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St. Mary's County proclaims America Recycles Week, expands single‑stream recycling at convenience centers
Summary
The Board of County Commissioners proclaimed November 9–15, 2008 as America Recycles Week and approved expanding single‑stream recycling at county convenience centers to accept new material types, a county staff member said during the Nov. 10 meeting.
The St. Mary's County Board of County Commissioners on Nov. 10 proclaimed November 9–15, 2008 as America Recycles Week and announced an expansion of the county's single‑stream recycling program at convenience centers and the St. Andrews landfill. The proclamation was presented by county officials at the regular meeting in Leonardtown.
The county is adding a range of items to single‑stream collections, including aseptic packaging (juice and milk boxes), aluminum foil and pans, plastic film and bags, shrink‑wrap, bulky plastics such as lawn furniture and toys, and five‑gallon buckets, a staff member said. "We now will be accepting those items as well," the staff member told commissioners.
The staff member said the county's single‑stream program, implemented two years earlier, helped push the county's recycling rate to 31% in calendar 2007, with an additional 4% attributed to source reduction; overall diversion — including concrete and C&D waste — was 52% that year. The official said most material arriving at the county recycling collection point is sent to an automated sorting facility in Howard County, where machinery separates glass, plastic and aluminum.
During the presentation Commissioner Jack Russell thanked recycling staff and invited commissioners and staff to tour the processing facility; a staff member said the county maintains occasional videos of the plant on local cable channel 95.
Commissioners also discussed specific items now accepted and the cost impacts of recycling. A county official said county disposal costs run roughly $65 per ton for solid waste and recycling collection costs are about $25–$30 per ton under the county's contract, representing a net per‑ton savings when recycling is used instead of disposal.
The proclamation notes Saint Mary's County's expansion of single‑stream recycling at six convenience centers and the St. Andrews landfill and encourages residents to recycle and buy recycled products.
Commissioners took no separate vote beyond accepting the proclamation and thanking staff; the presentation was followed by routine business on the agenda.
