During the 2021 legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly passed House Bill 164 or the Department of the Environment - Office of Recycling - Recycling Market law.
The law Requires the Office of Recycling in the Department of the Environment to promote the development of markets for recycled materials and recycled products in the State. It also requires the Office to evaluate the availability of recycling markets and identify businesses in the State that use recycled materials.
Announcements
The EPA
has selected 25 communities to receive grants totaling more than $73
million under the newly created Solid Waste Infrastructure for
Recycling
funding opportunity. In addition, the agency is making available approximately
$32 million for states and territories to improve solid waste management planning, data collection and implementation of plans. The grants support the implementation of
EPA’s National Recycling Strategy to
build an economy devoted to keeping materials, products, and services
in circulation for as long as possible – what’s known as a “circular
economy.”
- Maryland's approved workplan summary can be found here
- Baltimore's approved summary can be found here
Be a part of our stakeholder groups. Sign up for notifications on how to participate!
HB 164 Fact Sheet
Timeline for Implementation of 2021 House Bill 164 Provisions Revised!
Maryland Building and Land Availability
This
interactive map
provides a listing of buildings and land sites available for lease
around the state. A good resource for finding space for your new
business.
STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOPS & AGENDAS
In 2022, MDE completed a variety of stakeholder meeting which addressed the provisions of the law and focused on promoting the development of markets for recycled materials and recycled products within the state.
A survey conducted to county recycling coordinators asked them to consider: materials have successful markets, what materials are difficult to find markets for, what types of support is desired from the state.
Materials that have successful markets included items such as:
- Metal, Mixed Metal
- Mixed paper and OCC
- Aluminum Cans
- Plastics (PET, HDPE): Colored & Natural
Materials difficult to find markets for included items such as:
- Compressed gas cylinders - consider switching out a single-use gas cylinder to a exchangeable/refillable. Note: typical one-pound tanks such as the green Coleman or Burnzomatic are federally regulated to not be refilled (DOT-39 cylinder).
- Glass
- Mattresses -
The Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority has contracted with TurboHaul to handle mattress recycling for its member jurisdictions
- Food Residuals (pre- and post-consumer organics) - Residence may have a county collection system. A list of organics recyclers and haulers known within Maryland can be found here.
- Plastics not including PET & HDPE - plastic bags cannot be collected through curbside. A list of film and bag recycling partners for Trex can be found here.
- Asphalt Shingles
- Boat Shrink Wrap - boat shrink wrap must have all debris and straps/zippers removed prior to bagging. Reach out to the Maryland Marine Trades Association or your local DNR Certified Clean Marina to see where you can recycle your shrink wrap. Consider using reusable boat wrap next year.
- Tires
- Single Use, Lithium-Ion Batteries - depending on the jurisdiction there may be allowable drop offs, national resources at Call2Recycle
- Textiles - textiles
are not collected or accepted for curbside recycling; however, they can
be reused or recycled in a variety of ways. Consider the following
options:
- Donation
drop off/collection through organizations and companies - search
"textile donation bin near me" to see what's around you
- Donate good condition bras
- Return to manufacturer
- Patagonia
- Outerknown
- Eileen Fisher
- REI's Good and Used
- H&M
- Lululemon
- American Eagle Outfitters
- Thrift stores - search "thrift stores near me" to see what's around you
- Consignment - search "consignment shop near me" to see what's around you
- Online platforms
- MDrecycles.org is a directory of many recycling and donation organizations and businesses and is maintained by the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority.
Type of support desired from the state included:
- Education and Outreach
- Funding for equipment, land and personnel
- Buyers for difficult markets
- Transportation
Stakeholder Workshops
Grants
Maryland Horse Industry Board 2024 Grant Program
USDA Conservation Innovation Grants for On-Farm Conservation Innovation TrialsThese
grants intend to stimulate the adoption and evaluation of innovative
conservation approaches in partnership with agricultural producers. For
2023, applications will be accepted for projects addressing at least one
of these priorities: irrigation management technologies; feed
management and enteric methane reduction; grazing lands; nutrient
management; and
soil health demonstration (SHD) trials.
