We provide regulatory oversight of a diverse array of solid waste facilities, including landfills, transfer stations, recycling centers, and waste-to-energy plants, ensuring proper waste management and protecting public health. Each county manages its own network of facilities tailored to local needs. For example, Anne Arundel County operates the Millersville Landfill and three recycling centers, Baltimore County maintains three residential drop-off centers, and Wicomico County features a central landfill complex with 11 convenience centers and eight recycling centers.
Our solid waste program ensures that non-hazardous solid waste from homes, businesses, and industries is properly handled to protect public health and natural resources, especially groundwater and surface water. We regulate solid and hazardous waste, from everyday trash to industrial and construction debris. Through oversight and public education, we safeguard air, water, soil, wildlife, and human health while promoting responsible disposal and recycling practices.
Full list of permitted or closed facilities with groundwater discharge permits
Oversight activities include
Regulate solid waste facilities: landfills, incinerators, processing centers, hazardous waste facilities, and transfer stations. Facilities require a permit.
Monitor leachate: landfills must have liners and systems to capture liquid runoff through waste to prevent pollution.
Control odors and pollution: most waste processing must occur in enclosed buildings to reduce environmental impact.
Regulated Facilities
Solid waste facilities regulated by the state include:
- Municipal, rubble, and industrial waste landfills
- Land clearing debris landfills
- Waste-to-energy plants and incinerators
- Solid waste processing and transfer stations
- Hazardous waste facilities
- Special medical waste facilities
Permitting Status by Facility
Al-Ray Rubble Landfill, located at 4910 Sands Road, Lothian, Anne Arundel County, is closed. The permit requires semi-annual monitoring of groundwater for metals and organic compounds. The permit allows MDE to maintain requirements for the continued monitoring of groundwater quality at the site and does not authorize an expansion or other change to the facility, which is now part of the Sands Road Park.
Chesapeake Terrace Rubble Landfill — permit denied due to proximity to a school and health risks. The proposed facility would be located along Patuxent Road in Odenton, Anne Arundel County. National Waste Managers, Inc. applied for a Refuse Disposal Permit to construct and operate a non-hazardous solid waste acceptance facility that would accept land clearing debris and construction and demolition debris for disposal and recycling.
Days Cove Rubble Landfill — Days Cove Reclamation Company submitted a groundwater discharge permit renewal application for the closed Days Cove Rubble Landfill Vertical Expansion, 6425 Days Cove Road, White Marsh, Baltimore County. The discharge involves wastewater generated by rainwater that percolates through the rubble cell floor and enters the groundwater through infiltration. The current permit requires semi-annual monitoring of groundwater for metals and organic compounds. The proposed renewal maintains state authority to set and enforce requirements for continued groundwater monitoring. The draft permit does not authorize expansion or physical changes. A public hearing was held on May 13, 2025.
Eastern Sanitary Landfill — a refuse disposal permit application was submitted by the Baltimore County Bureau of Solid Waste Management for a proposed vertical expansion at 6259 Days Cove Road, White Marsh, Baltimore County. The expansion would occur within the existing footprint and increase the maximum permitted elevation from 192 feet above mean sea level. The landfill accepts residential and commercial solid waste, bulky waste, institutional waste, asbestos, incinerator ash, land clearing debris and yard waste, and construction and demolition debris. A public hearing on the application was held on May 7, 2024.
Midshore III Facility — a refuse disposal permit application was submitted by Maryland Environmental Service in 2023 for the proposed Midshore III Regional Solid Waste Facility on Harper Road, Centreville. The landfill would accept residential and commercial solid waste, bulky waste, sewage sludge, land clearing debris and yard waste, asbestos, and construction and demolition debris for disposal and recycling.
Millersville Landfill — a refuse disposal permit application was submitted by Anne Arundel County for a proposed vertical expansion of the Millersville Municipal Landfill and Resource Recovery Facility, 389 Burns Crossing Road, Severn. The expansion would occur within the existing footprint and increase the maximum permitted elevation from 244 feet above mean sea level to 285 feet. The landfill accepts residential and commercial solid waste, bulky waste, land clearing debris and yard waste, and construction and demolition debris for disposal and recycling. A public hearing was held on May 23, 2024.
Tolson Rubble Landfill — vertical expansion approved for the facility on Capitol Raceway Road, Crofton, Anne Arundel County. The 2019 proposal remained within the existing footprint and increased the maximum permitted elevation, within local zoning limits, to provide more efficient use of airspace, raising capacity from 230 feet above mean sea level to 244 feet.
Contact Us
You can reach us by calling 410-537-3315 or in person at 1800 Washington Blvd., Ste. 605, Baltimore, MD 21230.
