upgrading lighting, timers on lights, turning off lights and equipment when not in use, and unplugging unused devices.

Week 2 focuses on reducing solid waste, including refillable pens, eco-friendly cleaning products, limiting printing, printing double sided, greening gifts (including gifting an experience or subscription), shopping at or donating to thrift stores, reusable water bottles, and reusable bags and straws.

Week 3 focuses on reducing emissions, including “car free days,” shopping local, carpooling and public transit, natural light, lowering thermostats, and adding plants.

Week 4 includes sustainable eating, such as composting, sustainable and waste free lunches, growing your own herbs, in-season produce, vegetarian and vegan meals, and a reusable cup or mug for the coffee shop.

This friendly competition allows participants to earn recognition for taking action to live more sustainably at work and at home. Participants report their sustainable actions via an online form, and each action is awarded points in the competition. Many people have uploaded photos with their submissions.

Employees throughout the County have taken the Challenge and are showing us the ways they strive to make ours a cleaner, greener community. Though individually these actions may seem not to make a significant impact, collectively they make a big difference in our planet’s health. If everyone in Baltimore County took a few actions throughout their day, think of the impact we could make!

Repairing and Reusing Old Bikes

December 31, 2022 8:02 PM

BY THE BUREAU OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Since June 2022, Baltimore County and its vendor Bamiria, Inc. has reclaimed nearly 2,000 bikes, weighing approximately 40,000 pounds. Bamiria works with local bicycle reuse organizations to distribute bikes to those in need. They also distribute surplus bikes to communities in Mali where bikes are a principle form of transportation. The County accepts bicycles at all three Residential Drop Off Centers, or RDOCs.

Local re-use organizations are quickly overwhelmed by this volume of bikes, but Mali has more than enough use for them. Much of the Malian economy and lifestyle involves moving people and material by bicycle rather than combustion engines.

In addition to the bicycle re-use program, Bamiria and its founder Evan Mickels aka “The Junkyard Dog” connects local residents and Malian people with other donated goods from other outlets. He manages a ‘Bike Doctor’ program which periodically teaches local students to fix their own bikes. He has also has been responsible for construction and rehabilitation of schools and orphanages, and he has even connected Malian students with refurbished laptops and tablets.

The County is looking at reuse opportunities for a variety of additional materials.

Do you have some old bicycles in the shed or garage that could be given new life? Bring them down to the RDOC closest to you and they will find their way into the hands of people who will use them for years to come. Volunteers and other interested people may visit the website to find out more.

County Conducts 2022 Waste Audit

October 31, 2022 9:33 AM

By the Bureau of Solid Waste Management

Do you ever wonder what types of materials wind up in the trash? Here at the Bureau of Solid Waste Management, we sure do. The best way to find out is to just take a look! This July, in partnership with Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority, the County conducted a waste composition audit. A waste audit is the process of formally quantifying the amounts and types of things that are being disposed of. Our purpose for the audit was to identify what materials had the potential to be recycled or composted and to guide our efforts to divert waste....Learn More

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