Grappling with diminishing capacity at its last remaining landfill, Baltimore County is playing catch-up with the rest of the state by adding textiles — such as clothes, shoes, purses and backpacks, towels, curtains and sheets — to the list of things residents can drop off at the county’s three recycling facilities.
But following years of poor recycling rates and lessened waste diversion, solid waste officials say they want to expand programs to encourage those who live in the county to recycle materials beyond what’s picked up curbside. “Everything we’re doing is built around preserving our landfill’s lifespan,” said Nick Rodricks, chief of Baltimore County’s solid waste bureau.
On a hot Thursday morning in September, a steady stream of vehicles — carrying everything from a Victorian dollhouse to a smoker grill — rolled slowly through well-marked travel lanes at the Central Acceptance Facility in Cockeysville, snaking between drop-off areas to leave materials that aren’t collected curbside (currently, Baltimore County picks up plastics, cardboard, soda cans, glass, and metal products such as soda cans and tin foil). But for the uninitiated, solid waste officials make the trip easy.