You Throwing That Away?

Our View: Single-stream Recycling Should Only Be The Start For Baltimore County

Baltimore County officials are patting themselves on the back for moving toward single-stream recycling, the radical idea that you could put paper, bottles and cans out at the same time. They say this simplification will add to county residents' already impressive recycling performance - as of the Maryland Department of the Environment's last report, Baltimore County's recycling rate was No. 1 in the state.

But in truth, the recycling program in the region's most populous subdivision isn't all it's cracked up to be. For starters, the impressive 62 percent recycling rate has a lot to do with the presence of Bethlehem Steel, which recycles some pretty heavy stuff. And the county's tentative February, 2010, single-stream rollout will be years behind every other jurisdiction in the area. But the real problem with Baltimore County recycling is that there's plenty of perfectly recyclable material it just won't touch.

In fact, Baltimore County is tied with Harford for having the most restrictive rules in the area about what can and can't be recycled. Peanut butter jars? Nope. Orange juice cartons? No way. Plastic bags? Forget about it. Are you now checking the bottom of your margarine tub for one of those little recycling symbols? Yep, it's there, but Baltimore and Harford counties don't care. In fact if you put those things in your bin, their recycling vendor - they share the same one for everything but paper - will pluck them out and send them to the landfill.

Not only are Baltimore City and the other surrounding counties ahead in terms of single stream, they also recycle many more materials, particularly plastics. Anne Arundel and Howard counties will even take rigid plastics such as lawn furniture and toys. Carroll County and the city will, too, if you take them to the landfill or a drop-off center.

The reason Baltimore County doesn't take more, and the reason it doesn't have single-stream now, is that its facility in Cockeysville doesn't have the capacity to sort so many kinds of things. Officials are in the process of looking for new options as they move toward single stream. When they do, they should make sure to find a facility and a vendor that can handle the broadest range of materials possible. After all, the county actually made $5 million last year selling its recycled materials, whereas every ton of waste that goes to the landfill costs $37 - and it's not getting cheaper.

Rare are the opportunities to say this, but Baltimore County's government needs to take a cue from its colleagues in the city. Create the most convenient, broadest recycling program possible, and they'll do the right thing both for the environment and for taxpayers' pocketbooks.