Solid Waste Management Planning
As with Water and Sewer Plans, the County Solid Waste Management Plan is regulated under the Environmental Article, Title 9. It is the responsibility of local planning agencies to create and maintain a Solid Waste Management Plan as prescribed in the state law and for the Maryland Department of Planning to advise the Maryland Department of the Environment (Environment) on its consistency with the local comprehensive planning documents and all other relevant land use matters that it impacts.
Solid waste management impacts every aspect of daily life and public infrastructure. From collections to processing the waste, every community and locale is impacted by the means these operations are undertaken. Early landfill issues of groundwater contamination to mounting volumes of trash and the siting of new places for larger rubbish disposal operations led to heightened environmentally focused land use planning and waste handling methods.
This webpage offers links to information towards meeting local and State waste management goals. Each County Solid Waste Management Plan or Program is listed with a link for more information. Please take a moment to learn how you can impact the effort to leaving as waste-free trail behind you as possible.
Working with the local planning agencies and Environment, Planning supports the goals for effective land use towards the implementation of the state and local regulations for a clean and healthy environment. The Solid Waste Management Plan is the document that outlines the local government’s implementation strategies towards those goals.
County Solid Waste Management Plans Online
The following are solid waste operations that impact the landscape, our water and air:
Solid Waste Acceptance (SWA) Facilities - Municipal landfills
- Rubble [construction and demolition (C&D) debris] landfills
- Non-hazardous industrial waste landfills
- Land clearing debris landfills
- Waste-to-energy facilities
- Municipal incinerators
- Special medical waste incinerators
- Special medical waste processing facilities
- Solid waste processing facilities
- Solid waste transfer stations
Natural Wood Waste Recycling (NWWR) Facilities
Composting Facilities
Open Burning of Solid Waste
Open Burning Fact Sheet - This fact sheet describes the regulatory requirements and provides examples of when materials that are solid waste can and can't be burned.
For additional information on the permitted solid waste acceptance facilities, visit MDE's Permitted Solid Waste Facilities.