SHD applications must also identify at least one of the following
national SHD sub priorities. Applicants are encouraged to address
multiple national sub priorities.
SHD national sub priorities include:
Developing SHMS [Soil Health Management Systems] that include applying carbon amendments, such as
compost or biochar with evaluations of the effects on soil carbon and soil health.
[Emphasis added, see full solicitation for additional SHMS principles and sub priorities].Due Date: Oct. 30, 2023 (8:59 pm PT)
Funding: Up to $50 million, with an award floor of $250,000 and ceiling of $5 million.
Eligibility: Nonprofits,
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native
American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal
governments), city or township governments, state governments, county
governments, special district governments, private institutions of
higher education, small businesses, nonprofit entities, and for profit
organizations other than small businesses.
Note:
For-profit entities are eligible if their primary business is related
to agriculture. Nonprofit entities are eligible if they have experience
working with agricultural producers.
Additional Information:
https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=349853 Developing a cost-effective and sustainable recycling industry for fiber-reinforced composites and rare earth elements in wind turbines.
Solutions for Recycling Markets
Contamination in the recycling stream has prompted major recycling trade restrictions, turning markets upside down and leading to growing piles of recyclables with nowhere to go but the landfill. To solve this problem, Maryland must find new end markets and reduce contamination in its recycling stream.
Research and Innovation
MDE is tasked with evaluating the local, national, and international markets for recycled materials and recycled products. We are working with the Northeast Maryland Waste Authority to update the MDRecycles.org website with the latest known information for recyclers in our region. If your business would like to be added, please let us know.
Want to learn more about recycling markets, programs and materials? Check out these links:
Opportunities for Businesses in the State to Increase their use of Recycled Materials
Procurement
Did you know that the Maryland Department of General Services, Green Purchasing Program has a list of environmentally preferable specifications? This list identifies products or services and specific materials that meet Maryland Green Purchasing Committee Approved Specifications. Why does this matter? When developing contracts and standards, procurement can identify products that improve our environment – they may be compostable, sustainable, and/or made with recycled content.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a Comprehensive Procurement Guideline (CPG) Program. This is part of the EPA's Sustainable Materials Management initiative that promotes a system approach to reducing materials use, associated greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, and other environmental impacts over the materials' entire life cycle.
The Maryland Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services offers programs for partnerships and the production goods and/or services using inmate labor. Learn more about Maryland Correctional Enterprises and the Prison Industry Enhancement Program.
Marketing and Sustainability
Boost your eco-credentials by becoming a part of the Maryland Green Registry. This voluntary program assists your business with free of charge information, technical assistance, and webinars to grow your greening efforts.
County Reuse Resources
Western
Business Assistance
Maryland Building and Land Availability
This
interactive map
provides a listing of buildings and land sites available for lease
around the state. A good resource for finding space for your new
business.
Recycling Permitting Assistance
Information on permits issued by the Land and Materials, Air and Radiation, and Water and Science Administrations is available on the Environmental Permits and Approvals web page. Depending on the activities conducted, a permit from one or more of these administrations may be required for a facility that conducts recycling. If you need assistance in determining which permits apply to a particular recycling-related facility, emailing David Mrgich or Ed Dexter. They may also be reached by phone at 410-537-3314 and 410-537-3315, respectively.
Composting facility permit information is available on the Organics Diversion and Composting web page or by emailing Tariq Masood or phone at 410‑537‑3314.
Natural wood waste recycling facility permit information is available on the Solid Waste Management in Maryland web page or by emailing Kaveh Hosseinzadeh or phone at 410-537-3315.
Business Startup Assistance
If you need assistance in starting a recycling business, please review the resources available on the Maryland Department of Commerce's Business Resources web page.
Maryland Business Express has information for small business owners to start, manage and grow their businesses.
A list on incentives relevant to organic materials management is available on Pages 24-25 and Appendix G (pages 269-292) in the Yard Waste, Food Residuals, and Other Organic Materials Diversion and Infrastructure Study Group Final Report.
Resources
HB 164 Fact Sheet 
Timeline for Implementation of 2021 House Bill 164 Provisions Revised!
Contact Information
For additional information or questions email Shannon McDonald or Tim Kerr or phone at 410-537-3314
