The Resource

July 30, 2021 8:58 AM

By Emily Small, Department of Public Works and Transportation

Baltimore County’s 2021 to 2022 Reuse Directory is coming soon to a location near you. If you have unwanted items at home, consider donating them to be recycled or reused by others before you dispose of them. The Reuse Directory provides information on organizations, nonprofits and businesses around the Baltimore region that accept various items for reuse or certain types of recycling. It also describes the end use of donations, such as supplying people with resources they might not otherwise be able to obtain.

Baltimore County encourages residents to reuse or recycle items before disposing of them, an act that benefits both the environment and the community. Donating items for reuse helps others, reduces disposal costs and pollution and conserves space in our landfill. Plus, the COVID pandemic and related shutdowns have been tough on some nonprofit organizations, thrift stores and other businesses that accept and rely on unwanted materials. Donating your unwanted stuff for reuse will also help these organizations continue navigating back to “normal.”

The next time you have items you want to dispose of, check the Directory first to see the various organizations that will accept your materials. Copies of the Directory will be distributed to Baltimore County Public Library branches, senior centers and nature centers in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can view the 2021 to 2022 Reuse Directory (PDF) online on the County’s website.

July 30, 2021 8:39 AM

By Cory Daviau, Department of Public Works and Transportation

Have you ever heard the term, “environmental infrastructure?” It is used to describe facilities and projects that provide vital services that protect human health and the environment. Baltimore County’s environmental infrastructure includes our water and waste water systems, storm water management facilities, watershed and shoreline restoration projects and the like. However, there is an unsung hero among the many examples of environmental infrastructure across our county—the Eastern Sanitary Landfill.

Yes, the landfill.

Modern landfills are often mistakenly viewed as negatively impacting the environment due to misconceptions about how they actually work. What makes a modern landfill a “landfill” and not a “dump,” anyway?

Unlike the “dumps” of yesteryear, today’s landfills use environmental protection measures from top to bottom and everything in between. In fact, the word “dump” itself is particularly contrary to the nature of the modern landfill, which is a sophisticated feat of engineering easily missed by the untrained eye.

A landfill is a complex multilayered system built and tested tirelessly to ensure it does not leak. Piping is installed on the bottom to remove liquids, known as “leachate,” for treatment. The County’s landfill is incrementally filled in layers and inspected continuously for waste that should not be landfilled. It is covered daily to avoid being exposed when the day ends. When a landfill is filled, a system of pipes are installed in the trash to collect and route the gases produced as the trash decomposes; these gases are then treated.

The shape of the bottom and top of a landfill, the way you fill a landfill, the way water and gas are collected and treated, and everything required to build a landfill has a permit. Each permit is a reflection of federally-mandated requirements to contain and reduce environmental pollution. The Bureau of Solid Waste Management also actively monitors the groundwater, surrounding land and landfill surface for forms of pollution and periodically reports its findings to the State of Maryland.

There is an entire division of the Bureau that conducts pollution monitoring and solution services. Discussions are held routinely between certified professional engineers, geologists, surveyors, equipment operators and communication specialists to ensure the landfill is built and maintained with best management practices.

So, why else does a landfill hold value?

A landfill is a last resort for the byproducts of Baltimore County residents’ everyday lives. When unrecyclable goods are discarded, the waste must go somewhere to protect public health and the environment. There are a few different options for waste disposal, but having a landfill as a last resort gives Baltimore County residents an affordable local option with a smaller environmental impact than most alternatives.

To put it simply, the landfill is built and maintained by people who care. Our landfill staff are industry leaders in many regards who are constantly working to hone their craft and provide a higher level of service to Baltimore County. These employees plan each step of the landfill with both the facility users and pollution prevention in mind and are constantly looking for ways to improve.

Would you like to know what you can do to help the effort (and the environment)?

Reuse and repair the things you already own. Buy, consume and throw away less stuff. Buy used. Choose reusable options over single-use items. Anything you have to trash, dispose of it properly. Read The Resource every month for waste avoidance tools and reuse options, and share what you learn here with others.