Montgomery County Council members and some residents are urging the county’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to move faster to replace the county’s trash incinerator and provide more environmentally friendly solid waste management alternatives.
In November, the county government extended its current contract with a private contractor for trash incinerator services at its Dickerson facility until 2031, but is planning to move toward a more environmentally friendly option, according to officials.
“Implementation of any new system for handling our trash will take a minimum of approximately five years. According to our engineers, Montgomery County must continue to rely on the existing system for another five years until a new system is implemented,” DEP Director Jon Monger said Tuesday during a council work session on the issue. “While I know these timelines may be disappointing to some listening today, I want to be very clear in stating that these timelines are informed by engineering realities and operational imperatives.”
The county is looking for a more sustainable option to the incinerator at the county’s Resource Recovery Facility at 21204 Martinsburg Road, which can contribute to harmful air quality, according to county officials.
Tuesday’s work session was focused on the county’s goal of producing “zero waste” by creating more environmentally friendly waste disposal practices. While there was no public hearing, several community members attended the meeting holding signs urging the county to get rid of the incinerator.
The county began making plans to eliminate the incinerator in 2018, when then-County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett (D) formed a Zero Waste Task Force.
“In the year 2020, it is extremely important to note that the incinerator burned 543,708 tons of waste, and nearly a quarter of that was from construction and demolition waste, which is particularly toxic and bad to burn,” councilmember and Transportation and Environment Committee chair Evan Glass (D-At-large) said Tuesday. “In recent years, the incinerator’s capacity has actually been below the standard level, which has required increased repair and maintenance costs.”
According to Monger, the challenge the department is facing is that the county does not have an alternative system that can be implemented quickly enough to handle the county’s trash prior to 2031.
“We are redesigning the system as we implement it. We’re building a new airplane as we fly the old one,” Monger said.
Lauren Greenberger, vice president of the Sugarloaf Citizens Association, represented residents of the neighborhood surrounding the incinerator as she spoke to the council during Tuesday’s work session.
“We’re delighted that DEP is working hard, developing waste reduction strategies … however, we fervently object to the approach they are taking,” Greenberger told councilmembers. “We want to stop having to breathe in toxic emissions that contribute to cancers, heart disease and respiratory illness and further contribute to climate change. Why aren’t these concerns being prioritized? Why isn’t a concurrent plan being implemented now?”
Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe (D-Dist. 2), who represents the district where the incinerator is located, shared similar concerns. She said the “critical question” is “why can’t we move concurrently?”
“I want to convey my deep frustration with the timeline presented. … A promise was made to the community to close the incinerator,” Balcombe said. “The level of strategic and operational planning that you’ve laid out today should have started seven years ago, when that promise was made. It wasn’t.”
Monger said he understands the frustration. The department is working on improved recycling processes and food scrap waste management to limit the amount of waste headed to the incinerator while county officials evaluate the most viable options for replacement, he said.
According to officials, the county is exploring the use of new technologies that would allow the closure of the Resource Recovery Facility, which converts waste to energy, and to increasing efficiency and minimizing the volume of waste in disposal processes. The county is also implementing artificial intelligence technology, such as advanced optical sorters, in its recycling processes that will make it easier to identify materials that can be sold as commodities, Monger said.
The county has a 45% recycling rate, outpacing the national recycling rate of 32%, according to officials. Higher participation in recycling reduces the amount of trash that must be incinerated.
From 2018 to 2022, the amount of waste collected per person decreased by 11%, and between 2020 and 2022, plastic recycling increased by 110%. In 2024, Monger said the county collected more than 27,000 pounds of food from nearly 4,000 residents through its food scrap recycling and composting program.
DEP officials are expected to provide the council with potential options for solid waste management and community members will have the opportunity to weigh in during a Feb. 11 public hearing. The options will be evaluated by the Transportation and Environment Committee prior to the full council taking a vote.