Baltimore committee hears DPW plan for yard- and food-waste pilots as landfill nears capacity
Loading...
Summary
City public-works leaders told the Public Health & Environment Committee they plan a 311-based yard-waste pilot and a yearlong curbside food-scrap pilot (500 households, 10 schools). DPW warned Quarantine Road Landfill capacity could be exhausted by February 2028 without faster diversion.
Baltimore City Council's Public Health and Environment Committee heard a detailed status report from the Department of Public Works on the city's 0-waste goals, including a $750,000 yard-waste pilot and a one-year curbside food-scrap pilot intended to begin in fiscal 2027.
The committee session, chaired by Councilwoman Felicia Porter, focused on operational steps DPW plans to expand diversion and reduce reliance on incineration. "We have to rethink how we deal with our waste," DPW Director Matt Garbark said, urging investment in infrastructure and behavior change.
DPW described two pilot efforts. The yard-waste pilot (funded at $750,000 by the council last year) will place roll-offs at residential recycling centers and Quarantine Road, and operate a 311-based curbside pickup using existing mini-load packer vehicles and four new crews plus supervisors and drivers the city is recruiting. Garbark said the city will chip and store yard waste at Quarantine Road before sending material to a regional composting facility while Bowleys Lane is completed.
For food waste, DPW outlined a two-phase approach: Phase 1 is outreach and marketing; Phase 2 is a one-year curbside collection pilot for 500 households and 10 schools, requiring procurement of kitchen bins and a processing vendor. Garbark said the pilot is intended to measure participation, routing feasibility and seasonal variation before any citywide rollout. DPW described the total pilot budget as "about $550,000" but provided itemized figures (including $135,000 and a $170,000 line) that the agency said it would clarify in follow-up materials.
The agency emphasized that markets and processing capacity will determine whether pilots can scale. "If the market doesn't exist, it is going to be even more expensive to throw it out," Garbark said, arguing for public-private partnerships and regional coordination to create steady demand for recovered materials.
The hearing revisited hard infrastructure numbers that frame urgency. Garbark said Quarantine Road Landfill had a capacity of about 18.3 million cubic yards, with roughly 16.5 million cubic yards used as of 2025, leaving about 1.8 million cubic yards. DPW projected that, on the current trajectory, the landfill could reach capacity in February 2028 without further diversion measures. He added that a planned expansion could add up to 14 years of life but that without incineration the useful life would drop to about five years.
Committee members pressed DPW for more granular data: a breakdown of materials in the waste stream, the share of food scraps versus yard cuttings and cardboard, and the top recyclable materials by market value. Councilman (committee member) requests for a "waste breakdown" and the underlying assumptions for diversion targets were entered as official committee items.
DPW also reported progress on recycling contamination: single-stream recycling resumed citywide after a pause; distribution of blue carts, standardized crew training and the use of "oops" tags reduced contamination at the Northwest Transfer Station from 21% in 2024 to 15% in 2025. The agency said a route- and neighborhood-based contamination dashboard and door-to-door outreach would follow.
The committee asked for specific clarifications and written follow-ups on budget line items and pilot costings, routes and staffing plans, and for the long-haul study due this summer that will examine rail transfer, C&D sorting facilities, material recovery facilities and potential regional partners.
Public testimony reinforced the urgency. "We need a plan," said Anne Wilson, a resident of the 14th District, urging a clear timeline for reducing reliance on incineration. Community advocates spoke about historical pricing and siting decisions that have concentrated waste burdens in South Baltimore and called for transparency on next steps.
Next steps: DPW said it will provide the committee with requested waste-stream breakdowns, clarify pilot-item budgets, deliver the long-haul study this summer and return with updates on routes and staffing. The food-waste pilot is planned as a one-year trial to collect seasonally varied data before the council considers scaling citywide.
