New Recycling Law in Maryland Calls for Reports, Analysis of Waste Producers

A new law from Annapolis, Maryland is hoping to cut down the hundreds of tons of waste that are collected in Western Maryland by attempting to raise recycling rates through reports and analysis.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Malcolm Augustine, D-Prince George’s, is pushing to get Marylanders to consider their state when it comes to the waste they produce and what they do with it. Currently, around 350 tons of trash, yard waste, and construction debris enter landfills in Western Maryland each day.

“Think of the entire state as [you] would think of [your] own living room or [your] own family rooms,” the Harvard-educated Senate President Pro Tem said, in a phone interview. “Treat it the way that [you] would want [your] family rooms, [your] yard, [your] living rooms, to be treated.”

Last month, Democratic Gov. Wed Moore signed the environmental law, Statewide Recycling Needs Assessment and Producer Responsibility for Packing Materials, which calls for a report and analysis of where Maryland is as a state when it comes to recycling. The law also puts together an advisory council to recommend how to hold packaging producers accountable.

“We have a throw away culture as it relates to some of the physical things that we purchase,” Augustine said. “What’s different about this bill is it says, ‘Let’s try to deal with it up front.’”

The 350 tons of waste hitting landfills each day in Washington County in Western Maryland ranked as the fifth lowest in waste diversion in 2021.

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