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Baltimore County officials predict that their only landfill will be unusable within 10 years — earlier than previously estimated — and the only way to expand the facility without destroying a large number of homes is to build upwards.

Since last year, a working group has been meeting to recommend changes to the county’s long-term solid waste strategy. The organization listed several options in its September report, including the vertical expansion of White Marsh's Eastern Sanitary Landfill.

Vertical expansion can extend the life of a landfill by 11 to 48 years, but it also has disadvantages.

The working group recommended that the county consider spending 750,000 US dollars in the next few years to research and plan expansion, and the estimated construction cost is between 63 million and 162 million US dollars. Fourteen of the 17 working group members agreed that this option should be a priority for the county.

Stephen Simmons of Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, a solid waste consulting firm based in Virginia, said the site has “added a few hundred feet” in the past 40 years. The working group does not recommend the construction of new landfills elsewhere.

"It won't hide behind somewhere," Simmons said. "It will always be a very obvious and prominent feature in the landscape."

The 375-acre landfill was built in the 1980s and includes two transfer stations and a recycling station. In the past, it was punished for long-term violations of water pollution and solid waste regulations, but now it depends on regulations. When completed, the expected life of the landfill is approximately 30 years.

According to the 2020 tonnage report of the landfill, the Maryland Department of Environment stated that the facility will reach capacity in 2027. According to the county, approximately 3.1 million tons can be processed there before it is deemed unserviceable.

Last year, county spokesperson Sean Naron said that 455,000 tons of waste were discarded at the landfill, which only accepts residential waste.

County officials did not anticipate that the landfill would become inoperable. As recently as 2016, they claimed that the life of the landfill would be extended to 2052 years.

Officials wrote in a 2018 report: “There is sufficient assurance that the county has sufficient disposal capacity in 2028 and beyond.”

For residents of Bowerman-Loreley Beach, a neighboring coastal community, building buildings is not an ideal solution. They have been living near the landfill since the landfill was built.

Dorothy Hinnant, vice chairman of the Bowerman-Loreley Beach Community Association, said that their house emits this smell when the wind blows.

But Hinnant, who regularly attends the monthly community meetings held by the county’s landfill owners, said they “bend backwards” to try to alleviate the community’s concerns.

"They have to go somewhere," Hinnant said. "I'm sorry it's in our community."

Congresswoman Cathy Bevins did not respond to a request for comment. Her area includes landfills and surrounding communities.

According to data from the Maryland State Environmental Agency, the upward expansion of the landfill will also generate more greenhouse gases for the garbage dump. Heating body.

"I think [vertical expansion] is better than building a new landfill, and better than building an incinerator," said Shane Robinson, the head of the Maryland Waste Free Policy Advocacy Organization, who is a member of the working group. "I don't know what else they can do now."

However, the alternative to expanding the landfill is also accompanied by environmental disadvantages.

The working group recommended another solution to extend the life of the landfill: pay the waste porter at a price of $60 per ton, and transfer 215,000 tons of waste from the landfill to other locations each year. The county may start transporting garbage as early as this budget year (that is, July 1).

Simmons said that by 2026, the county is expected to spend 14 million US dollars a year, but can extend the life of the landfill by up to 9 years, and the county has a long-term plan.

However, according to the consultant, this option does not reduce the greenhouse gases produced when vehicles move garbage away-this is a potential problem faced by county officials, because the environment is governor Johnny Olszewski ( Johnny Olszewski Jr.), and zero waste is expected to prioritize strategy in decision-making.

Baltimore County signed a contract with the Waste Management Corporation and Republic Service Corporation to transfer commercial waste from East Sanitary to a disposal site outside the county. D'Andrea Walker, acting director of the Public Works Department, said that residential waste can also do the same to maintain capacity.

Another possibility is to burn more garbage.

The county recently started signing a new contract with Baltimore Waste Energy Systems Corporation (BRESCO), the largest single source of air pollution in Baltimore. A private incinerator in the city transfers at least 215,000 tons of waste from landfills each year through the following methods To the incinerator. 2026.

Neighbourhood groups oppose incinerators, believing that pollution will have a negative impact on the health of residents.

Walker said the county is “not interested in processing more garbage in BRESCO than we requested.”

Baltimore County is also seeking to improve its sustainability and reduce the total amount of waste it generates.

The working group recommended some other strategies to maintain Eastern Sanitary's capacity, such as prohibiting the use of plastic bags for yard waste, because the mixed materials will be thrown into landfills instead of composting. The ban on plastic bags for yard waste came into effect in April.

The team also recommends the establishment of a mixed waste treatment facility to transfer organic materials and food waste from landfills and turn them into compost. According to the working group, the county will have to build such a facility, which may cost US$100 million to US$250 million.

But these efforts "may not have a huge impact on the lifespan of specific landfills," said Robinson of Maryland Waste Free. "The real effect of it is to keep [garbage] away from streams and waterways."

"If we want to solve this problem...," Robinson said, "we have to do more than just solve the problem."

According to MDE data, in 2019, Baltimore County generated the most solid waste among the 24 jurisdictions in Maryland—nearly 2 million tons. Although the county voluntarily set a 45% annual recovery rate target in 2015, it has never been achieved. The recycling rate has been declining since 2017 and was 32.1% in 2019.

The Baltimore County Council ultimately controls the county’s wallets and must sign funds to research and expand the landfill.

But taxpayers may pay new fees to maintain the Ministry of Public Works’ Solid Waste Management Bureau and to fund expanded solid waste services and infrastructure projects.

As its highest priority, the working group recommends that the county consider setting up a corporate fund by charging residents and companies usage fees-if the service fee is determined by the quantity, this may encourage residents to take "active waste reduction actions." According to reports, residents are processing garbage.

The working group was unable to determine how much funding the bureau would need to operate. It recommends $50,000 to study the feasibility of the user funding program.