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Residents press city on incinerator ash, tipping fees and RFI for bottle-deposit options
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Summary
Public commenters and council members used a DPW oversight hearing to press for a clear incinerator-closure timeline, answers about historic low tipping fees that concentrated waste in South Baltimore, and follow-up on an RFI seeking bottle-deposit/collection options.
At a Baltimore City Council committee oversight hearing, residents and council members pressed the Department of Public Works for timelines and transparency on incinerator closure, historical tipping-fee practices and an RFI about bottle-deposit alternatives.
Anne Wilson, a 14th District resident, told the committee she appreciated pilot planning but asked for a clear public timeline for phasing out the city's incinerator and what that means for nearby communities. "When I start hearing language like market volatility and watching for revenue streams, that sends a signal that the priority is not necessarily shutting down the incinerator for the benefit of public health," Wilson said.
Community representatives Greg Sautel and Carlos Sanchez recounted a history in which the city kept Quarantine Road Landfill tip fees low for decades, creating an economic incentive for large commercial haulers to dispose in the city. Sautel said a 2024 civil-rights (Title VI) complaint has been filed by South Baltimore residents over cumulative waste impacts. Both speakers asked whether DPW continues to seek permission to use incinerator ash as alternative landfill cover and requested written agency responses. The committee recorded those comments as official requests for follow-up.
Dante Davidson Swinton, an analyst and advocate, contrasted estimated capital costs for landfill expansion (previously estimated at roughly $100 $117 million in today's dollars) with cost estimates for alternatives: a large MRF and composting facility he said could be built for substantially less and with higher job creation potential.
Council members sought specifics. Chair Felicia Porter asked DPW to provide the committee with contract details and clarifications after Garbark said ash from the incinerator (Bresco/Wind Waste) is handled under a separate agreement that includes escalators. Garbark said ash tonnages are significant — DPW reported 136,249 tons of ash from the incinerator in 2025 — and that the incinerator contract is expected to expire in 2031.
DPW and committee members agreed to enter multiple official follow-up requests into the record: written answers about past tip-fee policy and its effects, contract specifics tied to ash handling and tipping-fee escalators, and an agency timeline for alternatives to incineration.
The hearing ended with the committee and DPW agreeing that the long-haul study due this summer and the requested written materials will inform future votes and budget requests related to landfill capacity, Bowleys Lane construction and the city's reliance on incineration.
