Numerous state, local, and federal laws regulate materials entering the waste stream. The City of Baltimore is committed to moving towards Zero Waste, which includes goals to maximize waste reduction, reuse/repair, recycling, and sustainable management of materials. 

Maryland Recycling Act

1988: Established a requirement for Maryland counties, based on a population of less than or exceeding 150,000, to reduce the county’s waste stream by 15% or 20%, respectively.

Sludge Application

1993: Regulates land application of sludges to protect the public health.

Electronic Waste Recycling

2005: Requires computer manufacturers to pay an annual fee to fund local computer recycling programs.

Public School Recycling Plans

2010: Requires counties to revise their 10-year plans to address collection, processing, marketing, and disposition of recyclable materials from public schools.

Fluorescent and Compact Fluorescent Light Recycling

2011: Requires counties to revise their 10-year plans to include a strategy for collecting and recycling fluorescent and compact fluorescent lights that contain mercury.

Recycling, Apartment Buildings and Condominiums Act

2012: Requires counties to revise their 10-year plans to address collection and recycling at apartment buildings and condominiums as well as creating or revising a method for implementing a reporting requirement, and requires building owners, managers, and councils with 10 or more dwelling units to provide for recycling for residents on or before October 1, 2014.

Recycling Rates and Waste Diversion – Statewide Goal Act

2012: A revision to the 1988 MRA, this act requires counties to revise their 10-year plans to achieve an increase in the countywide recycling rate to 20% (counties with populations below 150,000) or 35% (counties with populations above 150,000) of the county’s solid waste stream by July 1, 2014, with full implementation by December 31, 2015.

Recycling, Special Events Act

2014: Requires counties to revise their 10-year plans to address collection and recycling by organizers of certain special events, with implementation required before October 1, 2015.

Environment, Recycling, Office Buildings Act

2019: Requires counties to revise their 10-year plans to include an Office Building Recycling Program to address recycling from office buildings with 150,000 square feet or more of office space.

Organic Waste, Organics Recycling, Collection and Acceptance for Final Disposal

2019: Prohibits the owner or operator of a refuse disposal system from accepting loads of separately collected organic waste for final disposal unless the owner or operator provides organics recycling.

Expanded Polystyrene Food Service Products Ban

2020: Imposes a ban on the sale and use of food service products composed of expanded polystyrene.

Food Scraps Management

2021: House Bill 264 (HB264) requires large food waste generators to divert food waste from disposal if those generators are located within 30 miles of an organics recycling facility with the capacity and willingness to enter into a contract.

Maryland Recycling Act, Recyclable Materials and Resource Recovery Facilities, Alterations

2021: House Bill 280 (HB280) altered the definition of “recyclable materials” under the MRA to exclude incinerator ash and repealed the authority of a county to use a resource recovery facility to meet 5% of the waste reduction required to be achieved through recycling in the county’s recycling plan.

Baltimore Clean Air Act

2019: The Baltimore Clean Air Act (BCAA), introduced as Council Bill 18-0306, was approved by the City Council on February 11, 2019, and signed by then Mayor Pugh on March 7, 2019. The BCAA requires commercial solid waste incinerators in Baltimore to conduct continuous monitoring of multiple pollutants, including dioxins, furans, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides, particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and several heavy metals.  It also establishes significantly stricter emission limits for mercury, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides, and dioxins/furans than are required under Maryland regulations. A ruling by a U.S. district judge in 2020 found that some components of the BCAA were in conflict with state laws.  As such, it has not been enforced. 

Single-Use Plastic Bag Bill

2020: The City Council passed Ordinance 19-0401 on November 18, 2019, to ban the distribution of single use plastic bags at the point of sale and place a fee of a nickel for any other type of single use bag, including paper and compostable bags. The ordinance was signed on January 13, 2020, and the program went into effect on October 1, 2021.

John F. Chalmers Sr. Act

2022: In June 2022, the City Council passed Ordinance 22-133 (The John F. Chalmers Dr. Act), which requires certain holders of permits issued by the DHCD to submit a disposal plan with the permit application, requires permit holders to submit proof of disposal to the Department within a certain period of time after the permit work has concluded, and establishes citation amounts.

Net Zero Operations Bill

2022: Mayor Brandon Scott signed the Net Zero Operations Bill into law on April 22, 2022, which requires City operations to achieve net-zero emissions of GHG by 2045 with interim emission reduction goals of 30% by 2025 and 60% by 2030.