On Thursday 5/14 at 5PM, the Baltimore City Council is holding Taxpayer’s Night: their annual public hearing on the budget! This is your last opportunity to speak out on the budget and advocate for investment in climate, environment, and environmental justice priorities. RSVP here to let us know you can attend, in person at City Hall or virtually on WebEx.
For the past several years, we’ve been working with partners in South Baltimore and across the City to call for investment in Zero Waste programs and infrastructure, but the City’s investment has lagged behind what the Less Waste Better Baltimore plan called for. (Read our testimony with South Baltimore Community Land Trust on last year’s budget here.)
This year’s proposed budget makes real progress in response to our demands, but there’s much more work to do.
- Compost facility investment. DPW requested $3 million in capital funding this year to complete the city’s first residential composting facility at the future Eastside Transfer Station, but that funding isn’t included in the proposed budget. We need to understand why, and get this project fully funded to be built quickly.
-
Yard waste composting. The budget proposal includes 15 new staff positions to begin collecting residential yard waste for composting - right now, all of our yard waste goes to BRESCO to be incinerated. This is a huge victory that we advocated for last year, and we should celebrate it! Now, we need to make sure all of the equipment and support is included to make this program a success.
-
More Zero Waste programming. The budget proposal decreases the overall solid waste budget by about $7 million compared to the last budget. The Less Waste Better Baltimore plan and the 10-Year Solid Waste Management Plan outline all kinds of Zero Waste programs the City hasn’t invested in yet - we need to see those funds rededicated toward new reuse programs, improved recycling education, infrastructure development, and much more.
-
Transparency in planning. The capital budget includes funding for a project which has been called “Long Haul Waste Diversion” or just a “Waste Diversion Facility,” but there has been no public process yet for determining what that facility would be. We need to see real Zero Waste development - speak out for funding the compost facilities, recycling facilities, and construction and demolition material recovery facility that City plans call for.
Not sure how to prepare your testimony, or want to learn more about the budget? Join us for a webinar with the With Us For Us coalition on Wednesday 5/6 at 6PM - RSVP here to receive the Zoom link.
