When Mayor Scott took office, he promised that his administration would “reduce chronic health disparities across racial and ethnic groups by decommissioning the use of waste incineration within the next decade” in his 2021 First Term Action Plan. The City government had just adopted the Less Waste Better Baltimore Plan in 2020, which outlined investments the City could make over a 20-year timespan to move toward Zero Waste - noting that if the City invested more money more quickly, it could achieve those goals sooner. Just this month, Mayor Scott released his Second Term Action Plan, which calls for the City to "Accelerate Transition to Sustainability and Zero Waste" and "Implement residential and commercial waste diversion."
For the past several years, we've needed to fight for funding for Zero Waste in the City's budget: for the programming we need to divert waste from the trash, and the infrastructure we need to recycle and compost it. And we've seen real results: last year, in response to our advocacy, the City Council amended the budget to put $750,000 toward starting to collect yard waste separately from trash so that it can be composted - not burned at BRESCO, which is what happens now. This year, the budget proposal includes 15 new staff positions for yard waste collection, and $100k new funding for a food scrap composting pilot program.
But there's a big hole. The City has been working to build our first compost facility, in East Baltimore at the future Eastside Transfer Station on Bowley's Lane. It's supposed to be up and running by 2028, and it needs $3 million to be able to complete its construction. DPW requested that this be included in this year's budget - but it's missing.
Take action! Contact the City Council and the Mayor to ask for a budget amendment to be able to complete this compost facility on time.
